One Year. Such a long, but short period of time...

Sorry.  I apologize for my rant yesterday.  It wasn't nice of me to say such mean comments.

But on a completely unrelated note, M and I are celebrating our 1-year anniversary today!  

At M's work dinner

When I stop to think about it, it doesn't seem realistic that I have known him for one year.  But at the same time, I feel like he's be in my life forever and I can't imagine what this past year would have held without him.

The story:

I graduated from UT in May of 2009 and moved back home with the 'rents.  Fun times.  Err....not.  The initial plan for my best friend KJ and I to get an apartment once we both had "paying enough to survive" jobs.  We moved into an apartment last August.  KJ had gotten engaged a week or two prior to move in day.  I knew when she told me, and even before, that Joel would be at our apartment a lot.  He was still in Knoxville in school, so they would be going back and forth to see each other.  

I grew very lonely.  The majority of my friends were still in Knoxville, or their respective college towns.  It was just KJ and I in Nashville.  And KJ was busy.  Busy being in love.  Busy with a nursing schedule that was quite different from my M-F, 9-5, busy planning a wedding.  

Life after graduation is hard as it is.  I'd been in school for 16ish years.  Then, after I have a degree that's not pointless to me, but pointless to the job market, I was thrown to the wolves to find a job with no qualifications (and no one wants to hire people with no serious job experience, ya know, besides summers and Christmases in retail...)  Then, my best friend and roommate is hardly around because when she wasn't in Knoxville, Joel was here and I was an after thought.  It took me a long time to accept change.  I really long time.  

From August until November, I was terribly upset.  I made a couple trips to Knoxville for football games that inevitably ended in sloppy, depressed drunkeness because I was unhappy.  I was sorta talking to this guy who was friends with Brandon through his now-ex-boyfriend Logan.  Turns out he was an absolute douche.  I was just so bored and unhappy with the way my life was going.  I pretty much worked, watched netflix, and hung out with my family (whom I love, but can only be your friends to some extent.)

Finally Thanksgiving rolled around.  I was excited because Brandon would be home for a whole week.  At one point during the weekend while we were hanging out, Brandon and I talked about my constant loneliness.  He suggested I try Match.  I wasn't ready to settle down by any means, but we discussed how it could be fun to at least put myself out there and go on a couple dates.  If they didn't work out, fine.  If they did, awesome.  

So that Sunday or Monday night after Thanksgiving, I signed up for the free three-day trial.  I had some successes and some failures.  There are some sketchy folk on match.  I think I selected an age range from 23/24-28/29.  Nothing too expansive, but I also didn't want to limit myself.  I got messages from creepers who were 35+.  What 35 year old could have anything in common with a 23 year old?  Weird.  I also got messages from people in other states, like Florida and Illinois.  Neither of which even touches Tennessee.

I don't remember who "winked" at whom first or who sent the first match message, but I felt an instant positive connection with Matt.  We chatted on match's shitty instant message program before switching to AIM, which I hadn't signed into in at least a year!  We exchanged e-mail addresses because his three-day trial was ending that night.

We e-mailed back and forth constantly.  All day long at work.  It was a great and I was giddy.  He was cute, sweet, and I just knew there had to be a catch.  He asked me out for the weekend, and I was so bummed to turn him down, but I had plans to go to Memphis to run in the St Jude 5k in memory of my sorority sister.  

He was very understanding, and we texted a bit while I was in Memphis.  We decided we'd got out the next Saturday.  After some great first date suggestions from M, we settled on a Predator's game.  M then offered the idea that we meet for drinks earlier in the week to kind of break the ice.

We met at Melrose pub on December 8 after work.  I am not a forgetful person, by any means, and I never, ever forget my cell phone, but for some reason I did that day.  KJ was so sweet to go out of her way to bring it to me at work.  This was convenient because it was pouring down rain when I got off work.  I'm a stressed driver, but even more-so in inclement weather, and even even more-so when I'm late for something.  When we made our plans, I told M I'd probably beat him there.  I called him on the way and told him traffic was horrid and that I was running late.  He assured me not to hurry, and that he'd go ahead and order me something.  I've never been reassured on the phone by someone I've never met.  He actually calmed my nerves.

Drinks were great.  When I walked into the pub, his face lit up, as did mine.  We had a couple beers and he told me he wasn't ready to go home yet, that he was having too much fun, so we ran across the street in the rain, huddled under his umbrella, to Athens, a Greek place.

After our date, I called Brandon to tell him how it went (cause I'm a girl, and that's what we do.)  He was relieved.  He was worried that because I hadn't responded to his text, that M had abducted me, thrown me in the back of his car, stolen my debit card, driven to First Tennessee ATMs around Nashville and forced me to give him my PINn so he could steal my money.  No joke.  That is not an elaboration of what he feared had happened.

We went to the Preds game the following Saturday.  We saw each other casually about twice a week until January.  I knew he was seeing another girl he met on match, even though I decided not to pursue the other guys I'd been talking to.  By late January-February we were spending all weekend together, and when Valentine's day rolled around, it was assumed we'd spend it together.  I think a week or two after that we became "official"/"exclusive"/"boyfriend/girlfriend"...what have you.  

Because our meeting/dating time-line is so complicated, I suggested we celebrate December 8th as our anniversary since it's the first time we met, even though we'd been talking for a week before that.  I don't know what date we became exclusive, so it's not a conducive date to celebrate either.  

I am so blessed and lucky.  I could not ask for someone better.  He gets me, he makes me feel special and important.  He's there for me when I'm being an utter bitch or when I'm extremely sad.  He's handsome, strong, successful and an inspiration.  He likes my family and understands how important they are to me.  He let me move in with him when I couldn't figure out where else to go.  He's goofy and fun, but also so, so serious.  He makes the best dirty martinis.  He can cook.  He's driven and will make a great father someday.  

Looking back, last December, and where I was in life, seem so far away, but as I think about each month that has passed in the last month, I can picture memories with him so vividly that they seem like yesterday.  I eagerly look forward to what the rest of my life with him holds in store!

<3 Love <3

He doesn't read my blog, but if he happens to today...Happy Anniversary Goober!  I love you!

While I was typing this blog, I got a phone call from the security desk downstairs at my office asking me come downstairs.  These were waiting for me...

We're celebrating tonight by going to dinner at Sunset Grill in Hillsboro Village!  I'm so blessed!