Last year, I was in a brand new school district teaching a subject that I hadn't taught since student teaching. I had finally left world language and was at last working on my standard certificate in English. It was a crazy year filled with the unknown, so many challenges and changes.
And one of those changes was meeting Phil. Now, I made a good amount of money in my early writing career writing about dating, heartbreak and what it was like to be an adrift 20-something. However, this is not one of those overly dramatic stories that you might be used to reading from me. This is the beginning of a true love story and one that I hope gives those adrift 20-somethings that are still navigating the uncertainty of this age, are looking for.
It was January when I met Phil. It was a blind date set up by a teacher in my building who at the time I barely knew, but felt gutsy enough to put it out there because as she would tell me, every time she talked to me all she could think of was her friend Phil. In her mind, we had to meet.
Only, Phil never facebooked me like she told him to do. I was also pretty much done with men, having had another bad relationship the year before and since then, every date I went on or guy I dated turn out to be a total and complete dipshit. I really was just enjoying teaching and being alone, finding it easier than putting myself out there and either getting hurt or finding myself disappointed by someone else.
However, my teacher friend was persistent and asked me if he ever contacted me. When I said that he hadn't, we decided that I would message him and I did. Then he responded and we talked for days. We had our first date where he will tell you I was cold and closed off, but I wouldn't have sat there for six hours if I wasn't interested. We had dinner and then coffee and we saw American Hustle where the usher nearly carded me and charged him for a child's ticket. We laughed about it though and it became a running joke. I knew I was attracted to him at dinner, but I knew I liked him by coffee and then for sure in the movies. Then he nearly broke the reclining seat in the theater by pulling the button instead of pushing and we both nearly got motion sickness because that is not a movie you should see when the only seats left were the front row. The end to the date was awkward with neither one of us sure how to end it, but I am glad I said I had a fun time and that he then said we should do it again.
It was our third date where we sat at a bar, tipsy on beer and playing the infamous "napkin game" which is just like never have I ever, but with a napkin. He gave me a ridiculous card and in it he wrote a poem that both rhymed and included every major thing that we had talked about up until the point and left it with the idea of a relationship. Here's where we have yet to find common ground on it. I say that he asked me out and he says I did when we then got into a pissing match and I updated my relationship status on facebook. I still say, he asked me out.
And nearly a year later, and we are more in love with each other than ever. Though, we have found the past month awfully stressful with my return to teaching and writing my master's thesis and he taking six classes this semester, but we're doing it! I do wish sometimes though on the really hard days that we can go back to the dream of a summer we had. We backpacked through Europe over the course of August and it was just a long standing dream come true for me.
Which will be what I focus my first bunch of entries on. Our first stop will be London and the horrible time we had there, but Phil made it special in the end. Stay tuned!
And one of those changes was meeting Phil. Now, I made a good amount of money in my early writing career writing about dating, heartbreak and what it was like to be an adrift 20-something. However, this is not one of those overly dramatic stories that you might be used to reading from me. This is the beginning of a true love story and one that I hope gives those adrift 20-somethings that are still navigating the uncertainty of this age, are looking for.
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| Our first Valentine's Day, February 2014. |
Only, Phil never facebooked me like she told him to do. I was also pretty much done with men, having had another bad relationship the year before and since then, every date I went on or guy I dated turn out to be a total and complete dipshit. I really was just enjoying teaching and being alone, finding it easier than putting myself out there and either getting hurt or finding myself disappointed by someone else.
However, my teacher friend was persistent and asked me if he ever contacted me. When I said that he hadn't, we decided that I would message him and I did. Then he responded and we talked for days. We had our first date where he will tell you I was cold and closed off, but I wouldn't have sat there for six hours if I wasn't interested. We had dinner and then coffee and we saw American Hustle where the usher nearly carded me and charged him for a child's ticket. We laughed about it though and it became a running joke. I knew I was attracted to him at dinner, but I knew I liked him by coffee and then for sure in the movies. Then he nearly broke the reclining seat in the theater by pulling the button instead of pushing and we both nearly got motion sickness because that is not a movie you should see when the only seats left were the front row. The end to the date was awkward with neither one of us sure how to end it, but I am glad I said I had a fun time and that he then said we should do it again.
It was our third date where we sat at a bar, tipsy on beer and playing the infamous "napkin game" which is just like never have I ever, but with a napkin. He gave me a ridiculous card and in it he wrote a poem that both rhymed and included every major thing that we had talked about up until the point and left it with the idea of a relationship. Here's where we have yet to find common ground on it. I say that he asked me out and he says I did when we then got into a pissing match and I updated my relationship status on facebook. I still say, he asked me out.
And nearly a year later, and we are more in love with each other than ever. Though, we have found the past month awfully stressful with my return to teaching and writing my master's thesis and he taking six classes this semester, but we're doing it! I do wish sometimes though on the really hard days that we can go back to the dream of a summer we had. We backpacked through Europe over the course of August and it was just a long standing dream come true for me.
Which will be what I focus my first bunch of entries on. Our first stop will be London and the horrible time we had there, but Phil made it special in the end. Stay tuned!
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