The story of us

I don't know if soulmates exist, but I do think you'll know when it just...works. This is the feeling I got with Clint. Now, I'm not gonna lie...it didn't come right away; it took me a couple of weeks to get there. We're both pretty quiet and it takes some time to open up; to be our true selves in front of people we don't know very well. But once we got there, it just seemed to click.

We started our relationship on a WILD ride...let me tell 'ya (insert sarcasm). I had just gotten out of a very long-term relationship and wasn't ready to rush into anything. I really thought I just needed to take time to myself for a while. But here comes Clint, basically willing to do anything just to hangout with me. So what did the first few weeks of our relationship consist of? Binge watching Game of Thrones because, 1. I didn't feel like going out and 2. Clint could NOT believe I had never seen it before. He'd come over, we'd sit on opposite sides of the couch and watch GOT. Exhilarating, huh? :)

But it's just what I needed. And the fact that he was completely content with just chilling with me, was a pretty good sign that this was a good guy.

Our first official date was to a wine and paint night (aka, the key to my heart) and it grew quickly from there. That fall we went to several weddings together, meeting all the friends and family. We even spent Christmas together, which could not have been more perfect. This is also when we first said, "I love you". The story is actually quite funny...

Sorry, babe, if you read this and feel uncomfortable. But I gotta share it. :)

We were getting ready to head back to Springfield from Indiana and were saying our goodbyes to his family. You have to know his Uncle Hubert to get the full impact, but here's the gist of him: he's this little old man who's quite the jokester and finds it comical to make people just a little uncomfortable. So, as we're saying goodbye, he asks Clint, "Do you love this girl?". Clint's face goes BRIGHT red. He stumbles over his words and doesn't ever really say anything; we both just kind of laugh it off. But in the back of my mind I'm like..."oh my gosh, he doesn't love me. We haven't said it to each other yet, but I kind of thought we were there...". I'm internally freaking out at this point and all the negative thoughts are just spinning through my mind at 150MPH.

We pack up the car and begin our 6 hour drive home. We're both completely silent for the first 10 minutes or so. Until Clint says something along the lines of, "You know what Uncle Hubert said before we left? Well I just want you to know that I AM falling in love with you."

And I just MELTED. I'm stumbling to find what to say in return, even though the obvious would be, "I'm falling in love with you, too". My entire body is FIRE hot. I finally say, "I feel the same way". *face palm*

He stops the car in the middle of the two-lane highway and kisses me.

And I melt all over again.

---

As we've grown in our relationship over the last 2+ years, I've come to love so many more things about him. For starters, he LOVES spending time with me. That's all he really wants to do; just be with me. From watching TV to fishing...all he wants is quality time with the person he loves.

He is also incredibly organized/particular/clean when it comes to certain things. He can't stand when dirty dishes are in the sink. He's anything but lazy. He picks up the dog poop on a regular basis, when I would just let it go...creating an even bigger mess. He always takes the trash out for me. He never lets his laundry get out-of-hand, unlike myself. He'll do things that would never even cross my mind...like hand-wash his boat and Jeep instead of taking it through the car-wash.

One of the biggest moments when I knew that this guy is pretty great (that will probably seem silly to others) is when we were organizing the garage. I had lightly swept everything out and was getting ready to call it a day when I turn around and see Clint taking the broom and sweeping all of the cobwebs off the ceiling. OF THE GARAGE. This isn't inside the house, people. This is the garage. Also keep in mind that he wasn't even officially living with me at this point...it wasn't even his home. MY HEART.

He takes the liberty/initiative to do things on his own, and I love that about him.

Family is everything to him, and it is to me as well. I couldn't be with someone who didn't realize how blessed he was; who wasn't grateful for his upbringing. Clint is anything but ungrateful.

He initially comes off quiet, but behind that is this crazy-fun human who is full of life. When he took me line-dancing, I literally had the BEST night of my life. The guy doesn't care what other people think. He was swinging me all over the place. We both had ZERO idea what we were doing, but couldn't have cared less. It was amazing.

He'll sing karaoke in front of anyone even though, sorry babe, his voice is NOT that of an angel's.

When he's passionate about something, he's PASSIONATE. I think the guy knows everything that there is to know about fishing. He LOVES it. And I love that he has something that brings him so much joy.

He hardly ever gets angry. Even when his Jeep broke down on the side of the road when we were on our way to spend a day on the water (aka his favorite thing), he didn't get visibly upset or frustrated. He just dealt with it.

He's very friendly. Says "hi" to everyone in the office, even if he doesn't know them.

He's really terrible with words. I mean...horrible. He stumbles over them and a lot of the time doesn't say exactly what he means. But I adore that about him. Because you KNOW he's not a sweet talker. So any time he says something, you know he's not just throwing words at you to make you feel a certain way; that would be impossible. ;)

When we were only about 6 months into our relationship he told me he wanted to marry me. I mentioned I had been in a very long-term relationship prior to meeting Clint. In that VERY long-term relationship, not once were those words uttered.

He moved in with me a little shy of our first year anniversary. And we've just been growing ever since. Constantly learning new things about one another, making our relationship stronger.

When the day comes, I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that he will make the best partner in life. He will be my rock. He will never falter. I cannot wait for that day.

---

We are spending this Valentine's Day the best way I could possibly imagine: at a 5-course wine pairing dinner. We did the same thing last year and all I kept saying was, "this is my happy place". Clint's happy place is on the water, fishing, with the person he loves. My happy place is eating incredible food, drinking plenty of wine, with amazing conversation with the person I love. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the evening.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Valentine's Day. I hope it's spent in your happy place.

---

A place to be #unapologeticallyme.