"You will never know love unless you surrender to it."
This page is where you can find the story of Travis and I. How we met, how we came to be a couple, and our continued relationship. :)
There was a night about 3 years ago that I was hanging out with Sami Jean, a great friend of mine. She was asked over to another friend's place that night to hang out. So, instead of ditching me, she brought me along. Never having met any of the people at the place we were going, naturally, I was a little more shy. There was Casey, Shaun, and Alex... I do believe. I'm not 100% sure because it was a while ago and I have the worst memory when it comes to things like that. Yes, Travis was there too.
Again, I don't remember many details from early on. I do remember one of the first few times I hung out with Travis, he spent the whole night poking the tattoo on my back. He was a little tipsy and he claimed that it looked like a button so he couldn't resist poking it. *rolls eyes* It was completely annoying. I actually chased him down the hall at one point.
Travis and I didn't really become friends right away. Obviously. One day that really sticks out in my mind is one during Spring of 2009. I was working to complete my final Illustrator project and having a tough time. I went and sat with Travis in the TC because he was really the only one I knew that could possibly help me out. While I was freaking out trying to finish in time, he was there telling me to relax and just keep working. Even though we didn't know each other all that well, we joked with each other and had a good time despite the finals' stress.
That summer, he was working in Brookings so we texted quite a bit and started to get to know one another. It was a slow process because I was still getting over my last break up and looking for a new guy. Little did I know, the perfect one was right in front of me. Being as blinded as I was, I kept searching for "love" and finding "lust." Long story short, I ended up alone. Or so I thought.
Travis was there through them all. The ex. The HS ex. The military guy. The situation. The creeper. All of them. He helped me through all of those experiences that summer. By the time Fall 2009 came around, we were growing closer. During the school year, we would hang out occasionally and still texted constantly. It wasn't until the following summer when we really started to hang out more than we texted.
After the Spring 2010 semester ended, summer was upon us again. This summer was different than last summer. We were closer. We were hanging out more. We were considering different things.
Come middle of June, we were actually having "dates"... no one else really knew about this "dates" except us. They were just movie nights and dinner every now and then. Until one night. We rented "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" for a movie night. Before the movie even started, he asked me, "Will you go out with me?" Unfortunately, my head wasn't quite right since the most recent break-up with the "HS ex" and I was still hung up. Utterly confused with my own thoughts, I told him no and explained everything. Since he was so understanding, it was easy to tell him. Sadly, it was all the more difficult for the same exact reason.
So then June 29th came around. Eclipse was in theaters that night at midnight. I had bought my tickets online thinking I would have my car by then. However, that was not the case. So I was trying to figure out how I was going to get to Sioux Falls by midnight that night. Thankfully, Travis offered up his car and I was able to go. I felt like I owed him so much! I mean, it was Eclipse! And those of you who know me, know how big of a Twilight fan I am. So, taking extra care, I drove his car to Sioux Falls and enjoyed my movie. :D
On the way back, which was about 2:30 in the morning, I ended up listening to Delilah on 92.5 FM. She was giving out her love advice as usual. Then, there was a female caller. "Caller" told her story of falling in love with this guy, but not being able to tell him. "Caller" also wondered if he felt the same, but wasn't sure because he hardly ever called or contacted her in anyway. Delilah said to her, "I want you to stop whatever you're doing, get in your car, and go and pick up a copy of "He's Just Not That Into You" and read it cover to cover. If he's not calling you, texting you, or trying to contact you in every way possible, he's just NOT that into you." Yes, this got my thinking... hard core. The guys that I was mentally chasing at this point in time, which were both exes already, weren't trying to get a hold of me. They weren't texting me, calling me, or anything. But do you know who was? Travis. Travis and I talked almost every day... more than one time per day. Typically, we'd text most of the day, actually. So I finally made the connection in my head and my heart. I decided to ask him out.
As I approached Madison, I thought up how I was going to ask him. I came up with the idea to leave a sticky note with "Will you go out with me?" and I put 2 boxes - one with yes and one with no. I left it right there on his steering wheel so it'd be the first thing he saw in the morning. After taking his keys to him and thanking him (while he was sleeping), I walked home from his place on air. Although, I did have a sliver of doubt that he may deny me, I was pretty confident that he'd say yes.
The next morning, I woke up to a picture message from Travis. He had checked "yes" and said he would be smiling all day. I was so happy to hear that... or read that. ^_^ So, our anniversary became June 30th.
More stories to come... :)
6 Months:
The day before New Year's was our 6 month anniversary. I've never felt more comfortable with someone for this long. And so happy! He is the sweetest, most loving guy that I've been luck enough to have in my life. ^_^
Valentine's Day:
Travis surprised the hell out of me! Oh my! I've never had such an amazing Valentine's Day! First off, being able to spend the whole day with him was a great start. I won't go through all the details here... just read this post. However, I will say that I was completely blown away when I opened the necklace. Just... wow. We've only been together a little over 7 months and he bought me jewelry... two pieces or jewelry. Whoa. SO SO lucky to have him. <3
9 Months:
Still going strong. ^_^ Stress over school and work leads to shortage on time together, but we've made it through.
Moving In:
Shortly before our one year anniversary (June 30, 2011), Travis, finally, moved into the apartment that I was already sharing with Mandy. They actually teamed up together to surprise me. I think it was a Thursday or Friday.... I worked a 2-11 shift so I didn't get home until 11:30 or so. I had strange texts from both of them asking "When are you gonna be home?" and "Where are you now?" type questions. I kind of figured something was up. So, I get home, walk upstairs, and Mandy greets me. She attempts to distract me by telling me to look at one of my paintings we had hanging up in the apartment and then closing my eyes. Well, since our floor is creeky, Travis wasn't able to sneak up behind me. I figured it was something like that, but I was still so surprised to see him because it had been a week or more since we last saw each other. (Granted, that's not really all that long in actual time, but it felt like forever since we had spent so much time together during school.) For about 20-30 minutes after this happened, we were sitting on the couch discussing it. The whole time, I thought he was only staying for the weekend. It wasn't until then that they told me that he was moved in for good. I was sooo happy to hear that he had set his doubts aside and decided to move in.
One Year:
Our one year anniversary celebration was so perfect. We went and had a picnic, by the river (or whatever it is that runs through Dell Rapids) under a willow tree. No joke... that's been my dream of a perfect date for years. Ever since I was little, that's what I thought a real, intimate date should be. (I guess that's how I've always envisioned my proposal too... but that's for another time... I hope) Anyway, we weren't able to celebrate on the actual day, but we both had the day before off so we went with that day instead. I bought him a necklace with this name engraved on it in a font that's kind of art deco-y... and a matching box to keep it in. Then, he bought me Will & Graces Seasons 3 and 4 as well as a behind-the-scenes book about Sex & the City. The best part of the day? Being with him. *sigh*
Two Year:
We celebrated a day early on June 29, but it was still amazing. We went to dinner and a movie, as you can read in my post, "Newfound Motivation." In this little update, I'll chat about what I've learned in the two years I've been with Travis... or something of the sort. I have learned, more so now than before, to be patient. Not only with him, but with myself. Trying to convince myself of certain things has taken a little longer than expected, but it's working out. Still in love, still going strong after 2 years. <3
30 Months:
We didn't celebrate on the 30th, but that's what the party for New Years' was for! And we spent the whole day together getting ready for it.... To Be Continued.
Three Year:
This year I ended up having a wedding to photograph the day before our anniversary, but it was a "destination wedding", for me anyway. The dad of one of my high school friends got married and wanted me to be the photographer. I couldn't say no. :) We attempted to make a little "getaway weekend" out of it, but it didn't work out so well. The hotel we ended up staying at wasn't the best one and we won't be staying at one of those again. No impressed. It did turn out to be a nice visit with Mom, Hope and Charlie nonetheless. We agreed to "re-do" the celebration later down the road.
Four Year:
Well, we certainly did our "re-do" for our anniversary! Travis took me to Aberdeen to Storybook Land. Inside of Storybook Land is a little place called "Land of Oz"! We went all through the Land of Oz, just like the movie's storyline. While following the Yellow Brick Road, we met the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Cowardly Lion and at each one, Travis gave me a bead to represent each one. Then, at the end of the Yellow Brick Road, he gave me a fourth gift -- a proposal. Of course, I said yes!
