Life's great journey is made up of day by day delights.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Anniversary Week!

I truly cannot believe I have been married almost a year. I am going to say things that probably everyone says. "It doesn't seem that long but at the same time it seems like we have always been together." or "This year flew by! I wish we could go back and do it again!" Although, people often say things like that, I have to admit it's true! That's how I feel! This week I will be posting daily (fingers crossed) about everything leading up to our wedding and at the end of each blog I am going to add a link to one of "our songs." Check them out! They're a-w-e-s-o-m-e. No lie.
I think I will start from the beginning of how Eric and I met....how do I even start? There is a lot to say. This will be a long post and believe it or not but I actually trimmed it down! For a long time, I had been dreaming, praying, hoping, and wishing that I would find that special someone. It was hard because I wasn't the kind of girl to go "clubbing" (although my mom says if I weren't so devout to God that maybe I'd be a wild party girl....Silly Mom!) or to bars. All of my social events were mainly through church and none of those social events had eligible bachelors. My work schedule was so sporatic that it made it difficult to expand my horizon and find someone for me. I decided to take my own course of action and tried......(cringing as I type this) online dating. {CUE THE DRAMATIC 'DUH-DUH-DUH' MUSIC) I still hate saying that because I think there can be this stigma about finding someone on the internet but I felt like I had no other choice. So I went online. I was really nervous to even try that....to just put myself out there. But I did it. And I met guys. LOTS of guys. Some good, some great and sadly, some of the not so great ones. Oh! And I met some crazies. One particular chap told me that he wanted to populate the whole earth! To this I replied, "The whole earth, huh? That's a pretty lofty goal! Do you think you're up for it?".....that's my sense of humor....he didn't get it. As you can imagine, Mr. Babies on the Brain and I did not end up together. Oh! Oh! And another that complimented me by saying my hair looked like a wig. Errr, thanks?!? (note to self: Write a post dedicated to awful dates and creepies that I met-it will be a hit!) I did this for almost 2 years!  After a while, I was giving up on myself and finding someone who would truly love me. It became something so sad for me that I would experience literal pain when I thought about it. I continued the online dating but more out of habit than anything. I began to doubt that I would actually find "THE ONE." Then one day, while checking out my online account to read e-mails potentail suitors sent me, I found one that caught my attention. It's funny because this e-mail was so simple that it normally wouldn't have sparked any interest. All this e-mail said was, "Hello! How are you? If you would like, I'd like to talk to you some time. Have a nice day!" A lot of other guys would write me trying to make me laugh or say things like, "U r hottttt."(P.S. That's an immediate turn off) But this one didn't try any of that stuff. I checked out the author's profile and thought to myself, "He seems sweet. Let's give this a chance." So I responded. Then we e-mailed, then im'd, then he finally called.  I also remember telling myself to not get too excited about "this one." But I got excited anyway. One night within the first week we started talking, he couldn't call me and I cried my eyes out like a little baby. I thought to myself, "He must not like me and is trying to get out of talking to me....Am I crazy? It's only been a few days, CHILL OUT!" That's how I knew that he was somebody special. We weren't able to go on a date for a few weeks because my work schedule was weird but finally the day came. He wanted to meet at 4 which I thought was early. Later, I learned that he just wanted to be able to spend as much time with me as possible. Awe! <3 I prepped from the night before till a few minutes before he came to get me. I wanted to look perfect for him! I never told him that no one had ever gotten me flowers before. I didn't want to tell him that because I didn't want him to think, "Oh I'll be the guy that gets her the flowers." When he showed up, what did he hold in his hands? Roses and chocolates. I felt like a queen. No guy had ever taken the time to do something so nice for me. He looked so sweet when I first saw him in person. He has since told me that he didn't think he would even land a date with me and that when he met me he thought, "Wow! She is even prettier in person. I've got to step up my game." His words, not mine. I just think that is so adorable how he wanted to "step up his game." haha That special evening we went to the Milano Inn (a local Italian restaurant) then went to the downtown canal. We rode on a paddle boat.....well I rode. He did all of the work. I couldn't. I was wearing a skirt and would have flashed everyone....I found that out because I tried to modestly peddle but failed miserably! Dropped jaws surrounded us as we passed.  So I enjoyed a nice ride. Eric bought us some lemon chill cups and then we found a bench with a nice view. That is now, unofficially, "our bench." On that bench, he said he didn't want to wait and asked me to be his girlfriend. From date one, we were going out. The rest of the evening was spent driving around in his truck and talking. He played a song for me and declared it "our song." At the time, I thought it an odd choice but I went with it. Now if I hear that song, it brings a smile to my face. From that first date and on we were almost inseparable. After almost 2 months of dating, he got down on both knees and proposed! I obviously said yes and then a happy dance soon followed. Doesn't every girl do a happy dance after she gets engaged? Just me??...ok. Yes, I had my share of struggles with dating but so did Eric! Although those experiences for both of us were painful, we now know they were there to help us. To make us stronger and to know what we wanted...and what to appreciate. On April 10th, 2010, we promised ourselves to eachother in front of our God, our family, and friends. I truly believe I am the luckiest girl in the entire world! Eric makes me happier than I could have imagined. He is my dream come true and I try to show him that every day. He blesses my heart, lifts my spirit, encourages and understands me. He comforts, loves me (even when I feel I don't deserve it), he makes me laugh and smile. He sings with me. He dances with me. He is goofy with me. And he is my true love that I am so grateful for!

On our first date
Our first song, check it out! "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVAnlke_xUY

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