The Makings of a Real-Life Fairy Tale (TToT #6)

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When I was young, I had grand ideas of marriage & becoming a mother. As I got older, I had two sons without getting married & realized that I didn't have that “biological clock” ticking away, like some other gals my age. . . I felt like I should make sure I wound up with a life partner that was truly meant for me — not someone who I could see myself with, but, rather someone I couldn't see myself without. I felt so strongly about this that I would not settle. I had a few casual relationships, but nothing that made it past a few months, really. I was alright with never meeting “The One” because I thought that maybe I had set my sights so high that, perhaps, he didn't exist. . .

Obviously, he does exist. (Thankful #1) The handsome husband is obviously a frequent topic of conversation here at Calculated Chaos. I love him with all of my heart — I had better, right?! 😉 Because I did not think I would marry, my love for him (& his love for me!) feels even more special. This is my “fairy tale” of how we came to be. . .

In August of 2011, I got a promotion at work. (Thankful #2) I was an assistant store manager for a specialty retail store for two years, then was given the opportunity to be the store manager of a store in the same company, located just over an hour away. I gladly accepted the position. I had been living out of my car for the year-&-a-half prior to that, staying on couches of friends as much as possible. (I hadn't been smart with my finances & that was a way to get a few key debts paid off while still keeping up with a few other important financial obligations.) SO, with the promotion, came a move. I found a room to rent in the same city as my new store.

I worked my ass off, often taking only one day off per week — & even that day off was usually riddled with phone calls of one sort or another or unexpected “quick” trips into the store to put out one fire or another. To blow off steam on those days off, it was not unusual for me to make the hour-drive north to have a night out with familiar faces, having a few drinks & dancing the night away at one of my favorite country bars. It was on one of those nights that I was first introduced to the handsome husband by a mutual friend. (Thankful #3) I remember chatting with him & another gal I had also just met that night. We added each other on Facebook. He seemed nice enough — but I decided, probably too nice. I had “been there, done that” & I didn't need to be treated like a complete princess — I found it irritating. I didn't really think much of it after that.

A few months later, about half-way through December, in the heart of the busy holiday season in my retail world, I had another one of my rare days off. It was a Tuesday & I had a late shift the following day at work. I posted something on Facebook, inviting friends to meet up with me for a Two-Step Tuesday event at one of the country bars I preferred & the handsome husband was one of the friends to respond, (along with the friend that had first introduced us). (Thankful #4) I arrived to the bar a bit early, at the same time as one of my good friends, but she was also the DJ that night, so we parted ways shortly after so she could set up. I grabbed a beer & found a spot to sit facing the dance floor, the DJ booth, & the door. A few moments later, a very handsome man walked through the door, paid his cover & headed my way. My heart skipped a beat. It was my (now) handsome husband. I remember thinking, “I don't remember him being THAT handsome!”

Our mutual friend was late meeting up with us, due to a previous obligation that took much longer than anticipated. This gave the handsome husband & I plenty of time to talk, taking turns buying rounds of beer. (Thankful #5) Time flew. By the time our friend arrived, it was obvious the bar was having a particularly slow night, so we all decided to try a different place a few minutes up the road. Since I had arranged to stay the night with a friend near where we were, it was decided that I would ride with the handsome husband to the new place since he'd have to come back by where my car was to go home anyway. (Thankful #6) This gave us extra time chatting.

The rest of the night was fun. Full of friends & plenty of time starting to get to know my (now) handsome husband. Before we parted ways that night, he was very quick to pull out his cell phone so that we could swap phone numbers to stay in-touch outside of social media. (Thankful #7)

The very next day, I got a “good morning, beautiful” text. . . & pretty much every day after. Then, he invited me out to dinner with some friends that Friday night. I remember thinking what fabulous people they were. . . & I remember how nervous I was to be there. The thought had also occurred to me that he must quite like me to have me out with so many of his closest friends so soon. . . (Thankful #8) Overall, it was a really fun night. I had to call it a night a touch early because I the next day was Christmas Eve & I was due to work by 4am to start setting up for the day-after Christmas sale at my store.

The next day at work was brutal. I am not a morning person & never have been. Right when I was at my crankiest, several hours into my extremely long shift, but very shortly after the mall opened, in walked a gal in an apron. She worked at the coffee place on the other side of the mall & was carrying a quad, soy, hazelnut mocha. . . For me! Now, I do not remember ever talking about my coffee with my (now) handsome husband — at least not enough to make a point of exactly how I prefer my coffee! He lived an hour away & had apparently called around, finding a coffee place close to my store, then convincing them to not only take payment via phone, but also to deliver the mocha to me, clear on the opposite side of the mall, along with a quick message saying that it was from him! I was all smiles for the rest of the day. (My sales associates were quite pleased too, since it curbed my cranky mood! LOL) It did not miss me that he had to be paying close attention to realize how big of a deal such a gesture would be for me! (Thankful #9). I think that's a huge part of why I gave him an honest shot. . . I don't think I quite realized it at the time, but that's when I fell in love with him. 😉 (Thankful #10)

Of course, there is plenty more to our story after that. . . Everything that led to us getting married, to present-day, to everything we have yet to experience with each other. But now you have a little glimpse into the makings of our very own fairy tale. 😉

How did you & your significant other meet? If you are single, what do you envision for yourself? Comment below, email me at mochamama@calculatedchaos.net, or connect with me on Facebook.

This post was written in participation of the Ten Things of Thankful (TToT) weekly link-up hosted by Lizzi at Considerings AND the Blog-tember Challenge hosted by Bailey Jean at Brave Love, whose prompt for today was “Your current relationship status. If dating/married, give us a glimpse of your story! If single, share about this special season.”