The Beginning.
I'll start out with one of my favorite quotes from the oh so famous poet Edgar Allan Poe; “We loved with a love that was more than love”. This quote speaks volumes to me and explains our love story perfectly.
My husband and I met many many years ago, fifteen years ago to be exact. God had already started planning our love story before we even knew it. He placed us in the right families and then placed us in the right church. The first time we met we were both around the age of eight and we happened to be at his older sisters house for a cookout. I do not remember much of this interaction or actual first meeting but my husband tells me the memory like it happened yesterday. He tells me that the first time he saw me I was on the trampoline with some friends and he walked up to me to say “Hey” and I respond with a bark...yes, you read that correctly. I intentionally barked at a little boy who I would one day admire so dearly. I was quite the unique child. Anyways, the next few years we just went through the motions as friends. We were both growing up and figuring ourselves out. We went to different schools, had different friends, and even drifted apart at times. It wasn't until we were about seventeen years old that we went on our very first date. I had just moved to a new house out in the middle of nowhere, so I was not the best at timing out things. It used to take me like 10 minutes to get to the restaurant we were going to but at my new house it took about 45. So we agreed on a time to go eat and I was VERY VERY late. But like the sweet gentleman Dillon is he waited and waited for me. We ate dinner, walked to our cars, hugged, and left. Nothing much came from that date. We remained friends. We still attended the same church and were still best friends. I think I was worried that if we actually dated that we may ruin our great friendship. I would have rather just stayed friends than to date and possibly loose someone so important in my life. But Dillon never gave up. Even though I rejected him time after time, he kept trying to pursue me. ((He ends up telling me years later that he knew I would be worth the wait, that I was someone he wanted in his life forever, thats why he didn't give up.)) But a couple years later my friend Kayla and I decided to go to the mall. We didn't want to go alone so she invited to of our guy friends; one happened to be Dillon. We went to the mall and shopped and then went home. The way I looked at Dillon changed that day. I believe that God was waiting on a moment to let my heart open so I could see how perfect Dillon was for me. We dropped Dillon off at his house and I looked at Kayla and said “wow! He is so cute, I don't know what this feeling is...but I think I like him..” We went on another “first” date and this one went soooo much better. We had youth at our church on a Wednesday night and then decided we would go eat after that. Both of us had cars at the church so I rode with him to the restaurant. On the way to eat I remember how quite it was. Not from not having anything to talk about, but from both of us being so nervous. It was that puppy dog, butterflies in the belly kind of love right from the get-go. I remember sitting in the passenger seat and glancing over at Dillon and then quickly looking back out the front windshield. Dillon reached over and grabbed my hand and I just blushed so big, tilted my head down and grinned from ear to ear. That was when I knew this was Gods timing. How could I go from not even thinking about Dillon in this sort of way to... BAM...strong feelings. I honestly do not remember a thing once we got out of the car and to the restaurant. I just remember the moments once we got back to the church parking lot. It felt like we sat there for hours upon hours. We talked about a lot. But my favorite moment was the one that was about to unfold. We sat in his dads truck. Him in the drivers side, and I in the passenger not wanting the night to end. I would scoot a little closer, and then he would. I leaned my elbows on the middle console and then he slowly followed. Our faces were literally inches away from each other. You know that corny little dating tip “you go 40% and make him go 60%” haha it was literally like that but in SLOW motion. 1% but 1%. I just wish I could go back and be a fly on the wall and see this play out. But it happened. We shared our first kiss. It wasn't long by any means. I was the definition of a “peck” kiss. I quickly turned my head after our lips touched and I stared out the passenger side window just smiling. It was simply perfect. That was the beginning of the best love journey that I would ever take in my life.
I'll start out with one of my favorite quotes from the oh so famous poet Edgar Allan Poe; “We loved with a love that was more than love”. This quote speaks volumes to me and explains our love story perfectly.
My husband and I met many many years ago, fifteen years ago to be exact. God had already started planning our love story before we even knew it. He placed us in the right families and then placed us in the right church. The first time we met we were both around the age of eight and we happened to be at his older sisters house for a cookout. I do not remember much of this interaction or actual first meeting but my husband tells me the memory like it happened yesterday. He tells me that the first time he saw me I was on the trampoline with some friends and he walked up to me to say “Hey” and I respond with a bark...yes, you read that correctly. I intentionally barked at a little boy who I would one day admire so dearly. I was quite the unique child. Anyways, the next few years we just went through the motions as friends. We were both growing up and figuring ourselves out. We went to different schools, had different friends, and even drifted apart at times. It wasn't until we were about seventeen years old that we went on our very first date. I had just moved to a new house out in the middle of nowhere, so I was not the best at timing out things. It used to take me like 10 minutes to get to the restaurant we were going to but at my new house it took about 45. So we agreed on a time to go eat and I was VERY VERY late. But like the sweet gentleman Dillon is he waited and waited for me. We ate dinner, walked to our cars, hugged, and left. Nothing much came from that date. We remained friends. We still attended the same church and were still best friends. I think I was worried that if we actually dated that we may ruin our great friendship. I would have rather just stayed friends than to date and possibly loose someone so important in my life. But Dillon never gave up. Even though I rejected him time after time, he kept trying to pursue me. ((He ends up telling me years later that he knew I would be worth the wait, that I was someone he wanted in his life forever, thats why he didn't give up.)) But a couple years later my friend Kayla and I decided to go to the mall. We didn't want to go alone so she invited to of our guy friends; one happened to be Dillon. We went to the mall and shopped and then went home. The way I looked at Dillon changed that day. I believe that God was waiting on a moment to let my heart open so I could see how perfect Dillon was for me. We dropped Dillon off at his house and I looked at Kayla and said “wow! He is so cute, I don't know what this feeling is...but I think I like him..” We went on another “first” date and this one went soooo much better. We had youth at our church on a Wednesday night and then decided we would go eat after that. Both of us had cars at the church so I rode with him to the restaurant. On the way to eat I remember how quite it was. Not from not having anything to talk about, but from both of us being so nervous. It was that puppy dog, butterflies in the belly kind of love right from the get-go. I remember sitting in the passenger seat and glancing over at Dillon and then quickly looking back out the front windshield. Dillon reached over and grabbed my hand and I just blushed so big, tilted my head down and grinned from ear to ear. That was when I knew this was Gods timing. How could I go from not even thinking about Dillon in this sort of way to... BAM...strong feelings. I honestly do not remember a thing once we got out of the car and to the restaurant. I just remember the moments once we got back to the church parking lot. It felt like we sat there for hours upon hours. We talked about a lot. But my favorite moment was the one that was about to unfold. We sat in his dads truck. Him in the drivers side, and I in the passenger not wanting the night to end. I would scoot a little closer, and then he would. I leaned my elbows on the middle console and then he slowly followed. Our faces were literally inches away from each other. You know that corny little dating tip “you go 40% and make him go 60%” haha it was literally like that but in SLOW motion. 1% but 1%. I just wish I could go back and be a fly on the wall and see this play out. But it happened. We shared our first kiss. It wasn't long by any means. I was the definition of a “peck” kiss. I quickly turned my head after our lips touched and I stared out the passenger side window just smiling. It was simply perfect. That was the beginning of the best love journey that I would ever take in my life.
Two weeks.
Two weeks is all it took for us to fall in love. (A little "Dear John" action here) You see Dillon had already gone and talked to the U.S Navy recruiters about joining the Navy. He had filled out paperwork and had a set leave date for boot camp in September. Two weeks into our newly found relationship the recruiter called and asked Dillon if he was ready to leave now rather than later. Dillon called me after he received that news and gave me a choice. He said to me “if you want to end things then I won't be mad at you, I understand given the circumstances.” He thought we would have more time to spend together before him leaving. I told him that I was in this for the long run, and that I was going to help him through all of this. The time came for Dillon to leave for boot camp. Some of his family and friends all got together and drove to Charlotte to have a “last” dinner together and to wish him luck. There were tears, jokes, stories, and a lot of love being passed around that night. I remember the next day was oddly not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I am not sure if it's just because I hadn't ever been through something like this; Having something or someone to say goodbye to that meant so much. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but I just didn't know what feelings to feel and what I would experience. Dillon's parents and I sat there outside on the sidewalk as he loaded onto the bus. He walked to his seat and looked out the window and then the van started moving. I stared at the van until it disappeared into the distance. He was gone.
Two weeks is all it took for us to fall in love. (A little "Dear John" action here) You see Dillon had already gone and talked to the U.S Navy recruiters about joining the Navy. He had filled out paperwork and had a set leave date for boot camp in September. Two weeks into our newly found relationship the recruiter called and asked Dillon if he was ready to leave now rather than later. Dillon called me after he received that news and gave me a choice. He said to me “if you want to end things then I won't be mad at you, I understand given the circumstances.” He thought we would have more time to spend together before him leaving. I told him that I was in this for the long run, and that I was going to help him through all of this. The time came for Dillon to leave for boot camp. Some of his family and friends all got together and drove to Charlotte to have a “last” dinner together and to wish him luck. There were tears, jokes, stories, and a lot of love being passed around that night. I remember the next day was oddly not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I am not sure if it's just because I hadn't ever been through something like this; Having something or someone to say goodbye to that meant so much. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but I just didn't know what feelings to feel and what I would experience. Dillon's parents and I sat there outside on the sidewalk as he loaded onto the bus. He walked to his seat and looked out the window and then the van started moving. I stared at the van until it disappeared into the distance. He was gone.