i almost said no.
this week not only marks the one-year anniversary of my humpday happy lists, it also (and more importantly) marks four years of Mister Man and i being together. what a glorious four years they have been.
[after our sushi date]
have i ever told you the story of the girl and boy who went to the same high school and never met until after they both graduated from college, but then fell madly in love with each other? no? well i should tell you, because it's a good one. and there's even a moral to this story, which is always the best.once upon a time, there was a girl (me) and a boy (Mister Man) who graduated from the same high school, two years apart... *cue the fairy tale music*we never met while we were in high school, because it was too big (except really i knew who he was, because he was a cute senior and played three sports and was generally awesome). Mister Man went to college in iowa and i went to college in minnesota, so we didn't see each other for the next six years.until one summer, right after i graduated from college, we were both invited by our friends (who are brother and sister) to their family cabin for the 4th of july. as luck would have it, both friends wanted their alone time that weekend, so Mister Man and i had a lot of time to talk to each other (and flirt a little, because he was still very cute).
[at a twins game, our favorite]
the weekend ended and we didn't think much more of it (except when he asked some mutual friends about me), until my cousin tricked me into calling Mister Man to wish him luck at his hockey tournament. he totally took the bait and called back. after some phone conversations and some texting, he finally asked me if i wanted to go to a hockey game with him.something you should know is that around this time, i had been going on a lot of dates (i was going through a phase...) and had just had a couple rather terrible experiences with two different guys from my hometown. really awful, makes-for-a-great-story dates. like, so bad that i made the sweeping declaration to anyone who would listen that "i will never date anyone from my hometown EVER AGAIN!" that seems safe enough, right? yeah it does, except when a cute guy from your hometown asks you out on a date two days after said sweeping declaration.you guys, i actually contemplated saying "no" to my future husband (spoiler alert)!! i had many completely serious discussions with my friends to talk about the pros and cons of saying yes. a big con was the fact that i would be breaking my own rule right after i made it, and my stubborn self just couldn't get past that idea. for gosh sakes, i gave up coffee because i'm too stubborn to let one person think that i can't do it!
[looking cute/not so cute on the way back from the cabin]
after a couple come to Jesus moments, i decided to tell myself that he only wanted to hang out with me as friends, and so it wasn't really a date, and it probably wouldn't even go well anyway. but the real truth is, he was just so sweet and cute and lovely that i was willing to break my made-up rule for him. stubbornness be damned! i'm such a romantic. and such an idiot.surprise: the first date went well. so did the second, third and fourth dates. fast forward to 8 months of long distance dating plus some more in the same state, an engagement, a wedding, and over a year of marriage, and you are looking at one girl who is happy she got over herself and said yes to the boy from her hometown who somehow ended up in her life.now for the moral (i told you there was one!): don't be afraid to break the rules you've made for yourself. you made them up, so you can do what you want *snapsnap*. don't let your preconceived notion of what your "ideal" situation is ruin an amazing opportunity for you, whether it's a date or a job or an adventure. break your own rules, and you could end up with something amazing.
[i like you Mister Man, thanks for these incredible four years, can't wait for the ones to come]
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#sayyesproject