9 Years

A common question on formspring is how Chance and I met. I said I was going to blog about it a while back, so here it is.

Chance and I actually met in kindergarten. No, really. We went to school in a town where the population was about 600 max. There were never more than 25 kids in our entire class. So, as you can imagine, these same numbers also go back to our parents day, so subsequently, our parents went to school together too. His mom and my aunt were best friends in HS.

We were always in the same group, maybe even a little clique-ish for elementary school. He was best friends with my cousin, and we all went to the lake together. As a child, I thought we went to the lake to play, but realize now it was probably so our still young parents could drink and socialize.

The more time our families spent time together, the more I hung out with his sister. She was older than me, but there were usually only two or three girls, so we stuck together. I even spent the night at their house with his sister a few times because we were both smart and a little nerdy.

In junior high, his parents bought a house in the country and we began riding the same bus.

Secretly, I always had a little crush on him. I think it was his bad-boy demeanor. ; )

Well, in the 9th grade I starting dating another boy who rode our bus. He teased me relentlessly for that, and actually still does.

After a month said boy first told me he loved me (to which I responded was just to soon to say back) and then broke up with me the next week.

Chance used my broken heartedness to his advantage and began talking to me more.

He started asking me to be his girlfriend in February I believe. He called all the time, wrote me hundreds of notes, which I think I still have.

Back then, Chance partied quite a bit. His older sister lived with her boyfriend her senior year, and all of their friends drank and smoked weed at their house. He naturally followed in their footsteps. Well, actually, he did it side by side with them.

So, he invited me to parties, and my parents were very much againt their 15 year old drinking with 18-21 year olds. Imagine that.

Eventually, his sister broke up with her live-in boyfriend of 3 years, and starting dating her now husband. This ended most of the partying, and Chance started driving (at 15) to my house after school to hang out.

Even though I had had this massive crush, I kind of knew that I if we began dating it would be forever, isn't that wild. So, I resisted for a very long time.

In April, the 21st of April, 2001, I said yes. The very next day, a Sunday, he kissed me for the very first time. His first kiss. : )

We dated all through high school. The June after we graduated high school we moved into a small house in the same town we're in town with my best friend.

We lived there, happily ever after until the next summer when Chance joined the Navy. He was having a hard time finding a full time job, and wanted more from himself. He spent a month in basic training before was discharged for a substantial hearing loss in his left ear. He had been given a waiver from the recruiting office, got to Chicago and they couldn't believe he even made it there.

He came home in August, and we spent three awful months at his parents house. It really wasn't that bad, but we had lived on our own, and you just can't go back.

In December, we got the smallest house ever in my favorite town, where my dream house and the college I graduated from are. It was outrageously priced and we had to buy appliances for it, but it was better than a bedroom with his parents anyday.

That's the house we lived in when we were married in 2006, on our five year anniversary. No engagement, no honeymoon. Still, we don't do much to celebrate, we have a good marriage, and we celebrate each other daily.

Eventually, we'll do more but right now, I'm content with a nice dinner at home and snuggling on the couch. Even Archer can hang with us.