9 MONTHS TO GO!

This Friday Craig and I completed our first part of marriage counseling. An online test. Way to go pope, from the Inquisition to online counseling, this just shows that you still got it!

This test went over things like finances, children, how you treat each other, things like that. I dunno about most couples but we were really excited to do this. It even made me break my no wedding deal and I did it.  Well afterwards we were allowed to discuss it and it allowed us to see how far this relationship had come. So I thought that this would be a good time to tell had this relationship started.

From the start.....

Craig and I have actually known each other since I was 15. He is my older brother's, Brendan, best friend. He came around the house every once in a while, mostly to snag a second dinner but he was helpful sometimes. Like the time we borrowed his muscles to move us to a new house (better him than me... I went to work). I knew who he was but we didn't really talk a lot. Maybe because Brendan and I never talked but who knows.

Well, I guess it was after I came back from college my freshman year we had started to talk more when he came over on breaks. We both played college sports (track and football) and so we mostly stayed to those topics. While he had a more positive experience it was good to talk to someone that shared similar experiences. I remember we talked for over a hour one time on the couch until Brendan stole him back. He would also come over to make fun of me and to steal more food. I allegedly flirted with him while getting ice out of the ice machine but since I don't remember I' m going with it never happened. He was one of my parent's favorites because he was allowed to spend the night in the drunk tank (the spare bedroom in the basement) and was always at breakfast the next morning. I guess I missed the part that he was flirting with me  because he was always mean (he likens to flirting in the 3rd grade, he was mean because he liked me) and because I am clearly clueless. My mom tried to convince me to go to his games when I was home but it is super cold in the winter and I would much rather bake and shop. He would every once in a while facebook me  when we were at school to see how track was or to send clever messages. But again, never really had a clue

On my 20th birthday, I got a very interesting phone call that ended up changing everything. I got a call from a number that I didn't know and when I answered it was Craig calling from Florida. He wanted to know if I wanted to go to ring dance with him in exactly 5 days. Well, after saying I would ask Brendan if he was ok with it (Craig had already called, asked and got my number from him) I hung up the phone and squealed like a little girl. Problem, all my dresses  and heels were in Auburn for the summer.  Pretty sure my mom was just as excited because she was like well go find a dress and bring it to work for I can see it. I ended up getting the dress, interrupting her class to model some choices. I was getting nervous though about the whole  thing because I had limited time with him and it was always within my house.

ring dance...in the rain and some really bad heels

The day of ring dance I was actually at VT for graduation and drove myself back up for it. When he picked me up I was so so nervous and he could totally tell. Well played Madeleine. Ring Dance ended up being really fun. When we go to the dance I met all his friends and when we were standing in line to take pictures I spilt wine ALL over him. whoops. But then he proceeded to tell me how I couldn't dance, so I didn't feel as bad. He also decided to dare me at the end of the night to stick my finger in the table size cake the Navy had provided, I surprised him and I did it in a big way, huge chunk of cake had my finger through it. Really the start of a mature relationship.


We got back to the house and we continued to hang out with his friends and talked all night. And no surprise we had our first kiss.

after almost a year.

Today Craig was telling me about how he had been trying to figure out a way to ask me to do something with him for a couple of months but hadn't figured out how to go about it. His friend also had a lovely name for me when they discussed me at school which was the Forbidden One (Man law: don't date your friend's little sister). It took him forever to do it but once he did we became inseparable. We did a lot of fun things that summer, including spending a lot of time with each others family and staying up until 2 am talking. I am pretty sure I told my friends that July that I would marry that boy but I mean it only took him 8 months to say I love you. haha

Before we left to start a long distance relationship. He gave me two presents. A watch, something to replace my awful running watch, and a pillowcase he has had since he was a kid. On one side it has a giraffe and a ladybug that says tall and short and on the other side a hippo and a bee that says big and small. It was his favorite as a kid and it reminded him of us. I love both, I have the watch on and my pillow comes everywhere with me

and the rest was history....

If this happens again, this relationship will be history.