A Long Day and a Long Story

Today is going to be long. And lonely.

J got a new phone and a new number because AT&T is the pitts! He never had service ANYWHERE and would end up throwing his phone. Poor phone. So he switched over to Verizon and went on a family plan with me.

His phone won't be delivered until this afternoon and his old phone has already been shut off. This means no calls or texts all day. Which makes both of our days even longer. Which is also the pitts.

I am in a particularly mushy lovey gooey mood today and just thought I would rave about J and what an amazing man he's turned out to be and tell the story of how we met. Everyone have their barf bags ready?

When I first met him and started realizing that I had feelings for him, I turned to my best friend and said "Well, I think he's more of a Mr. Right Now then a Mr. Right." I had just gotten out of a very stressful and rocky 7 year relationship. I wanted to be single for a while...Get things in my life sorted out before I started up another serious relationship. Apparently, God had other plans for me.

The first time I laid eyes on him was on Saturday September 26th 2009. I had just moved into my new home the day before. I had no furniture, no tv, no radio. Nothing. Amanda (My best friend) and I kept each other entertained. We invited our long time friend over, Steve, for a little new home celebration! Steve decided to bring along a few friends, namely, C (who is J's best friend and also Amandas boyfriend) and J.

I was in the shower when they arrived. I came downstairs and jokingly said "Who the hell are all these people in my house!?" And that's when I saw him. A very sexy blonde hair blue eyed man. And then he opened his mouth and out came a southernish country accent. BLECH!!!!!! Ew!! A redneck!!! In my house?!? I'm a Yankee!!! I'm originally from Philadelphia on the Main Line. I grew up HATING country rednecks. I hated country music, Everything country. But then he smiled at me. And I swooned (Are you guys sick to your stomach's yet?)

Amanda had pulled me off to the side and mentioned that she thought he was cute. She had been on the prowl for a new boyfriend so I decided to play matchmaker. Even though I was obviously attracted to this.....*gulp* redneck....I never imagined he would go for a girl like me. Amanda has natural beauty. She's GORGEOUS and men always flock to her. She's like a present day Scarlett O'hara. Me? Not so much...So I automatically assumed J would be drooling over her. But he wouldn't give her the time of day.

We chatted for a little...He and C eventually started coming to the house without Steve (At this point, I was not on speaking terms with Steve. He did some pretty nasty things to me and spread awful rumors about me). J and I talked more and more and the more we did that, the harder I started to fall for him. I had no clue he was even interested in me.

Enter Colorfest. The biggest event in my little town. Every Fall they have a big festival where streets get shut down and filled with vendors selling arts and crafts and things of that nature. People come from all over the WORLD to this event. Amanda, J and I decided to walk around and see the sites. Amanda had her little cousin with us. He's ooooh 13 I think? And VERY outspoken. We were taking a little rest sitting on the grass at the park and Amandas cousin goes "Hey! Ashley's a cougar! She's older than J and she's going after him!" Amanda busted out laughing, J looked at me....And I wanted to throw up. Was it that obvious that I liked him?! I was MORTIFIED. I wanted to cry. Now J was going to go running for the hills. But to my surprise he just smiled and laughed....We got up to continue walking and we walked side by side while Amanda and her cousin walked ahead of us. The conversation went like this:

J: So you like me huh?
Me: ......No. I don't know what he's talking about. Crazy kid.
J: Oh so you don't like me at all? Fine. I see how it is!"
Me: You're a redneck!! I don't like rednecks!
J: I'm not a Redneck. I'm a southern gentleman.
Me: Oooh is that what Rednecks are called these days?? If you're such a gentleman, then prove it.
J: Oh, I will. You'll find out.

We continuted walking and went back to my house.

We all hung out pretty late that night Amanda and C had already fallen asleep on the couch in the living room. J and I were in the kitchen listening to music on Amandas laptop. He put on a song on youtube that is one of my favorites! We discovered we liked pretty much all the same music. We were sitting across from each other and all of a sudden he reached over and grabbed my hand and held it. We just sat there, holding hands, listening to Classic Rock. And that was the moment I reliazed I was completely lost in him.

The next few weeks we spent every day together. But we weren't officially "together". he had some stuff going on and like I said, I wanted to take things slow and feel things out first. Finally on October 14 2009 he asked me to "be his girl" I of course said yes...And the rest is history!

We moved in together a month after we started dating. I was nervous at first. Especially of what people would think. I asked a good friend's advice. She and her FI moved in together after a few weeks... got engaged after 9 months. They are now getting married in 2 weeks and I'm a bridesmaid! They are perfect together. Anyway, I asked her what she thought of us living together and she said "Ashley, after what you've been through with your previous relationship, you need a little happiness in your life. And when you're with him, I've never seen someone light up so brightly. Go for it" And that was it. I stopped worrying about it and just enjoyed him being there with me. And I have enjoyed every moment of our life together for the last 7 months.

Sometimes I get a little worried. Because this relationship seems too good to be true. I really often wonder what I did in my life to deserve him? Not only is he amazing, but he has an amazing family who I absolutely love. *Hi Mini!* Is it because my previous relationship was spent financially supporting my Ex and his Mother who treated me like crap? Is this like a reward for dealing with that for years? I don't know. All I know is that I have been blessed. And I thank God everyday that J entered my life. Deep down in my soul, I believe that when God created J and I, he created us specially for each other, knowing one day we would find each other.

It's like the song "God Blessed the Broken Road" (Which is our song)

Every long lost dream
Led me to where you are
OTHERS WHO BROKE MY HEART
THEY WERE LIKE NORTHERN STARS
POINTING ME ON MY WAY
INTO YOUR LOVING ARMS
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

I love that bolded verse. I feel it was written for us. If I had never met my Ex and been through what I had been through, I never would have moved back to Maryland when I did and met J. It happened just so I could meet him.

To end this LOOOONG post (Sorry...I got carried away!) I end with another quote from a COUNTRY song that I love....

There is a God, how much proof do you need?