Well for me I was interested in Erin about a month before I asked her out. After a weekend trip at the beach where our friend Melanie got the wheels turning in my brain about maybe asking Erin out when I returned from my summer in Colorado playing music, I couldn't get the thoughts out of my mind. My friends and I were watching a movie on the big screen of the church I was working at and I knew Erin was waiting tables up the street at the Mellow Mushroom that night. After all my friends went home I sat around until she got off and walked her to her car. In the middle of Marshall Street I asked her out, and thus began our interesting ride.
Our first date I spent about an 1/8th of my entire month's salary taking her to a great restaurant, a concert, and then we hung out listened to snippits of the entire Bright Eyes discography. Our next date was a hike at Pilot Mountain, and a few more dates after that. Then I went to Colorado and it got a little tougher. Erin has been sweet and pleasant since I've known her and before I'm sure, but her shyness really tested me with the distance. By the end of the summer, it became too hard for my picky, impatient heart.
We spent about 6 weeks apart, but Erin's persistant drive kicked in and she wouldn't let me go. She showed up everywhere I was and eventually showed up on the list for a trip to the Dominican Republic I had planned to play music on. I couldn't escape and remembered why I liked her so much. After awhile back together we went on the trip and I had seen I could marry her. I spent the next months trying to see if her independent, driven soul would be willing to invite me into her plans future and present.
But the tunnel vision came around and on my end, I had a bit of a quarter life crisis. I became really focused on myself and ignored her a lot. She was Harvard bound and I waited for an invitation to participate instead of initiating the conversation myself. But it never came and I got the distinct (wrong) impression there was only room for Harvard or me, and while less expensive, I was not chosen. My quarter life crisis got more dramatic as I began to question my entire career path in Churches and even how I understood Christianity.
I grew a huge beard (pictures on the website for reference) and became very contemplative...and angry. Joe Farrell and I had coffee in the end of June and I decided to run as far from North Carolina as I could...San Diego. Once I made that decision things turned around. I began to see Christianity in new ways and my future too. On my way out to California, my friend Nick and I stayed with Erin and her family in Aspen...now a glaring non-coincidence. Nick couldn't stand the obvious connection we were missing and made extremely awkward comments to ease his discomfort, things we now understand.
When I got to California I decided it was time to man up. I always knew Erin was incredible, but never knew if we would ever be able to put aside our independence and drive to partner with each other. So I told her how it was and made a very emotional plea for forgiveness. She told me she loved me, but if I ever wanted her again I'd have to put a ring on her finger.
With extreme deliberation I spent the fall of 2007 in prayer, and every Sunday with Joe and Anne Farrell to recieve Joe's inquisitive guidance and Anne's authorative opinions (summed into awesome counsel). Anna Gissing, among many others helped too and in November I started getting ready to propose.
So I spent Decemeber lining up my ducks with Erin's parents (a consistant dowry of free coffee for her parents), getting the ring, and making arrangements. I proposed on January 4th and can't wait to grow up as more of a man to guide Erin through what will be her incredible life of accomplishment, all the while hoping her creativity and gracefulness will rub off on me.
No comments:
Post a Comment