welcome to the story of us

Endless miles of bumper to bumper traffic. Banter over whose music to listen to in the car. 20 questions to fill the awkward silence. The weird dance people play trying to figure out where to eat for dinner. More awkwardness needing to ask for pit stops along the way. And finally, a shared sense of joy when we reached our final destination.

6 hours in a car with someone you’ve only met in person a couple of times is no joke. You know so little about each other. You’re trying really hard to look cool and not like a weirdo, which me being an introvert did not help in the least. I still thank God each and every day that Jon is an extrovert or boy do I think things would have ended up way different for us! 😂

Part 1 of our story ended with Jon and I arriving in Wisconsin for a friend’s wedding after that crazy six hour trip through Chicago rush hour traffic. I was ecstatic to see my sister and her husband, Chad, and I thoroughly enjoyed spending the weekend celebrating with all of their friends. I remember joking with Jon that we hadn’t murdered each other on the drive, so obviously we were best friends now. I’m sure he enjoyed that subtle “friend zone” statement – HA! I knew by this point I had feelings for him, but I’d firmly settled myself in the “NO BOYS” camp for my senior year of college. So I simply lived in denial for months!

When the weekend ended we headed back towards my parents’, this time the trip actually only taking the 3 hours it should have the first time. I was super bummed the weekend was over! Wanting to spend more time with Jon after such a fun time, I invited him down the next weekend for a cocktail party my roommates and I were hosting. You. Guys. I was so wishy washy at this time it makes me cringe looking back on it. Physically cringe! Again, thank God Jon didn’t give up on my crazy ass!! 😂

Using the start of our senior year as a reason to dress up fancy and partake in adult beverages, my roommates and I threw together a cocktail party for all of our friends to kick off our year. Imagine sparkly dresses, swapping endless pairs of high heels, and enough hair spray the ozone cried a little. I primped a little extra because Jon was coming, choosing to simply roll my eyes when my girlfriends teased me about breaking my “no boys” stance I had been so adamant on. Jon showed up looking handsome in a button down and a tie and I swear I had eyes only for him the entire party. It’s weird when you feel things just click into place. It didn’t matter that I had said no boys for my senior year. That we would be long distance. I just knew that we needed to be together. I’m sure Jon was glad I had finally caught up to where he’d been all along. Way back to where, sitting in a lawn chair in my parents’ backyard, he first saw me and leaned over to tell his roommate, “I’m gonna marry that one.”

I remember getting so many questions after that weekend. “Are you and Jon dating?” “Are you two together now?” “Are you dating Jon yet?” WHEW, It’s hard to deflect the same question over and over. From sisters. Roommates. Coworkers. While we’d enjoyed two fun-filled weekends together, we’d had no discussions on what the future held for us. So I laughed it off. Rolled my eyes. Changed the subject. Luckily Jon and I made plans to get together for the third weekend in a row. This time he was staying the entire weekend with me.  He came and took me out to dinner to the ever fancy Olive Garden. We laughed, joked, flirted, but never touched on the topic of becoming “official.” Maybe we were both just super nervous about it. We spent the evening relaxing after dinner, watching tv and chatting. Honestly, I don’t remember much about it. Or how the conversation started. But I do remember sitting on the floor in my bedroom, Shrek playing on mute in the background, as Jon asked me if we could talk. I knew what was coming. Sitting there in that moment, watching this amazing guy ask me to be his girlfriend, I laughed in my head at myself. Amazed that it had taken me so long to see how perfect we were for each other. That I had been so stubborn. So with a giggle and a “YES!,” the story of us took on an exciting new turn.

Stayed tune for the next part of the Story of Us, coming next week on the blog! I hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little bit more about our love story. And if you missed it, don’t forget to check out PART 1: Roller Coasters and a Facebook Message!

Much love friends,