I was fresh on U.S. soil from a summer working in Ireland. I had just graduated college and used my summer abroad as an excuse to post-pone “real life”. I was in search for a job while aiding in the care of my grandma. When the announcement came that she would make it home from the hospital in time for Thanksgiving, my family was elated and began to hustle to make her house wheel-chair accessible. My aunt and uncle called a young man from Wisconsin they had met a few years earlier. He quickly built a wheel chair ramp sturdy enough for a sumo-wrestler and was thanked with an invitation to the family Thanksgiving celebration.
In all honesty, I was reluctant to meet this “single guy” that was coming to Thanksgiving. I was tired of people trying to set me up, when I wasn’t interested in dating. (I had this crazy idea that the excitement of all relationships fizzles into a mediocre contentment and I was willing to wait as long as I needed to meet the man that would take those fears away. Call it a trust issue, I’m not sure, but it was certainly cynical and fearful.) And then enters the cute, charming, contractor named Erik. My world just about stopped, although I would have NEVER admitted it.
Erik’s charm followed me through the next couple of months. We saw each other at random family events until he became a regular attendee at my church. He pursued, and to everyone’s surprise, I let him. We both began working with the church youth group and spent many late hours in the church parking lot talking and laughing together. It didn’t take long before he taught me how to trust that my heart was better kept in his hands than in my own (yes, the romantic is coming out!).
Soon after, he knelt to the ground on a cliff overlooking the San Francisco skyline while we were celebrating my birthday. His question was returned with an immediate “yes,” the easiest question I’ve ever answered! We are two years in and can’t wait for a hundred more.
There has never been a point where we have needed our own space. We aren’t perfect, but we love to experience life together… as one. He is the sweetest gentleman, the most dedicated provider, and, well, to put it plainly, the hottest man I know. I certainly am blessed and wouldn’t change a single page in our love story. It wouldn’t be much of a story without a thrilling adventure, a few tears along the way, and copious amounts of laughter. Thankfully, our story is still being written.
See the first Love Stories entry here! If you would like to submit your story, please send an e-mail to lovestories@shopruche.com. You may attach up to 5 photos, and we welcome creativity! Please try to keep your stories to a 1200 word limit. You will receive an e-mail when your story is selected.
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