...had a seriously, crappy job.
...found an awesome new job with great hours and fun people to work with!
...moved out of my uncle's house and into my first Chicago apartment with a random craigslist roommate.
...been to my cousin's re-wedding.
...realized that I can't plan everything and that it takes a whole lot of trust in God (and a great sense of humor) to make it through life.
...gone to Miami, Las Vegas, Cancun, Breckenridge, and the Field of Dreams in Iowa
...been back to Nashville at least four times and had my friend's come visit me on the hottest day of the year in the City!
...realized that Chicago = Home.
...had the honor of being a bridesmaid in my BFF's wedding :)
...woke up the morning after my BFF's wedding in the biggest funk/black cloud of my life. I couldn't figure how to snap out of it.
...busted my ankle while jogging in place. True Story.
...completed my first 5k with my good friend (and running nut) KK!
...started what is SURE to be a long running affair with Apple products. Oh Macbook & iPhone, how I ADORE thee!
...let go of a long time friendship without hard feelings.
...fallen off the face of the interwebs.
...decided to "become brave" and finally got my tattoo that I'm still obsessed with.
...stopped living my life to make everyone else happy and decided to make myself happy.
...joined Match.com and went on some dates.
...met a bunch of really cool people.
...spent our last family Christmas together with Grandma. She went to be with the Lord on February 13, 2011. Her seventy-something years on this planet were well lived. I miss her every.single.day. I'm so thankful to be part of her amazing legacy and so grateful for the family she provided us with. They are what keeps me going and keeps me humble.
...And finally (also most surprisingly), I have fallen head-over-heels in love with this guy:
It's been almost seven months since Mike & I met for our Match date. It has been possibly the hardest seven months of my life. From getting pneumonia the day after New Year's and being sick for almost a month and a half, to saying good-bye to my Grandma, this man has literally stood by my side through every single second.
During my awesome pneumonia time, he would literally just lay in bed next to me and play Angry Birds while I slept.
If it were not for him, I would still be huddled in a mess from finding out about Grandma passing. He was right there to catch me and knew EXACTLY what to say/not say and do/not do. He stayed up with me until 2am doing the slideshow for her funeral. Actually, that's a lie. He DID the slideshow for the funeral and I stayed up and tried not to cry. He didn't freak out at me when I started crying because it smells like the Lake (where she lived) or when I had a few too many dirty martinis and completely lost it because she should have been able to meet him. He was strong enough to just let me cry.
He invited me to Cancun where he was shooting a wedding, we went to his office party, and we stupidly took a road trip to Breckenridge for a long weekend. I could travel anywhere with him and be completely happy, even if it's just the two of us.
We've celebrated Christmas, New Year's, both of our birthdays, weddings and many other countless occasions. We've met each other's families (even my insane amount of cousins), and we're both still sticking around. He even helped my uncles and cousins put in our docks at the lake in the freezing cold and didn't complain one bit.
He is kind and patient with me when I know I don't deserve it. He puts up with my incessant chatter about my family and the friends I have in Nashville. He lets me see all of his pictures before he edits them (a pet peeve of his). He pays attention to the little things that I love and surprises me with them later. When I apologize for being crazy, he just says "It's ok...I know you can't help it." When he gets short with me, he always comes back and apologizes. He calls when he says he will and does what he says he will do.
The past seven months have been some of the worst of my life, but they've also been some of the best because I've had the huge honor of calling Mike my boyfriend. I didn't know that guys like him existed in real life. He keeps me grounded and lets me be myself while still pushing me to do bigger things and get outside of my comfort zone. Yes, he's not perfect, but I cannot imagine having someone better by my side.
