How We Met – Our Love Story

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Mmmm…..brace yourself as ours is not the average fairy tale romance!

I first met Keith at a local bar in a group of friends mainly because a friend of mine was interested in him.  I honestly was still married to my first husband although things were already headed south. Flash forward a year and my husband and I were separated and one night I watched him walk into the bar with those amazing dimples complete with starched jeans and shirt and a cowboy hat and my heart literally melted.  He was just a baby at almost 24 and I was almost 29!!  Our birthdays are a day apart, his mom & I shared a middle name and his stepmom’s name is Shelley and I immediately thought it was just fate!  Ha!

There were probably quite a few miller lites and some dancing involved over a couple of weeks seeing each other out before we finally had our first date.  I’ll never forget eating at Outback and ordering Alice Springs chicken instead of steak because I didn’t want to appear too expensive. Later he told me he didn’t understand why anyone would waste time on chicken at a steak place…noted!   Then we went to see Armageddon at the movies and oh my goodness I was totally in love!  I mean I’m sure it was just the movie but I was certain he was the one.  How could you pass on a guy who used a line like “has anyone ever told you you are finer than frog hair”?  Seriously not a joke!  Lots of two stepping and I always melted when he would whisper “can I ask you a favor” and then he would follow with “can I lead?”.  I’m still working on the control thing!  And oh my goodness when we were in his truck and he put the console up so I could slide over…eek…my heart skips a beat just thinking about it!

At the time Keith was actually working for Texas A&M at a farm operation and so the spring and summer meant lots of late nights driving a tractor….insert a big fat smile here.  I cannot tell you how much I loved taking him dinner and hopping up in that tractor and riding for hours. Ironically Kenny Chesney came out with the song She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy during the time we were dating!! Coincidence? I think not.

Our dating life was not traditional.  I had my Bigs to raise and I really didn’t have Keith meet them until we had been dating for quite awhile. Most of our time was spent meeting up at a bar with friends, playing dominoes, meeting for lunch several times a week and me hanging out watching him play softball….with lots of tractor riding in between.  We would date for awhile and then date other people and somehow we always just kept making our way back to each other.

After we had been dating off and on for 2 years Keith was laid off his job. It was honestly such a blessing for him in disguise as he found a new job which was going to be much better for his future but it was in Austin.  I had no clue what that would mean for us.  Before he left we went on a hunting trip together in West Texas.  Y’all….nothing will let you know whether or not you really like someone like spending 4 days with no running water together.  I have never been out in the middle of absolutely nowhere like this in my life!  Both of us forgot contact solution and I kid you not we made a 4 hour drive round trip to buy some.  Sitting in a deer stand at the crack of dawn watching the sunrise and seeing stars like I have never seen before coupled with only bathing with wet wipes will definitely bond you or break you!  I remember listening to the Dixie Chicks song Cowboy Take Me Away over and over and over again and thinking of this time together.

So off he went to Austin to start his new life.  There was some discussion about me moving to Austin but I was very nervous about leaving a job I loved and uprooting my Bigs.  While my ex and I could not make a marriage work we parent well together and my kids needed their dad. We saw each other every other weekend and sometimes more if I drug my kids to Austin but at some point we split once again.  I swore I was really done this time and I have a couple of friends who would have been rich if they had a dime for every time I said that!

Keith changed his mind a few weeks later and while I was unsure I was still just so happy when we were together.  And then we found out we were going to be parents…together.  Like I said..not the traditional fairy tale.  We were on our way to another wedding a month later and I was touching up my makeup at his moms house when he popped in the bathroom and handed me a ring.  Literally handed it to me!  I asked if he was going to get on one knee and he said “you either want it or you don’t”.  This seems so blah and boring and sad unless you know Keith and then it is just funny and perfect.  The kicker is this ring was actually purchased years before for another girl he thought he wanted to marry but it just happened to fit me perfectly.
I’m pretty sure he has some friends who may have lost some money betting against our marriage lasting. The one thing about Keith is he is committed.  When he decided he wanted to spend his life with me I knew he was serious.  We have been married 14 1/2 years and I have never doubted he thinks I’m the perfect one for him.  Even when he drives me crazy and I have given him every reason to not love me he is still just so crazy about me.
This was the song we danced to at our wedding and it was just so perfect!  Keith tried so hard to be this guy with a hard heart; a rambling man but when he looks at me I know how much his heart is all mine.  I’m so grateful for this guy!
A traditional love story is amazing.  Having a committed relationship that follows all the rules is what I would hope for most people and especially my children. What really matters is the ability to commit and love someone on those days when their breath stinks and they are truly ugly not just on the outside but all the way to the core.  Our marriage has not been perfect and there have definitely been some shaky times but the safety of knowing neither of us is willing to walk has allowed us to grow together instead of apart. In the end Keith and I are both our best when we are together.
We were talking this past weekend about our dating life that seemed so long ago.  I don’t know how with all the ups and downs there really was never much drama between us.  When we split we just moved on and if we decided to come back together we picked back up without any hard feelings.  It was really kind of odd for me because I had some very volatile crazy dating relationships as well as a drama filled marriage but we really were always pretty drama free.  I saw this quote and thought it summed it up pretty well.  It was just meant to be!
Click here to see all Show & Tell posts!
I originally wrote this post in February 2015 but am reviving today for Tuesday Talk!
Beth at Our Pretty Little Girls  //  Becky at BYBMG
Jessica at Sweet Little Ones  //  Emily at Raising Barnes
Stephanie at Wife Mommy Me  //  Stasia at Our Life on a Budget
Sarah at Abiding In Grace  //  Ruthie at Rear. Release. Regroup.
Laura at Life Is Beautiful  //  Christina at Waltzing In Beauty
Whitney at Polka Dotty Place
Originally linked with Andrea at Momfessionals for her Show & Tell series!
Check out my link here to see where else I might be linking up today!

24 Comments

  1. I love your story! How wonderful that you and Keith kept coming back to each other. And the quote at the end is exactly how I felt when I met Michael. When you meet the person that just feels right without all the drama or doubts, you know it's the real deal. Have a good Tuesday!

  3. Ok…another thing we have in common…Wayne graduated with an Ag Business degree and his dad was a farmer. Wayne worked at the college farm some while we were dating, but I never rode with him on a tractor. Loved reading your story.

  4. You guys are just the cutest things since – heck, I don't know – it's hard competing with frog hair! 🙂 I LOVE the candid color picture from your wedding. You guys look so happy! Love you both and love your story!

  11. Oh my gosh, Shelly. This was so much fun to read! I feel like I got to know your personality so much. Your love story could seriously be a movie – I love it because it's real. (And so funny! I love that he just gave you the ring, ha!)

  14. This story is the un-edited version, right? LOL! Without your Queen Bees link up, I might never have found it to read for myself. It explains all the other posts I read of yours in the present about your family. Sounds like you hit the jackpot with Keith. I'm very happy your story has a continued "happy ending."

    1. Haha….yes, I would definitely say there isn't much about me that is not un-edited. I'm pretty sure my uber private mom wonders sometimes how in the world I turned out this way!! Over-sharer deluxe! Thank you so much for reading and especially for linking up with us today! Means more than you know!!

  15. I just started following your blog and usually don't comment, but your story is so real and gives me hope that relationships can last through life's challenges. Thanks! 😊

  17. What a fun love story, Shelly! It sounds like God has blessed you with a good man and a sweet marriage! The pictures are great!
    I found your post today on Tuesday Talk.
    Hope you have a blessed day~
    Melanie

  18. I have to comment again since I read it again! Always a fun story and always love looking at how happy you are in the photos. Thanks for joining us today on Tuesday Talk's Love Stories.

  21. I had to laugh at the birthday thing because my husband and I are only 8 days apart, and I thought it was fate too! Bahaha! Thank you so much for sharing your story – not just the ups but the downs too. A fairy tale story is awesome, but it doesn't always mean it will work. You have to constantly choose love for the other even when – especially when! – it's tough like you said. That's what really counts. Thanks, Shelly, for sharing this with us for Tuesday Talk! -Jessica, Sweet Little Ones

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