Meeting the Family (inadvertently)

My Story, Part 3

(Part 1, Part 2)

I apologize for the long time delay in continuing my story. I started to tell it in the hopes that it would cleanse my system and complete the healing process. I then got a little busy with life, and then I had a theoretical kick in the butt from a friend. That kick in the tail was the final push to cleanse my system, and now I'm ready to tell it objectively and completely.

So Dillon and I met at the end of July, went on our first date on August 1. We had been dating for a couple of weeks, and had made plans to hang out one Thursday night. I being the airhead that I am, forgot that I had told my cousins I would come to their high school softball game in Sperry that night. So I told Dillon, thinking he would want to reschedule our plans. Nope, said he would tag along too.

So here we were, about 2.5 weeks into dating, and he is coming to my hometown with me to watch family members play softball.

We arrived at their game and ended up sitting in the pressbox with my aunt and uncle since they were keeping score. Then my other aunt, mom, and grandma all came to the game. So he met my ENTIRE family before we had even been together a month.

A couple weeks later, I went to an extended family member's wedding. EVERYONE asked where he was and why I didn't bring him with me. Still at the time, I had no intentions of anything serious with him. Plus I had sent in the RSVP way before I had met him.

I met his sister first. He and I both had a random week day off, and I went to his house to visit. She was there between classes, and we spent a little time chatting with her. I then met his mom. I can't remember why or where we went, but it was not too long after I met his sister.

Then I met his whole/extended family at the beginning of November. His grandparents were wonderful.

The First Date

My Story, Part 2

(Part 1 here)

Even though I told Dillon I was going to bed, we continued to stay up chatting for at least an hour. I finally was like "Seriously dude. NEED SLEEP." I put my phone on silent and passed out. I woke up to him having sent a few more after I put it on silent, but didn't text him back right away. At the time, he had every Monday off and it was Monday (why I remember little details like this, I'll never know).

I went to work, got some coffee, and prepared for my 10 hour work day. You see, when you're in the banking business, it doesn't matter that the normal workday is 8 hours. You have to make sure there is staff for all the long hours. I got stuck with a full day's shift on that Monday and I was exhausted. I texted him on my lunch break to ask how his day off was going, and we chatted all throughout the hour. For once in a LONG time, I went back to work anxious about a text from a guy!

One good thing about my crazy work hours is that a majority of his workdays also ended at 7. So both of us were up pretty late most nights due to not needing to be at work early. That first Monday, he and I spent the time text messaging back and forth until about 9, when he asked if he could call me. I think we talked until 10:30 or 11. Then our text messaging was much more sporadic on Tuesday since he was working, and he finally asked me out on a date. We didn't waste any time and planned it for the next day, Wednesday August 1. I warned him that I would most likely not dress up because I had another 10 hour work day that day, and I don't really wear makeup to work.

I didn't tell anyone I had a date because at the time, I didn't think anything would come of it. I really wasn't interested in a boyfriend or dating, but he was sweet so I decided to go ahead with the date. Little did I know that would spark a longing companionship, as long as it was from him.

We wentto Olive Garden a couple miles from my house. I'm not the biggest fan of Olive Garden; I personally think there are other Italian restaurants that are better. But he even came and picked me up from my house! I was low on money so I just had water and found something cheap to order for dinner. We were at the restaurant for almost 2 hours when we realized that the restaurant was closing and we should probably head out. It was August in Oklahoma, so it was really hot outside. I had worn jean shorts, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes, and my hair was up in a ponytail. Wife material, let me tell ya!

We drove back to my place, but I told him he was not allowed in my apartment (it was a MESS). So we sat in the parking lot in his vehicle with the windows rolled down. It was so hot and about an hour after we got there, he walked me to my door--I just couldn't handle the heat anymore. We hugged good night, and I locked the door behind him. He texted me when he got home, per my request, and I asked why he didn't even try to kiss me. His response was because of something I had said in passing at dinner...apparently I said something about not kissing on a first date. So then I promptly found (Kissed You) Good Night by Gloriana on YouTube and sent him a link. No he did not come back and kiss me, but it let him know how I felt. I ended the texting there because I was SUPER exhausted from the late nights.

I will continue this story...I don't know that I will continue to go into as much detail, as our relationship did span almost two years, but I will definitely try to paint the whole picture.

The Beginning

My Story, Part 1

I know I haven't consistently written in, oh, probably 4 years, but I really do love this space and everything it creates for me--it allows for me to count my blessings, make new friends, and provides a little peace when my life seems to be in turmoil.

So where do I begin?
I'll start with how he and I started. We truly had a whirlwind romance that I thought would last a lifetime. Because if you truly know me, you know I don't fall in love. But I did. I fell fast and hard and passionately.

AT the end of July 2012, my mother and I went on a cruise together. We planned and booked it in February. I had vacation time and money burning a hole in my pocket, and the last time I had gone on vacation was spring break 2011 just before I graduated. I was ready for something a little different and was excited for my first-ever cruise! We spent a wonderful week in tropical weather and islands. It was so much fun and relaxing at the same time.

Three weeks before I went on this cruise, I started hanging out with a couple girl friends I had made throughout my first year of being out of college. We spent our Saturday evenings at a local joint that had pool tables and an AWESOME beer special. Purchase a t-shirt with their bar's name on it, free tap from 8-midnight on Saturdays when you wear it. Perfect for the three of us as the two of them have children and I am just poor and cheap :)

I loved spending Saturday nights at this place. It was about 4 miles from my apartment at the time, and the free tap ended early enough that I never worried about driving. It was Saturday after I returned from the cruise that I met Dillon. It was one of the bartenders' birthday, so naturally I met up with my girls for a little bit. I didn't wear my shirt, so no free beer for me. I had other plans for the evening already and wanted to look cute instead of worrying about the t-shirt. We three girls hung out with a couple guys that the other two were interested in at the time, and this week, the guys brought a third. I thought he was cute but I was more worried about spending time with my girls and making sure I left in enough time to head to downtown Tulsa for a music event. I had planned on meeting up with Katy, her boyfriend, and one of my other friends.

As the night progressed, he and I started chatting while he was playing pool with one of the other guys. Me, being the cocky person that I am, made a smart remark that went along the lines of "give me your cue stick and let me show you how it's done."...mind you, I am TERRIBLE at ppol. But I made 3 shots in a row and handed the stick back to him. I could never do that again even if I tried! We chatted a lot off and on throughout the night, since he was playing pool and the bar was super loud due to a cover band playing that night. At one point, he said "I like you boots" and I said "Thanks? I bought them myself." very hatefully. Seriously, I was not digging this guy at first, but he was nice and made me laugh a few times, so what was the harm in flirting? I thought we hit it off pretty well, so at the end of my time there, I made sure I found him to tell him I was leaving. Just him. You know what he did? Absolutely nothing. Just said "Okay bye! Hopefully I'll see you again sometime!" So I thought, okay, maybe he is just a really nice guy. No biggie.

I had to work the next day (yes I worked on Sundays), and didn't really think much more about it. Or him. Work was its usual annoyance at the time, and I was so tired form staying up super late with my friends after our music fest. I checked my phone at 4PM and I had like 5 messages from one of my girls asking what I thought about Dillon. I told her he seemed nice but that's all I thought. She then proceeded to gush about how he had been messaging her all day and asking about me. So we DID hit it off, he was just chicken. Not 10 minutes after I got off work, I had a friend request from him on Facebook. I confirmed the friendship and within seconds he messaged me asking how work went. This was before facebook messenger (can you believe that app is not even two years old?!), so trying to have conversation was annoying. I had to purposely pull up facebook constantly. On top of that, Katy came to my apartment so we could watch the Olympic opening ceremonies together. So here I am, watching one of my favorite events in the world with one of my favorite persons in the world and trying to hold a conversation through facebook messenger with this guy. I was actually a little annoyed about the whole situation, because this wouldn't have had to happen if he had just pulled up his big boy panties and asked for my number when I left.

Katy left after the ceremonies were over, and he and I continued our conversation. I asked him if it would have been easier to just get my number, so then he asked for it. But at that point I had already found his number on facebook (one of the many reasons I have mine hidden) and sent him a text saying it was me and I was going to bed because I had to work the next day.

I think that's probably a good place to stop for now.