Three Turned To Five

My long weekend turned into a week. Five day weekend. Fantastic. 

A day in my pyjamas until lunch, a day for Australia, a day organising and exploring with Mr J, time spent with family and friends, time for an open fire barbeque and a few beverages. I ate way too much food, it was fun. 

Lauren P

Lauren P. I have know this girl for fifteen of my twenty years. Throughout our life we have shared the ups and downs of living. 

It started on the first day of reception in 1998. Our teacher would have us line up for chapel in pairs - we always were buddies. We were the founders of the CC club (abbrev. for Cool Club) which would meet regularly to eat CC's and talk coolness, collected these cute bears, we would stay up until 11pm at sleepovers and feel rebellious, we adored the same boy during junior school, were a great shooting team in netball, joined each other in tennis and she always would bring the competitiveness out in me - in grade one, while I was still reading moderate picture books, Lauren was up to short novels... I may have skipped a few pages to get to the same level as her {guilty face}. We were two peas in a pod. Grade three we became a trio with Amy and were inseparable as we continued our sleepovers, sport and friendship.

Grade four I was split from Lauren and Amy at school. I was in a different class, different teacher and we were all making new friends. It happened all so suddenly that eventually our close friendship was just a memory. Grade eight, Lauren and I attended different high-schools. We were big kids now. 

Halfway through year nine my english, maths and art class gained a student - It was Lauren! From that moment our friendship was re-built. We started where we left off, as though we never were distant. We saw each other regularly, wrote each other letters, had a joint 16th birthday party, laughed a lot and continued netball and tennis together. We often reminisce about the english lesson we finished an entire block of chocolate, just the two of us. It certainly was yummy, however, for Lauren's following birthday, I gave her an apple. We attempted healthy eating a number of times together. On one occasion we went to the shop to purchase a piece of fruit with the lowest calories = grapefruit. We were so proud of ourselves that our afternoon snack wouldn't give us the guilt's  To our disgust, the fruit tasted gross so we decided to cover it with sugar and finish it off. Healthy eating fail. 

Until this day, Lauren is my best friend. A girl who is the closest thing to a sister. Someone I can share anything with. We have cried, laughed, been stubborn, agreed and disagreed together. I love Lauren for her commitment, passion, advice, listening ear, humour, opinions, selflessness and most of all her friendship. I can not count the occasions she has been by my side in happy and sad times. I love this girl more than a dog loves his bone. Looking forward to our lives ahead. 

My Love Story

Mr J and I first lay eyes on each other in the summer of 2009 at Thebarton Ice Arena. My friend {Amy} recognised Mr J as her boyfriend's {Mark} basketball side-kick, but wasn't certain. For the next fifteen minutes we used our slightly skilled, yet clumsy skating to follow this long dark haired boy around the rink, trying to pick similarities out from what she previously remembered of him. Eventually, we got the guts to call him over. Before he was within three meters of us, I bailed. All I remember thinking as I watched him talk was, "Crackamoly! Why does all that cuteness make me lose my skating ability when I'm near him?"

Without saying diddly squat to each other, something attracted me to him. I couldn't help but ask Amy and Mark about Mr J the following day. They then informed me that Mr J had been asking about me too! Oh.My.Gosh. With a little hesitation to do phone number swapsies with a stranger, I convinved myself it was safe. Consecutive mornings I started receiving messages wishing me a wonderful day. We shared the same stress and study requirements of grade eleven exams and the hope to get to know each other better. 

A week or two later I was squirming with nerves to meet Mr J for the first time at the Wallis Cinemas. We double dated with Mark and Amy to see The Time Travellers Wife. Great movie, great company. Nerves weren't needed because as soon as Mr J and I started talking, we didn't stop. We started a friendship that day which I didn't want to end. 

The following days were spent on the phone for hours. How is it possible for someone to make me laugh so much? I remember learning about his passion for sport, knee reconstruction, favourite comedian and discussing if white is a colour or not. Our fondness for each other grew and we would tell each other that we wished the conversations never had to end. 

Mr J asked me if I would go to church with him. This would be our first official date and I didn't hesitate. We shared our love for God together and it was amazing. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy every minute with Mr J, I felt closer to God and learnt that this man can sing!  

The following week, we had another movie date followed by fish and chips in the park. Three hours of talking and laughing later, the topic to pursue a relationship occurred. We both admitted we never thought of anything more than friendship this soon, however we couldn't see ourselves going another way. We had connected and feelings were growing. From that day, the 2nd of December 2009 we started as boyfriend and girlfriend, deciding to get to know each other more and more each day. I could no longer deny I completely admired this handsome hills boy.

Living forty minutes away from each other was a trek for someone newly licensed, but coincidentally Mr J transferred to my high school for grade twelve the following year. We supported each other through our final year of studies before entering the big wide world of work. We grew closer, found each others ticklish spots, encouraged each others passions and were happy. 

Two years after we started dating, things started to get surprisingly tough. We separated.  Every emotion possible fell on top of me, more than I knew what to do with. I learnt who my true friends were, how supportive my family are and introduced myself to strength and dark chocolate. It wasn't long until Mr J wanted to re-kindle our relationship, yet I found it hard to trust I wouldn't lose him again. A month of occasional catch ups, trekking up Mt Lofty, phone calls, prayers, questions and answers, Mr J surprised me with a date to the first restaurant we ever attended together. I had only seen this place once, but recognised it instantly. Over dinner we shared tears, our regrets and a hope we could make this work again. Time passed and I began to realise how much Mr J cares for me, he still loved me just as much as before and would do anything for me. It was time for me to chuck those grudges in the bin, forgive and commit to re-building our relationship. I'm not going to lie, it wasn't easy, however, we can both say we have felt more love for each other than ever before.

Four months later we traveled our pre-arranged overseas holiday {the start of the travel bug!} and knew we would soon be heading towards getting engaged.

22 December 2012, Mr J proposed in a way that only Mr J could. I was reassured that I will be spending the rest of my life with my best friend, partner in crime and love of my life. This guy is my rock who leaves a smile on my face every day. The wedding planning begins and so does the rest of our lives.

A New Start

Welcome to Living Life Today. We have packed up and moved to blogger. This is my second blog. Same name. Different place. It may be permanent or may be temporary... let's find out together. You ask, why did we move? Living Life Today needed a change. I needed motivation. 

Thanks to my family and friends who follow me. 

Feel free to leave any comments, in fact I encourage them! You are my inspiration and laugh. 

{Visit the original LLT here}