This post is such a personal and special one. Today, I’m sharing a recap of our first year of marriage and our love story. It’s a long one so grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable!

Our Love Story

It all started in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 10th at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. I worked as a lifeguard at the time and Alton swam for Hampden Sydney College. Hampden Sydney belonged to the ODAC conference which always hosted their conference championship tournament at the GAC. We both tell this story differently, but my version is that for the four days of the tournament I remember us making (and holding) eye contact for longer than two strangers should. I can still remember the feeling of knowing that you don’t know why, or how, but this person is going to make an impact.

We did this for 4 days, until the last hour of the tournament when he came up to my stand and asked me on a date. The first thing he ever said to me was “Do you go to school around here?” and to this day I still think it’s funny. Who says that? It gets even better when he follows it with “I’m pledging Theta Chi.” and I’m thinking… Okay…? And…? He walked away with my number that day, but he didn’t tell me until after that he wouldn’t be taking me on a date for another month and a half because he was pledging a fraternity.

Fast forward a month and a half after we met, and we went on our first date. When you’re getting to know someone you find out all the fun things like favorite food, favorite restaurant, favorite childhood games, music, etc. He told me his favorite restaurant was Maggianos so I planned for us to go, but I didn’t tell him until we arrived at the restaurant where we were going. We were both so nervous and our palms were sweating, but we both knew. For our first year and half we lived about 3 hours apart. It was challenging, especially with us both in college, but looking back it was some of the best times in our life. In 2014, Alton unexpectedly had to move back to Florida and live with his family. We went from seeing one another every other weekend to going sometimes 3 months. 

We were long distance up until the day we were married and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Through the distance, we learned how to communicate as a team. Through a really crucial part of our development as humans we grew together while growing individually at the same time. 

Our First Year of Marriage 

They say you never forget your first, and our first year was one for the books. Here are some of our firsts:

• We lived downtown Tampa in the Channelside district until November and we got to experience true city living.
• We were so close to the Amalie Arena where the Tampa Bay Lightning play, so we went to our first Hockey game together.
• Started our own Drone business Overwatch Aerials in March and I started my blog in April.
• We went on many beach trips around the Tampa/St.Petersburg area including Dunedin, Clearwater, The DonCesar, and Honeymoon Island. We fell in love with Davis Island, where we decided we want to retire and raise grand-babies.
• Alton graduated Paramedic School and finished testing to apply for the Air Force Reserves as a pilot. I took a contract role with lululemon to open a Pop Up store in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
• We adopted our sweet kitty Winnie in August and fell in love with being cat parents.
• In November, we packed up everything and moved to New Tampa to save money for our first home.
• We bought our first truck in August- a beautiful Ford F150 Platinum.
• In January we will have paid off all of our credit card debt!

Our first year of marriage was filled with so much change and agility. Throughout the year, We learned how to support and love one another through constant fear and challenges. We are still learning how to not “bicker” because we are both Type A personalities, but at the end of the day, we are a team. We definitely had a rocky few months when Alton was gone 4-5 days out of the week between Paramedic school and the Fire Department. He also works at a clinic on his off days so we will go 36+ hours without seeing one another. Then by the time he gets home it will be 9pm at night. It allowed me to understand how to be alone and be okay with it. I also learned how to invest those hours into myself and my development which made me a better wife. 

Lessons from our First Year

Our biggest learning from our first year is to plan a date night once a week at the least. We both love to spend time with our friends and we both work opposite schedules. We would go weeks without spending quality time and that’s when the tension would build. My biggest learning was to not take everything so personally. As a huge Type A personality I am a planner and I think everything through. When things don’t go exactly the way I expect or plan I have a hard time adjusting. I am also a 2 on the Enneagram, the helper, which means I sacrifice my time to give time and peace to others. I often find myself creating unrealistic expectations of others, because of my nature. This has become one of my biggest battles as a wife where I have to be aware of my strengths and weaknesses. 

Someone once gave me the advice to love your spouse as if they are your greatest treasure. I try my hardest to love Alton like he’s my greatest treasure and let go of my stubborn nature. When I’m having a really bad day or I’m just in a mood I always repeat “greatest treasure” over and over. Sometimes it helps!

Whether you’re just married or going on forever I think we can all agree that marriage is humbling. It is vulnerable and so rewarding at the same time. The only thing I hope for year two is that time slows down a little. 

I hope you enjoyed this view of our love story and our first year! What did you learn from your first year of marriage?