Who is behind Caroline Nijs Photography?
I realize many of my website visitors will have questions about who I am. So before we talk about important stuff, I want to make sure you all get to know me better. In parts, to keep the suspense up 😄.
Life in Belgium
This first blog post will be about my life in Belgium.
I was born there, so was my husband and our daughter. We lived in Belgium until 2012.
Those first dating stories.
When I started dating my husband, one of the first things he told me was that he was going to the United States. At that time I didn't pay much attention to it, I even kind of dismissed it. I mean, it was our first date, who cared, I just wanted him to kiss me.
I obviously should have paid at least a little attention to it ...
Anyway, we met at work, he was a researcher, I was an accounting clerk. We bonded over our love for motorcycles. We got along remarkably well so we decided to buy a house together. We traveled a lot those first few years, low key, stuffing tent and luggage on the back of the motorcycle. Italy, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, ... we burned a lot of rubber. We loved it, the sweat, the dirt, the bugs on the helmet visor. Back then I had a small point and shoot camera that fit very well in the pocket of my moto gear.
It did the job. I won't say they were high quality photos in any way but they did capture the adventures we had very well.
The romance of marriage 😊
Unfortunately motorcycles are not always a safe way to get from A to B. They are overlooked too often by other drivers. Which was why I asked my husband to marry me. I guess the exact words I uttered in the ER were "And now we get married". Well, no-one ever accused me of being overly romantic ...
So we did it. Get married that is. And then we had our lovely daughter. A feisty little redhead. She gets that attitude from her dad, of course.
Making good on a promise.
There had been talks about moving abroad for a few years, we almost moved in 2010 but it ultimately didn't happen. By then I was as excited about moving to the States as my husband. So that being called off was a huge disappointment for the both of us.
And then in 2012 my husband called me at work: "Honey, we're moving! For real!".
I think I screamed a little.
And that's when a new adventure started.
TBC : Part 2