Our Love Story
I don't think I've ever told this story. Our beginning.
It all started in the fall of 1998. I was working at the local Chickfila. I was a junior in high school. This was my second job and I was saving up to buy a car. I was a beast in the drive thru! Many days I worked it alone but could get cars through really fast. This is also where my love for Chickfila food began. What was I eating before then?
On what seemed like a normal day, a new guy started. I didn't think too much about him. He was cute but my mind was elsewhere. I was already crushing on someone else at school. Over the next few months he made his interest in me known and my crush on the other guy was fizzing out. It was fun to flirt with the new guy at work. But I also knew he went to a rival high school and he was dating someone else. I didn't want to interfere with a boy that was already taken. If you worked a shift with us, it was obvious that we liked each other.
It all came to a head at our company Christmas party. We were eating at a fancy restaurant and we got to dress up. This was a big deal to high school kids. I remember wearing a pair of black MUDD jeans with a handprint on the back pocket. He complimented them several times. They were instantly my favorite jeans. The owner of our unit rented limos for us to ride in to the restaurant. We ended up in the same limo and right next to each other. How convenient. When we got to the restaurant, guess who I ended up sitting next to again? Yep. Him. That day felt like a whirlwind. We talked a lot over the next few hours and actually got to know each other better. At the end of the evening I gave him my phone number. This couldn't go anywhere though. Remember, he was dating someone else.
We talked nightly for the next week or so. I was really starting to like this guy. I was becoming invested. He asked me several times to be his girlfriend but I always said no. I was playing hard to get. I'll never forget on December 25, 1998 after we had both spent our days with family for Christmas, he asked me to be his girlfriend again. Don't you have a girl, I asked. He said he broke it off so we could be together. Yes! We've been inseparable ever since.
I was the first one to say I love you. It was Valentine's day. We went to Applebee's for dinner. I was nervous and knocked over my drink. He still reminds me of how clumsy I am and jokes that I should out my drink far away from my arms. I think I picked him up in my 1984 Toyota Corolla. I miss that thing.
Work was more exciting with him there and I looked forward to the nights when we worked the same shift. He worked on the food line but we made it a point to sneak in a smooch here and there. Once people at school found out we were dating, the question was always why are you dating someone from a rival school. There are plenty of guys here. I think it worked out best that we didn't attend the same school. No chance of seeing him flirting with another girl. Friday was our date night. Most of the time it was dinner and a movie. Best night of the week!
We dated though the rest of high school and throughout college. His family moved back to Florida and he got an apartment with some friends. I lived at home. We both looked forward to talking on the phone until the wee hours of the morning. My mom still laughs at us til this day. She said she would come in and I'd barely be hanging on but still on the phone. That's what you do when you're in love right? Between class schedules and working, it was hard to see each other during the week so those phone calls were crucial.
In 2005, his roommates were going their separate ways and he posed a hard question to me. Could we move in together. If I said no, there was a chance he would move back to Florida where his family was. I wasn't looking forward to a long distance relationship. I didn't want to. When would we ever see each other? I talked to my parents about it. They weren't against it but really wanted me to think long and hard. I had already graduated college and was just living with them while working my first real job. I figured I made enough money to move out on my own. I said yes. We found an apartment not far from my parents. It was an easy drive for both of us to get to and from work. We both learned things about each other that we didn't know. I had jealousy issues. He worked weekends. He worked late at night. It left lots of time for my mind to wander. There were many nights of arguing over phone calls and texts from friends and other girls. I remember us having a fight the day before I was supposed to leave for a girls trip with my friends. You can imagine the only thing I was thinking about during that trip was what he was doing without me there. Of course we made up when I returned. Serious discussions were had after this. If we were in this for the long haul, we had to evaluate our relationship and decide what things we could and could not tolerate. We would casually look at rings and talk about marriage. We had been together almost 7 years and I was getting antsy. I guess I had bugged him enough because on December 4, he popped the question. It was a normal Sunday after church. We were eating lunch at home. I think it was chinese food. He gets up to go to the kitchen. He comes back and gets on one knee. This can't be happening. Yes! Yes! Yes! I remember calling our parents and being on cloud nine.
We married in September 2006. Best day ever. I walked down the aisle to Luther Vandross' Here and Now. I cried like a baby. He did too. Many of our family members were meeting for the first time that day. Seeing our families interacting together solidified our union. They were genuinely happy and celebrating with us. I still get teary eyed when I hear that song. It came on last week. Cried. For our honeymoon, we went to Orlando. It's one of our favorite places to vacation. Maybe it's the kid in us that keeps us going back.
Wedding
Honeymoon in Orlando
Our first year of marriage went by so fast. We had already been living together so everything seemed easy. We had our daily routine and at the end of the day, it was just us. We were on cloud nine. It was shortly after our first anniversary that we found out we were expecting our first baby. A baby wasn't in our five year plan. She was our best surprise though!
One year anniversary
As the years go by, it is easy to let things get stale and become complacent in your relationship. Throw kids in the mix, and it feels like there is no time for your spouse. You have to make time. Your spouse is your first priority. My husband always says, we'll be here staring at each other long after the kids are gone. If there's no spark here now, it definitely won't be here when they are out of the house. There have been more arguments and disagreements than I can count over the years, but in the end we made a vow to each other. Through thick and thin. Marriage is hard work. Forget that 50/50 stuff. Marriage is 100/100. You have to give your all to the other person. When times get hard is when you dig in more and work harder. Fight for your marriage! There is no other person I could imagine spending my life with. He provides for our family and makes me laugh like no other. His humor is what really attracted me to him. God is the one keeping us together...20 years and counting!
Love is patient, love is kind. ~1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Vacationing in Bahamas
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Please go by the other ladies' posts and check out their stories. Love does still exist!
It all started in the fall of 1998. I was working at the local Chickfila. I was a junior in high school. This was my second job and I was saving up to buy a car. I was a beast in the drive thru! Many days I worked it alone but could get cars through really fast. This is also where my love for Chickfila food began. What was I eating before then?
On what seemed like a normal day, a new guy started. I didn't think too much about him. He was cute but my mind was elsewhere. I was already crushing on someone else at school. Over the next few months he made his interest in me known and my crush on the other guy was fizzing out. It was fun to flirt with the new guy at work. But I also knew he went to a rival high school and he was dating someone else. I didn't want to interfere with a boy that was already taken. If you worked a shift with us, it was obvious that we liked each other.
It all came to a head at our company Christmas party. We were eating at a fancy restaurant and we got to dress up. This was a big deal to high school kids. I remember wearing a pair of black MUDD jeans with a handprint on the back pocket. He complimented them several times. They were instantly my favorite jeans. The owner of our unit rented limos for us to ride in to the restaurant. We ended up in the same limo and right next to each other. How convenient. When we got to the restaurant, guess who I ended up sitting next to again? Yep. Him. That day felt like a whirlwind. We talked a lot over the next few hours and actually got to know each other better. At the end of the evening I gave him my phone number. This couldn't go anywhere though. Remember, he was dating someone else.
We talked nightly for the next week or so. I was really starting to like this guy. I was becoming invested. He asked me several times to be his girlfriend but I always said no. I was playing hard to get. I'll never forget on December 25, 1998 after we had both spent our days with family for Christmas, he asked me to be his girlfriend again. Don't you have a girl, I asked. He said he broke it off so we could be together. Yes! We've been inseparable ever since.
I was the first one to say I love you. It was Valentine's day. We went to Applebee's for dinner. I was nervous and knocked over my drink. He still reminds me of how clumsy I am and jokes that I should out my drink far away from my arms. I think I picked him up in my 1984 Toyota Corolla. I miss that thing.
Work was more exciting with him there and I looked forward to the nights when we worked the same shift. He worked on the food line but we made it a point to sneak in a smooch here and there. Once people at school found out we were dating, the question was always why are you dating someone from a rival school. There are plenty of guys here. I think it worked out best that we didn't attend the same school. No chance of seeing him flirting with another girl. Friday was our date night. Most of the time it was dinner and a movie. Best night of the week!
We dated though the rest of high school and throughout college. His family moved back to Florida and he got an apartment with some friends. I lived at home. We both looked forward to talking on the phone until the wee hours of the morning. My mom still laughs at us til this day. She said she would come in and I'd barely be hanging on but still on the phone. That's what you do when you're in love right? Between class schedules and working, it was hard to see each other during the week so those phone calls were crucial.
In 2005, his roommates were going their separate ways and he posed a hard question to me. Could we move in together. If I said no, there was a chance he would move back to Florida where his family was. I wasn't looking forward to a long distance relationship. I didn't want to. When would we ever see each other? I talked to my parents about it. They weren't against it but really wanted me to think long and hard. I had already graduated college and was just living with them while working my first real job. I figured I made enough money to move out on my own. I said yes. We found an apartment not far from my parents. It was an easy drive for both of us to get to and from work. We both learned things about each other that we didn't know. I had jealousy issues. He worked weekends. He worked late at night. It left lots of time for my mind to wander. There were many nights of arguing over phone calls and texts from friends and other girls. I remember us having a fight the day before I was supposed to leave for a girls trip with my friends. You can imagine the only thing I was thinking about during that trip was what he was doing without me there. Of course we made up when I returned. Serious discussions were had after this. If we were in this for the long haul, we had to evaluate our relationship and decide what things we could and could not tolerate. We would casually look at rings and talk about marriage. We had been together almost 7 years and I was getting antsy. I guess I had bugged him enough because on December 4, he popped the question. It was a normal Sunday after church. We were eating lunch at home. I think it was chinese food. He gets up to go to the kitchen. He comes back and gets on one knee. This can't be happening. Yes! Yes! Yes! I remember calling our parents and being on cloud nine.
We married in September 2006. Best day ever. I walked down the aisle to Luther Vandross' Here and Now. I cried like a baby. He did too. Many of our family members were meeting for the first time that day. Seeing our families interacting together solidified our union. They were genuinely happy and celebrating with us. I still get teary eyed when I hear that song. It came on last week. Cried. For our honeymoon, we went to Orlando. It's one of our favorite places to vacation. Maybe it's the kid in us that keeps us going back.
Our first year of marriage went by so fast. We had already been living together so everything seemed easy. We had our daily routine and at the end of the day, it was just us. We were on cloud nine. It was shortly after our first anniversary that we found out we were expecting our first baby. A baby wasn't in our five year plan. She was our best surprise though!
As the years go by, it is easy to let things get stale and become complacent in your relationship. Throw kids in the mix, and it feels like there is no time for your spouse. You have to make time. Your spouse is your first priority. My husband always says, we'll be here staring at each other long after the kids are gone. If there's no spark here now, it definitely won't be here when they are out of the house. There have been more arguments and disagreements than I can count over the years, but in the end we made a vow to each other. Through thick and thin. Marriage is hard work. Forget that 50/50 stuff. Marriage is 100/100. You have to give your all to the other person. When times get hard is when you dig in more and work harder. Fight for your marriage! There is no other person I could imagine spending my life with. He provides for our family and makes me laugh like no other. His humor is what really attracted me to him. God is the one keeping us together...20 years and counting!
Love is patient, love is kind. ~1 Corinthians 13:4-7
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Please go by the other ladies' posts and check out their stories. Love does still exist!
Erin @ Living Pretty on a Penny
Carli @ FW Made by Carli
Mimi @ Unlikely Martha
Andrea @ Decorating Cents
Linda @ The Home I Create
Arie @ Delightfully Styled
Nicole @ She Does a Bunch
Nicole @ Home on Poplar Creek
You're reading Our Love Story by Andrea, originally posted on Decorating Cents. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Andrea on Facebook, Pinterest, Bloglovin, and Hometalk.
Thanks so much for sharing! All the best in health and happiness!
ReplyDeleteAwwww Andrea, I think it's so funny how so many of us met in high school. So often people will ask me I put up with the teenage years, and I tell them we've grown up and we've grown just generally GROWN together. Couldn't imagine it any other way. Wishing you many more happy and healthy years together!
ReplyDeleteAndrea, really enjoyed reading your story. The first part had me laughing because I LOVE chickfila and I'm pretty sure I had similar jeans LOL. I also remember those angsty teenage years when you're really into someone but you cant be with them.
ReplyDeleteIt's so awesome to that you guys are going strong for 20 years because you're right marriage is hard work but so worth it!
Andrea you have a beautiful family. I aways find the couples that meet so young fascinating, because you literally come into adulthood together. And Agree about that 100/100! It wont work if each person is only giving half. You have to give your whole self.
ReplyDelete