Happy 8 year anniversary: Celebrating our love

Happy 8 year anniversary Mike.

I can’t believe its been 8 years. You are my longest relationship. I know I am not yours, but I want to be your last. It has been a wild rollercoaster, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I have told you from the start I felt like I had known you forever and for some reason had the thought cross my mind “I will marry this man” I don’t know why I thought that, but it crossed my mind and has stuck with me these past 8 years.

Looking back on our relationship there are a few moments that stick out. I want to share our first date story because it’s my favorite. I also want to point out some key things you have done in our relationship that make you realize how much I love you and will happily spend the rest of my life with you. Happy 8 year anniversary

When we first got in contact

Mike, you remember I was friends with benefits with someone before you and I really liked them but for some reason, they ghosted me the month of April. I was so over it and that dude. While chatting with my sister I logged on to Plenty of Fish to delete my account because I was just on a man-hating spree. No longer was I looking for a man.

Sitting at my sister’s house and I saw the notification a new message. Since I was again on a man-hating spree I was just going to ignore it, but my sister said to look at it. I was very hesitant. I read your message of “Hey I really like your profile” and initially I thought what an idiot.

My sister started looking at your profile and told me I had to respond back to you. I wasn’t going to. My sister insisted I do and demanded “If you don’t message him back… I will for you.”So I replied. I wish I had those initial conversations. I didn’t think about it back then, but damn man.

How slow you had taken things

We talked on Plenty of Fish for 2 weeks straight. I gave you my number and said to text or call me but then I didn’t hear from you for 2 weeks. I was slightly annoyed because I thought you kind of liked me, but oh well, I guess I was wrong.

Our first phone call

Randomly one night while hanging out with my roommate I get a call from a number I don’t know. Normally I wouldn’t have answered, but something inside me said to answer it. All I hear is “Hey Michele” and I had to ask “who is this?”

You had asked me what I was doing and I replied making chili with my roommate. Acting all cutesy mad, you huffed and puffed how you wanted chili now. You also boasted how you make some wicked dank chili. 8 years later we haven’t had the chili cook-off we talked about. (Maybe for our wedding) We talked for hours about anything and everything. That first phone call was amazing.

Our First Date

I won a karaoke contest the week prior and the final contest on was on June 13^th. We made a plan to meet at Chill Chamber the bar it was being held at around 8p. I was nervous for our date I asked my roommate to give me a ride up to Wild Stallions around 6p. He wouldn’t because he is was in a bad mood because of his girlfriend.

So I strapped on my walking shoes, grabbed my bag with a change of clothes, and walked up to the bar since it wasn’t that far from my house, but it was a hike. Finally getting to Wild Stallions I was greeted by my roommate sitting there drinking. I was annoyed by that, but whatever. I wanted to have a drink. By the time I got to Wild Stallions, it was about 6:45p. I shot you a text and said “hey I am over at Wild Stallions. Let me know when you are close and I’ll meet you at Chill Chamber” since it was across the parking lot.

We both had the same idea

You replied that your stepdad dropped you off early and that you were at Scoreboard next door to Chill Chamber to have a drink before our date. Asking where Wild Stallions was at… so you could finish your drink and come to where I was.

I couldn’t tell you what I wore, but I can tell you what you were. Blue jeans, blue plaid color button-up with a plain white tee underneath. You walked in and I thought you were so cute.

We hung out at Wild Stallions for a while with my friends and then you and I headed over to the karaoke contest.

I didn’t tell you this beforehand, but you were okay with going to Chill Chamber even though it was a gay bar. That made me like you more.

My bar tab

Since I won the karaoke contest the previous week I had won a 50-dollar bar tab. You were so sweet asking me if you could buy me a drink and I kept telling you to let me buy you a drink because I can’t drink 50 dollars worth of liquor. You were hesitant at first and bought your first couple of drinks.

I know you were kind of annoyed but not. I know you just wanted to do the gentleman thing and pay for our date. This is when I did my worse attempt at flirting and told you to save your money for date number 2 if this goes well. You know me now I love a cheap date night.

My biggest fan from day one

It was my turn to sing. I chose Out Tonight from Rent. I was nervous as fuck. Between the hundreds of people there and you. I was OMG! However, I sang the song and barely moved throughout the whole performance. When the judges scored me, I took their judgments with grace, but you on the other hand started yelling at the judges. “WHAT” “ARE YOU SERIOUS?” “YOU GUYS ARE CRAZY THIS GIRL WAS AMAZING”.

While you were yelling at the judges I had this brief thought of “ I’m gonna marry this guy” which I never think on the first date. There was just something about you that was different and I liked it.

I went and sang my second song and took the judge’s comments about not moving around or engaging with the crowd to heart. My next song was Nicki Minaj’s Superbass. People were surprised including yourself that I rapped the whole song and sang the chorus. I live for the look on everyone’s face when they realized what song it was and they were looking at me like “oh geez, some fat white basic ass bitch is singing this”. We both know I crushed that song I moved around I was engaging. Through everyone who was there, I heard you the most screaming at me and the judges.

You praised me so much and that made me so proud of myself. I was stunned.

The end of the date confused me

We had just spent the last 8 hours together at the bar. I wasn’t drunk or buzzed, and neither were you. We both cared more about the date than the drinks, but that 50 bucks lasted us a long time. We stayed way past closing time and chit-chatted in the parking lot. My friend Arianne was going to give me a ride home, you were waiting for a cab. I really thought you were going to kiss me goodnight, but you didn’t.

I was confused, but I didn’t make a fuss about it. You got in your cab, Arianne and I drove off and you started texting me. We chatted till the wee hours of the morning though both of us had to work in the morning. You explained to me that you wanted to kiss me, but you got nervous. You said I should have asked you and I told you if you had to ask then it wasn’t going to happen. I was making it very clear I was giving you the okay. The arm touching, the leaning into you when you were talking. I was doing all the things. You had an hour to summon up the courage because we left the bar at 3, then texted til 6.

Everything was just falling into place

I was so tired, but so pumped at the same time. I got dressed and headed to work at the hotel. It was around 9a and I was just thinking to myself “God, I wish I could see him right now. Low and behold who is walking by the hotel while I was chilling outside. YOU! Walking with your little 3 wheeled scooter thing. I yelled for you. You stopped by for a few minutes to tell me you missed the bus and had to scooter to work but it’s not working so you just keep walking it. It was only a few minutes, but god seeing you made my day.

You texted me later that day and said you ditched your scooter in the woods in Tarpon Springs.

My favorite story

I don’t think you ever fully understood or still understand how much that date meant to me. It was the best date I had ever been on. After all the horrible relationships I had been in. You were the first person that I could actually be myself around. During our date, I even laid everything out on the table. Confessing to you all of my flaws.

Firmly I said “ I am a basketcase, I am overly emotional, I cry at the stupidest things, I have some control issues. I like things done a certain way, I can be a big old bitch sometimes. But despite all of that I care more than I ever should. You can take it or leave it. You choose to take it.

I hope after 8 years you realize why that is my favorite story to tell EVER. That day I found my lobster. My best friend, my future husband. That is a great story to tell our grandkids and great-grandkids.

Now for the other reasons

Walking in Tropical Storm Debby to see me

You were still waiting for your friend to fix your car, but you really wanted to see me and couldn’t find a ride or had the money for a cab. On the phone, you said I will walk to see you because you are worth it. You did just that.

You stopped answering my phone calls or texts. After an hour and a half, I was worried. I was waiting and waiting and after an hour or so I started walking up my street pacing back and forth down the road, but there you were soaking wet. You walked through thigh-high water and ended up ruining your phone.

For some reason, you thought putting your phone in a sandwich baggy not a Ziploc back but just a regular sandwich baggy was going to save your phone. It was horrible you ruined your phone to come to see me, I felt bad, but you just kept saying that I was worth it.

I never had someone walk in a tropical storm, and ruin their phone just to see me. Man, I was one lucky girl.

“So it’s not gonna be easy. It’s going to be really hard; we’re gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, every day. You and me… every day.”
― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

We have been through a lot

Within the first year of our relationship, we had 2 deaths in the family. Your grandfather and my mother. Both were hard, but we were there for each other. When you had your neck surgery after our car accident. We had to deal with the side effects of the surgery, things we didn’t know were going to happen.

Getting you the job at the hotel because you couldn’t work for the moving company anymore. He fired you because we went to the hospital for my nephew who slipped in the shower after having a reaction to his medicine. Through countless jobs, we have had to make ends meet. I would freak out and you always knew everything would be okay.

From day one you and I have been each other’s biggest fans. We support each other in anything that we want to do. Check out our YouTube channel to see some of the fun things we do.

Ruining Sean’s idea of us

Do you remember while working at the hotel we always made it a priority to have dinner together every night that you would work after me? I would work 7-3 and you worked 3-11. You would get up a little early cook food and carry it to work with you. On the days you worked overnight I would go home make dinner and come back to bring you food.

Remember when Sean would come in from the bar at the hotel and we blew his mind. So he yelled at us. Sean confessed he wanted to find a love like ours. One that seemed so easy and effortless. He loved how we never argued. When we told him we do argue a lot actually, but we get over it pretty quick and we don’t bring our problems to work. He flipped and kept screaming “NO NO NO NO NO NO”

I never thought of us as the couple others would be jealous of, but I guess we were. Who would have thunk it?

Visiting your sister’s grave

You are not an emotional guy, but when we went on vacation in 2018 to your hometown. You brought Mikayla and me to your sister’s burial site. It was so dirty and moldy. This couple who was leaving stopped to give us CLR to clean the headstone with.

We had the idea to go to home depot to get flowers and plant them at the top of her stone. We went back to the cemetery. You were getting upset and emotional so Mikayla and I took over-cleaning. It was the first time I really saw you cry. I made sure I put my heart and soul into cleaning that stone for you, for your sister. Although I didn’t know her what happened really sucked. I wanted you to know that it was okay to be emotional and that I will be your rock when you are down because you always do the same for me. Happy 8-year anniversary.

You are my future

On June 13^th it will be 8 years. It seems so long ago but doesn’t at the same time. You and I have worked out butt off to be where we are at right now. You and I have so many dreams for the future and for our lives. Who knows if any of it will happen, but one thing is for sure we will be together.

You and I fight A LOT. I will not lie about that. It is expected we are two different people with different opinions, raised differently. What separates us from others is that we have these mini disagreements. We get annoyed, pissed off, and say shit to each other, but it only lasts for a couple of hours or so. We discuss it come to a compromise and move on. Date nights always happen to reconnect. In 8 years I think we have had 4 major blowouts where we almost broke up and things got really bad, but we love each other.

You have never raised a hand to me or made me feel bad about my appearance. 8 years ago I laid my head on your chest and said “your heart is beating fast”, you replied, “it’s because of you”. You still say that to this day every night when we go to bed. When I feel ugly, upset about my weight, or feeling down about myself and I say I am fat, you ALWAYS reply with “Where?”. It was cute in the beginning but we both know I am fat just acknowledge it already. You won’t though. You don’t see my weight, you see me. Happy 8-year anniversary my love.

I love you my future husband

I play our first date in my head, I think about all those little moments that made me fall in love with you. All those memories come flooding back and I just get so overwhelmed with love. I know at times both of us take for granted that the other person is there. Life happens, and things get busy. But at least once every couple of weeks I take a moment and just look at you. Constantly I replay our whole relationship in my head all the ups and the downs, the almost breakups, the jokes, the adventures we have been on. I think about it all and I know in my head and heart you and I will be together forever, as long as we both continue to grow as people and as a couple to keep the sparkle shining.

Hey dork, I love you, Michael. Ever since our first date. I knew I would marry you. There are times you drive me absolutely INSANE, I know I do the same thing to you, but I would not have it any other way. Here is to another 8 years and 8 more after that and so on.

Thank you for being my biggest fan. Happy 8-year anniversary!