3 years: 3 lessons

In just a couple of weeks it will be mine and Garrett's 3 year anni! It feels like just yesterday we went on our first date and I had butterflies the whole time, then called my mom and told her he seemed too good to be true. Well, he is still as amazing as day 1. Me and my best friends were talking about relationships and we came to the conclusion that after 2 years of dating, things "get real". Up until that point you are still in the "honeymoon phase" where everything is new and exciting. Don't get me wrong, it's still great after 3 years, but things are more serious, your patience can get tested, and you learn each other's pet peeves and weaknesses. I have learned so much in the past 3 years, about myself and about life in general. The 3 main things I have learned in the past 3 years are:

1) His plans are greater than our plans. I am very Type-A and tend to think that the plan I have for my life is the best plan. Thankfully, God used our relationship to teach me otherwise. If you would have told G and I 3 years ago that he would not be playing professional baseball today, we would have both laughed in your face. My man is gifted at throwing a baseball. Like mid- to upper-90's gifted. He had plans of being a baseball player for a looong time. That's where the Lord stepped in and decided he didn't want me being lonely 8 months out of every year (thank you, Lord). 3 surgeries, elbow reconstruction, and many injuries later, professional baseball was not in his [our] future. I'm not gonna lie, he was heartbroken, I was heartbroken for him, and we both went through a semi-identity crisis. Baseball was his life for 22 years, then it was ripped from him without any warning. It sucked. Looking back, we couldn't be more thankful for this blessing in disguise. We had never known what it was like to spend the weekends together, we got a dog, and our lives did not revolve around baseball anymore. We see what a lot of our best friend couples go through that play pro ball and it is hard. I really feel for them and looking back, I do not think I could have lived like that. God knew this and was looking out for me :)

2) Distance makes the heart grow fonder. 3 years together, 3 summers long distance. 2 summers of G playing summer ball, and this summer he is living in Raleigh and I'm in Greenville. Distance sucks, but it does make us appreciate our time together more. The first summer we dated I only got to visit him once in Cape Cod. When he took me back to the airport, I bawled the whole way. And on both planes (I'm ridiculous). Now, when we are lucky enough to see each other every other weekend, we take advantage of our time and do not take our time together for granted.

3) Every young couple should get a dog. When we got Bella, we had no idea what we were in for. We knew it would be a lot of work, but we didn't really know how much she would change our lives. She taught us responsibility, time management, and team work. We could no longer leave for hours or for the weekend, we had to plan our lives around when she needed to eat and go out. But let's be honest, nothing is more adorable than seeing G and Bella cuddled up together ;)

Here's to many, many more! Xoxo