OUR LOVE STORY

I’m met my husband by taking a chance. I was living “The Life” in Minnesota. I was working full-time as a video remote interpreter, that was only 10 minutes from my house and paid great. My grandparent’s had passed away, and I had purchased their property and was maintaining my own chunk of land. My family lived nearby, and my best friend was my roommate! I was content; however, I was extremely unhappy with the lack of new opportunity and expansion that this area offered. I had also just gotten out of a relationship that emotionally and physically was draining. I decided to lease my MN home and move to NC to take on a new career as a College Fastpitch Softball Head Coach.

December 2019, I packed a U-Haul with my mom and dad and drove from Mn to NC. The drive was eventful. We got to KY and our U-Haul trailer had blown a tire, so we had to stop. I did everything I could to stay optimistic, telling myself “This is not a sign, this is a change for the best." We stopped at KFC and have some chicken, while we waited for our U-Haul to be repaired. It must have been because I was in Kentucky, because that was the best KFC I have ever had! By the time everything was completed, we were all exhausted and decided to stay the night. The next morning, we got in the car fresh and ready to go. It was at our first bathroom break, about three hours into the drive, that my mom had realized that she left her wallet at the hotel. After contemplating back tracking, we came up with an alternative solution. The solution was that the hotel would overnight my mom ‘s wallet to my new apartment. We were all happy to not have to backtrack and loose 6 hours. We arrived at my apartment and got everything settled. After lots of water works, my mom and dad headed back MN. I was in a new state, at a new job, with no family or friends, ALONE. I did have my dog, and I took him everywhere! It was time to dive into my new adventure and it was either sink or swim.

Softball had been the love of my life for as far as I can remember. Coaching was going to be my safe haven in this new environment. The students were all still on their January break for the most part, so I moved my things into the office and did some exploring around the campus to familiarize myself.  The softball field had been neglected for years and needed attention. The hardest part was finding the extra muscle and equipment to be able to make our field usable. I immediately started hounding my now husbands, boss in the maintenance department. After the third trip into his office, the man was practically hiding from me and pleading for Jon (my husband) to do whatever it was to stop bugging him. We finally locked on Monday, being the day Jon and I would meet and discuss course of action for the field. Jon was not thrilled, in fact the day that we were supposed to meet, he kept delaying it. He was going out to pick up trash and doing anything else before he finally caved into his bosses demands and came to meet me.

He arrived, in a big blue tractor with his hat backwards and locked eyes with me. He took all my oxygen from my entire body. I had to actively control my blushing, I was smitten. Based on his abruptness to jump off the tractor and the fact his jaw practically hit the floor when he saw me in my Lulu leggings, I had reason to believe he was shocked too. I walked him around the field and gave him a to do list that was at least four pages long. Initially the to do list was a few major tasks but I had to get creative if I was going to keep this handsome creature around me as much as possible! After our first meeting, I never had to wait on him show up to work with me again. He was even popping into my office with hot coco for surprise visits. I loved the connection and comfort we had with each other from the start. It was EASY. After a few days of being in our own little world, he finally built up the courage to ask for my number. On the outside I played it cool but internally, my Lizzie McGuire animation was running around screaming with excitement. 

The next day, my demeanor was completely changed because HE NEVER TEXTED ME! I was much quieter and focused on the task at hand, but the fact he didn’t text me, was eating me alive. So, I word vomited. It turns out he had got the number wrong, and all my social media was set to private, so he had no other way to contact me. We both thought the other was not replying. I was relieved that it was just a misunderstanding, and I didn’t need to spend any more time wallowing in all my own self destruction. A few texts later and we were setting up a time for us to hang out outside of work! EEEEP! …our first date!

I was new to the area, I knew I would be most comfortable to make a home cooked meal and cozy up to him for a movie on our first date! I made sure to leave work early to give myself plenty of time to prep. I had full intention of a “Netflix and chill” kind of evening. It did not go as planned, thanks to his brother. 

Now, let it be known that men like to collaborate with each other and can’t always decipher good and bad advice. His brother had given him terrible advice prior to our date. His advice was to not go too fast with me, don’t kiss me, don’t try to get me into bed and don’t sleep over. Now mind you, I didn’t know any of this till much further down the road. So, while he was receiving this awful advice, I was prepping a feast of steak and salmon and planning to completely seduce him. I even called my grandma while prepping to tell her about him and how I knew that he was the one. I was smitten by him. We haven't even gone on our first date, and I already picked him to be my forever. 

I was anxious and ready for my evening to begin. Time was moving so slow, and it didn’t help that he SHOWED UP LATE and I had to reheat dinner twice. It was totally worth it because the evening was magical. That was until our bellies were full and the movie was coming to end. He started gathering his things to head home and it didn’t matter how much I begged him to stay, he was leaving. I was so confused of why he left, and I do NOT like to be told, no. It was nothing I did wrong just him taking his brothers poor advice, I just didn’t know that at the time. The night didn't feel like it was supposed to end, so I grabbed my phone and set up another date. The second date was his pick, a hike! How could he not kiss me when summiting a mountain top? This date would be just like the movies! 

Well, womp womp... the date was incredible but AGAIN he didn’t kiss me. At this point, I began to get frustrated. I had never had someone that I connected with on this level avoid the obvious physical tension. I started to question, if all the ZING moments we had, were one sided. (Yes, I am referring to a children animate movie; Hotel Transylvania.) I thought long and hard about our dates. I had to figure out why this man doesn’t want to take next steps with me. It was then that I remembered a very important detail he shared during our first date and started my scheming. The key to me locking in my forever man was that he was planning a trip to CO and that the puppy sitter bailed, so he was going to have to cancel. I took my opportunity and offered to stay at his place and watch his dogs! He bit; my foot was in the door.

Day one of his weekend getaway, I texted him. I asked if he would be okay with me redecorating his place, paint and all. I can imagine his hesitation to let a stranger redo his place while he is out of state, but after my now sister-in-law convinced him. I got the green light and busted my butt all weekend. I scrubbed, painted, hung and loved on our dogs- so much that I felt like I just completed an Iron Man. When he got back home, he came in and was floored. All the walls were repainted, everything was clean and organized. I hung up photos, and jerseys and did all the laundry, the dogs were tired and curled up on the couch. I even had a home cooked meal prepped to welcome him back to his no longer bachelor pad but his now comfortable home. I knew he hadn’t been in this position before because he immediately threw up walls and sent out warning signals like “I shouldn’t get too comfortable because he is moving to Raleigh, with the guys soon.” Little did he know it was already too late; I already had his man card. I wanted him and I was going to get him. 

Now, please keep in mind, we have gone on several dates, been texting, seeing each other at work, I puppy sat and renovated his entire house, and still have ONLY gotten a ½ hearted hug. After a physically tough weekend of renovations and the mental exhaustion of trying to navigate next steps, I needed a break. I chose to accept the invite and head to a brewery with a few girls from my apartment to get my mind off him. I quickly realized while out, that I was not enjoying myself and all I wanted to do was be with Jon. So, I texted him to see if he would come to the brewery, and he did! We enjoyed our time but we both craved time together without entertaining others. We headed back to town near the college and went to a restaurant called Dugan’s Pub.  We parked in the parking garage and again enjoyed a full night of learning and laughing with each other. The night was coming to an end, and he was walking me out to my jeep, and again… he wasn’t going to kiss me. So, I said F*** it. I grabbed him and laid one on him. He was trapped, and there was no turning back. 

The kiss. Our lips just fit together. The entire world just went quiet. This kiss was perfect. Things moved fast from here, mainly because now, his dogs liked me, more than him. I also was practically living at his house, as it was closer to work, and we were able to spend more quality time together. Wink-Wink We had been casual without labels for a few weeks and flying under the radar at work, while I was still settling in.

One of my least favorite holidays, but still holidays was fast approaching, February 14. Valentines Day. I have this silly rule, that I don’t ever like to blend holidays with big events. Meaning if he asked me out on a holiday, or birthday, I would say, no. He was aware of this rule and tested it, anyway, asking me to become his official girlfriend. ON VALENTINES DAY. It was time for a little payback and without hesitation I said, no. He was shocked but at 12:01am he asked “…are we going to do this or what?” and I said “YES!” Romantic, huh?

Three days later, I was getting pulled into the office by my boss. I was told that staff is not allowed to fraternize. Which is strange as 1/2 the staff was married, and we were never unprofessional while at work. I felt like I had left the principal’s office and that there was risk to be expelled. I was terrified that all this good was about to be taken from me. I was going to lose the man that I had fallen for so quickly, and I would be fired and forced to move back to MN. I texted and informed him of the “meeting.” He took the information and replied "not to worry, we can talk later at home and figure things out. Dinner will be ready at 5." I spent the rest of the day trying to keep my mind busy on coaching, because the what ifs were consuming. 

I typically get back home an hour or two before him. When I pulled into the driveway, his car was already there. I gathered my things form the Jeep and was welcomed by a warm hug and kiss at the door, by the three dogs. I made my way back to the kitchen to find him cooking. The food smelt incredible, but he had a shit eating grin on his face. I was suspicious but let him carry on the conversation about his day as he finished up dinner. That’s when he dropped the bomb. He said, “Oh by the way I have an interview tomorrow, because I quit my job at the college” 3 days. It only took 3 days of dating for him to quit his job, so we could still be together. Guess that meant he isn’t going to Raleigh...? ha-ha

Jon always says, I am the female version of him, and we just click. It is so true. Our adventures are wild, and our dreams are endless. After a few months at his house, his lease was coming to an end, and we needed to decide on our next move. I had a small Wolf Pup Camper that we upgraded to a beautiful 32ft camper. I LOVED RV LIFE. Our first together home was located on the Blude Ridge Parkway at Adventure Village Campground. We had a great corner spot that overlooked someone’s pasture with cows. There was so many amazing areas for entertainment for walking trails to the pool. We had a clean, new space with fantastic internet and all the tourist attractions right at our fingertips. This was really a fantastic start for us, but we wanted more, and we wanted dirt to call ours. So, we hitched up our house and drove across country to Colorado.

We found a space we could park our camper that was about 55 min commute to my new job. We were in Limon, Colorado, so no mountains and lots of brown. This campground was clean but did NOT have the same feel as our one back in NC. Luckily, this would be temporary. For the first few months, I worked in Aurora and would make the commute daily during the week. The commute made me work harder on the weekends to find a home that fit our wants and was closer to work. We ended up finding a beautiful home in Aurora. Conveniently located near grocery stores, shopping, entertainment, restaurant, dog parks, MY WORK and only about 45 min from most of the mountain adventures.  

Our home was exactly what we needed at that time. Although, I loved living simple life in our RV, it was nice to have a home base with a foundation. Jon and I both enjoy hosting, and our Aurora home let us do just that. The only complaint after selling our camper was our vehicles were too small for us to sleep in, during our weekend trips into the mountains. So, we purchased an electricians old Chevy Express Van. We renovated the van to have a small living space and took it to so many places like White Sands, New Mexico and Jackson hole, Wy. THE TRIPS WERE INCREDIBLE. The van however was not comfortable at all and had no bathroom. BUT we made it work, and it kept the bugs out. Time has flown by being with Jon, it is easy to coexist together. 

He is my best friend.