So, I’m going to be honest with you…I found a special someone. I’m no longer “single in the city”, and quite frankly, I kind of like it. The story is actually one for the archives, so I’ll go ahead and share it with you. To cover my honey’s identity (and my own), our names for the purposes of this blog will be Dick and Jane. So here we go…

***When Jane was 14 years old, she was invited to a Dallas Stars hockey game by a schoolmate and eagerly agreed to go, being an avid hockey fan herself. Never did she expect what was to happen on that glorious evening. Once in their seats, Jane caught the eye of a handsome young man sitting a few rows in front of her. There were some long gazes, sheepish smiles, and some giggling from Jane and her friend. When half time began, this devastatingly handsome young man approached Jane and asked her name, which she happily divulged to him. His name was Dick, and he was 16 (older man!), and was a hockey player himself at his local high school. Dick wrote down his name, phone number, and instant messaging screen name (all the craze), and gave it to Jane on a small piece of white paper. The game continued and Brett Hull got a hat trick that night. Was it fate? Soon to find out…

Incredibly eager to get home, Jane rushed up to her computer, and added Dick as a friend on her buddy list. Dick was online! After chatting on instant messenger until all hours of the morning, Dick and Jane finally said goodnight. Jane crawled into bed with that nervous/excited feeling in her stomach, not knowing what lied ahead.

After some more chatting on instant messenger, and a few white lies to the parentals, Jane arranged to meet Dick for a movie. Eventually their relationship (a.k.a. phone relationship) went public, and Dick and Jane were officially an item. However, over a few weeks, Dick started acting sketchy, and Jane new something fishy was up. A few days later, Dick broke up with Jane, and she was devastated. The first boy that gave her that can’t-eat-can’t sleep, head over heels, crazily infatuated feeling was gone, and her heart was left in shambles.

Over several months, it seemed that Dick must have had some second thoughts about their break up, because he kept calling. Eventually he spilled the beans that the only reason he broke up with Jane was because his friends told him to since she was younger than him! Jane really thought he was a winner now, and hung up the phone. That was the last time she talked to Dick for several months.

There were the occasional meetings at Starbucks, and phone chats, but Jane’s heart was guarded and she was suspicious of this boy’s intentions. The years went by, and Dick graduated from high school and went to a college on the east coast for photography. During Christmas break that year, Dick got in a horrific car accident, in which he almost died. However, God must have been looking out for him, because he gave him a second chance. Even though he decided to not go back to the east coast, he settled into a little town in Texas called College Station.

Dick made the long trek up to the big city to see his family, and while in his room, his thoughts floated to Jane. He decided to call her and see how she was doing and if she wanted to meet for coffee and catch up. Jane agreed, but upon arriving at the coffee shop, it was closed. Jane and Dick sat on the ground in the parking lot for 4 hours just talking about life, and laughing about the immaturity of their past “relationship”. It was a beautiful summer night that she would never forget, but neither she, nor Dick, realized that it would be another 4 years before they would see each other again.

Jane graduated from high school and headed off to college, ready for the next chapter in her life. Dick joined the United States Navy, and was shipped off to Japan for two years. Nights can get lonely for some while sleeping on a boat, so many miles from home. While lying in bed one night, Dick’s thoughts once again floated to Jane, so he picked up the phone to make that incredibly costly international call. A very surprised voice answered on the other end, since it had been over a year since that special summer night. Dick and Jane started to exchange emails on a weekly basis. The emails allowed Dick to vent about life in the Navy and how it hadn’t exactly turned out like he had hoped. He looked forward to Jane’s responses because they comforted him, and he looked at her picture every night before he went to sleep.

The now “friendship” that had broken Jane’s teenaged little heart so many years before turned into daily phone calls once Dick came back to the U.S. and was stationed in San Diego. Jane was still talking to Dick when she met another boy who seemed like everything she had been waiting for. Not wanting to be unfaithful, Jane told Dick that it was probably best if they didn’t talk anymore. Dick didn’t understand, and felt hurt that Jane would do that in spite of all of their history. It was a little over a year before they spoke again.

Like so many of Jane’s previous relationships, this one turned out to be a doozie. The “jealous of your relationship with your dog” boyfriend was not really her type. While walking to the last football game of her college career, Jane’s cell phone rang and her heart stopped when she saw that it was Dick. Dick was watching the game on TV and wanted to know how Jane was doing. It was very loud, but Jane promised to call Dick later that night, and after hanging up, she felt that for the first time, the timing might be right.

Dick had finished his specialized combat training, and was about to graduate from school in San Diego and make the move to his new station in Louisiana. Jane was about to graduate from college in a few months, and over her Thanksgiving break, she and Dick were finally in the same vicinity to see each other again. They had lunch and went to see a movie at the theater they had gone to on their first “date” so many years before. The next day, Dick moved to Louisiana, but kept in contact with Jane.

Around Christmas time, Dick was in town visiting his family and invited Jane to come over for family dinner. A little hesitant (family dinner?!), Jane agreed. What she was expecting to be a very awkward night actually turned into an amazing night, so Jane and Dick spent the rest of the weekend together. With Christmas over, it was time for Dick to return to Louisiana, but he called Jane every day.

New Year’s Eve rolled around, and Jane was falling for Dick more and more. She decided to call him to wish him a happy new year, and was surprised to hear a girl’s voice in the background. Dick had met someone, and she was spending the week at his house. Thinking that things were going to be different this time around, Jane was heartbroken and told Dick to not call, text message, or email her ever again. She hung up the phone and refused to answer as Dick called over and over again. He sent her a text message that said, “Please answer. You don’t even have to talk to me, just let me say one thing.” Her phone rang again, and Jane answered without saying a word. Dick’s distraught voice on the other end explained that the girl was someone he had met while out, but she lived a few hours away. She had shown up on his doorstep one day, luggage in tow, saying that she was there to stay for a few days. Being the pushover that he is, Dick did not want to hurt her feelings, and agreed to let her stay. After hearing how upset Jane was on the phone, Dick was aware of how strong her feelings for him truly were, and he realized that he wanted to see that through. He immediately told the harlot that she had to go home. After gathering his thoughts he called Jane and this is what he said:

“Jane I am so incredibly sorry. Even though we are not in a relationship, we have been talking every day, and it was wrong and dishonest of me to not tell you what was going on. When you told me to not call you anymore, I realized that I had screwed things up with you once again. And I can’t help but wonder why you’ve continued to let me off the hook for so many years, and if you decided not to this time, I would understand. But I just want you to know that for the past 8 years, you’ve been the one thing that is constant, and good, and true in my life. I know I’m an idiot, and I never say the right thing, or do the right thing, but I’d like one last chance to prove to you that I’m not that idiot that dumped you 8 years ago. If I get in my car right now, I can be where you are by midnight, and if that what it takes for you to know that I’m serious, that’s what I’ll do. I went to millions of hockey games in high school, but the one game that was ever worth going to was the game where I met you. I figure that if I met you at 16 and we’re still talking, there’s got to be something there. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to see that through.”

Jane was speechless and hesitant, but she knew that 8 years was a long time, and a lot to throw away. Hearing the words of her mother echoing in her head, “everything happens for a reason,” Jane realized that there must have been a good reason as to why everything kept coming full circle back to her and Dick. She realized that if she took the chance and it didn’t work out, she would eventually bounce back; but if she didn’t take the chance and told him to scram, she would always wonder what might have been. So Jane went with her gut, and forgave Dick for what he had done. And to this day, Dick still hears about his misconduct on a daily basis. ***

So that was the long story of “Dick and Jane” and the rollercoaster of a ride they have been on together for almost a decade. Love (did I just say love? More on that later.) sometimes finds you in the most peculiar places. A wise friend once told me, “Love normally finds you when you stop looking for it and just let things happen in their own good time,” and she was right. I think that it is so much more important to find Mr. Right than Mr. Right Now. Don’t waste your time on the angry dog haters, tight wads, annoyingly perfects, bad joke tellers, selfish jerks, or any other type that you’ve come across. You’re not going to change them. I encourage you to stop looking, because when you do, the greatest things fall right in your lap. Sometimes everything can seem upside down, but when you least expect it, the world will right itself again.

xoxo
Tinstar Sweetheart