A Valentine’s Day Story // How We Met

From a photoshoot we had done for our 1 year anniversary back in 2007.

While reading an article on romantic ways people met the person they married, I was inspired to tell the story of how Blaine and I met. I’m not saying it was hopelessly romantic, but it was obviously an important day for the both of us. And with it being Valentine’s day and all, it’s the perfect time to share. This is from my perspective and I have no idea how Blaine remembers it.

I feel like a little background leading up to our meeting would help make the story more complete. When I met Blaine I was 19 years old, he was 20. It was October and I had gotten out of an almost 3 year long relationship the following April. Doing the math, that means from the time I was 16 I’ve only been single for about 6 months of my life. That is not a brag, I definitely savored those 6 single months and made the most of it. I think without those few months to myself, it would have been difficult to commit myself to anyone because I really hadn’t lived just for me, I always had a boy in my life.

So my high school boyfriend and I broke up. It was a difficult relationship that I clung onto about 2 years too long. When we broke up I immediately threw myself into going out with friends and partying. This coincided with my family going on frequent weekend trips… when I would have parties. Although, I use the term “party” loosely. I never really liked a lot of people in my house, especially people I didn’t know well. There was only one real party and the others were more just some close friends hanging out. I’m sure my parents and neighbors at that house would disagree, but I digress.

During that 6 months, I spent almost everyday at the beach with friends, partying, having summer flings with a few cute guys and just enjoying the freedom I lacked in my previous relationship. I was taking in all of the fun I was having and was definitely not looking to get into another relationship right away. One weekend started out typically with a Saturday night party. A guy (who had a crush on my friend) invited us to a party in the next town over. We considered not going because she wasn’t particularly into this guy, but we didn’t have anything else going on so we went.

I remember it vividly. My friends and I were standing in the kitchen kind of bored since we didn’t know anyone except the guy who invited us. I’m pretty sure the guy who had a crush on my friend was making an ass of himself trying to impress her (haha). Out of the corner of my eye I could see everyone greeting someone who had just walked into the party. Finally, this guy walked into the kitchen from around the corner. The second I saw him I immediately turned to my friends and said “I want that one.” It’s such a funny and awkward thing to say now that I’m repeating it, but it’s just what instantly came out of my mouth. Little did I know, five years later I would be married to that same guy.

The night we met. We took a billion pictures and this is the only one I could find (with terrible faded edges). Excuse everyone’s (especially Blaine’s) awkward faces. Looking back, what was wrong with us posing like this? What happened to just smiling?

It turns out the girls I was with knew him from high school and somehow we ended up hanging out in a little group with him an a few others for the rest of the night. Later that night I found out he just started working at Blockbuster with my best friend. I like to think of that as fate and that we were going to meet whether I went to the party or not. I don’t remember a lot of specifics about the night, I’m sure partially due to just the fact that it’s been over 5 years and possibly a tiny bit to do with a mixed drink or two. I remember little moments like, hugging by the pool (I’m sure all of his long time friends watched in confusion!), him walking me out to my friends car, taking lots of pictures together, etc.

That night I found and messaged him on myspace (oh, myspace). A couple of days later I went over to his house and pretty much never left. A week after we met we were officially a couple and I was pretty much living at his parents house. Well, I went to my parents house to shower and get clothes every few days. It was an easy, amazing, loving relationship from the very beginning. When I had surgery on my foot a few months later, he moved into my parents house with me to help out take care of me. I have a picture of him shaving my leg after over a month in a cast. Now, that’s love. 😉 In May of the next year he was to start at a technical school for auto related skills, in Sacramento. The decision wasn’t hard (though the leaving family was), I moved 5 hours away from my family and friends because it was what my heart told me to do.

It’s a little funny now to think of how we were living together WAY before we should have been, we took things very fast and it all worked out. Now we’re married and living apart, I guess life is just evening it out for us.