It’s been a long, wonderful time…
That first time I saw you at that party I knew I was going to meet you, get to know you, go on a couple of dates that summer. Not once did I think I would be proposing to you 11 years later…or spending hours on the phone hundreds of miles away from you. The surgeries, vacations, parties, and graduations. Cards with sweet notes in my pocket, sixteen-hour bus rides and meetings in Cleveland. Kids growing up, watching each other grow. Through all the good times and the bad times I am forever grateful and lucky that I took that chance with you that first day; and, every day since then.
Walking to a driveway to attend a friend’s party with a 3-year-old Ava J in tow, I spotted an attractive man with two bags of ice coming from the opposite direction. He smiled, that smile was the beginning, and gestured for Ava and me to go down the driveway first. Sitting with friends by the Bengals corn hole boards, the man with the smile asked whose Cincinnati boards are these. I responded that they were my brothers, he stated he had just come back from Cincinnati visiting his daughter and friends. My response was that I am from Cincinnati, well Erlanger Ky. There was that smile from him again, as he stated he was really visiting Erlanger Ky not Cincinnati. I made up an excuse to talk to him and his friend before I left earlier than most to take Ava J home. Two days later I had a friend request and a message on messenger. We chatted on messenger for a little while, and then he stated his internet was slow and that I should text him. So, a couple texts later and he asked me out, two weeks later we were on our first date. That date was the best first date and the best date I had ever been on, conversation flowed, chemistry was there, and he was respectful. Our first couple months were interesting to say the least, we both had pasts that we had to overcome. After six months of dating, I was offered a job to move back to NKY, and even though I liked this guy a lot, I was putting mine and Ava’s future first.
Three years! Three years of a long-distance relationship that we tried to make sure we never went longer than 90 days without seeing each other. Three years of phone conversations and learning about each other and how to communicate. Then the time came to combine our families, David luckily had already liked the Cincinnati area. Three kids, 3 cats and 1 dog, later we all moved in together. That first year was crazy and intense combining all our personalities under one roof. We made it through! Now 11 years after the beginning of us, we are still going strong. I love him more than I could ever imagine. He has picked me up when I have fallen, he has encouraged me when I did not think I could do something, and he has loved me through my crazy. This is the story of us, our future, our marriage!
Davd and Trista 