Love actually...

A year ago this weekend, my beloved college roomie came to town for the annual "Rumble in the Rink". RITR is the annual hockey tournament which pits Tech, Georgia, FSU, and UF against one another in a heated battle for supremacy. As part of the weekend's fun and frolicking, KD demanded that I bring the guy that I had been gushing about for weeks. This said guy, Jamie, was a very good friend that I was secretly (or maybe not so secretly) hoping would become something more.

After the hockey game on Friday night, KD, Jamie, myself and a buddy of Jamie's head out for a night out on Riverstreet. Dinner, drinks, and dancing followed. The late hour combined with my intake of "adult beverages" meant that I was unable to drive myself home, so I crashed at Jamie's place. During the course of conversation, I casually mentioned to him that several people had been asking me to clarify our relationship. I queried "When people ask me who you are, what should I tell them?” For a moment, he looked at me as though I had spouted a second head, and then replied without hesitant, "How about telling them I'm your boyfriend."

I am sure my chin must have dropped to the floor. (Luckily it was dark). Apparently, the feelings of attraction that I had been fighting were not one sided at all. I happily agreed to begin referring to him as boyfriend. And here we are, one year later and still going strong.

I won't say that the last year has been all peaches and cream. Having the person you love being eight hours away can place a strain on any relationship. However, learning to make our relationship work in spite of the difficulties is an experience I wouldn't trade for the world. I love him, he loves me. And that is more than anyone can dare to hope for.