The Crush that Started it All

I first noticed Derrick in a stalker-ish sort of way.  Sophomore year of high school I would be sure to walk by him on my way to class, follow his sports schedule, track down his friends and maybe get a "hi" mustered up as we passed in the halls. After a mutual friend stood up for me and got his AIM screen name, the chatting online seemed to start immediately.  I didn't want to seem too creepy but inside I was freaking out that my crush was talking to me.  I weirdly would write down and keep notes of his likes/dislikes, and might have even of gone so far as to print our conversations.  Fast forward a few months after a rejection by him to the Sadie Hawkins Valentines Day dance, and a awkward 16th Birthday party, and many online conversations, we started dating.

We dated through out the rest of high school, and college.  We thankfully both stayed in Lincoln for College and were always there to support each others dreams with school and careers.  We were practically inseparable but finally in May of 2009 Derrick proposed to me at the San Diego Zoo via a Caricature artist that he had commissioned to draw a beautiful engagement photo.  The whole day surprised the heck out of me, and he in my books wins hands down for best proposal ever.

June 12, 2010 I married the man of my dreams.  We moved in together after our wonderful two week Hawaiian honeymoon and started our life together as husband and wifey.  We enjoyed life as young 20 somethings with friends, work, and trying out adulthood.  It wasn't until a year or two later we would find our next step in life wouldn't come as easy as we had hoped.