The gift

I got stuff to put in an Easter basket for Drew & for my mom but as would be the case for me, I got home & realized I had left all of the stuff at school.

I hadn't completed the shopping for the contents of Drew's basket yet (plus I ate all of the Reeses Eggs. Whoops.)  so I just kinda gave up on the idea & went on my merry way celebrating Easter without Easter baskets for my loves. Oh well. 

But since I didn't put the stuff in Easter baskets for them I was left with some chocolate, lip plumping lip gloss & hair clips for my mom and Sour Patch Kids bunnies (his favorite) and a big pack of gum I had picked up for Drew. 

So last night I remembered the things & I was like, "Hey! Drew! I have some surprises for you! Close your eyes!" 

You know, because it's always mandatory that someone's eyes be closed when giving them a surprise. 

Anyway, he was thrilled with the candy & started eating the Sour Patch Kids right away & that was that until he was like, "Oh! I have a present for you in my car too!" 

I lost my beloved Camelback water bottle yesterday & I told him about it & he said he'd get me a new one so I figured that's what it was & I was pumped! 

We ran to his car in the rain & once we got inside he said, "I don't really have a present for you, I just wanted you to walk out here with me."

 I was sad but he quickly said, "Just Kidding!" and opened up the console and pulled out a watch.

It was a watch that was not in a box or a bag or anything that meant he bought it and it was ugly as hell and I know that boy. I was all "Drew, where did you get this?" and he started saying something about why did I have to know where it was from etc. etc. but I didn't let up because I knew. 

"Was this your mom's that she didn't want anymore?" No.

"Was this your grandma's that she didn't want anymore?" No.

"Ok well it says Chico's on it & I know you've never been to Chico's"

"What's Chaco's?" ::ha!::  That Boy. 

"Did you find it?" Laughs. "Maybe! But isn't it pretty?"

So now I have yet another thing that doesn't match a thing I own, is totally not my style, that Drew gave me, that I have to pretend that I like & wear at least once.

If you see that scar, no I don't cut, I scraped my arm on a bookshelf.

& this is just one of the reasons I seriously love this boy. 

 He honestly thinks it's pretty & never thought I'd know.

Growing Up Together

I wrote the post last week about Drew pushing my car & how I sometimes just take things for granted, but he's great. Do you remember that?

Well I've been thinking about it today & on top of all of those feelings, I think there is another big realization about us that has hit me. I'm pretty sure we're finally starting to get each other & how to be in a relationship.

Being together as long as we have is hard. It's that simple. It's really hard.

I truly believe that girls do mature quicker than boys and as you may have noticed, I matured even faster than that.

 Heck, during the summer when I was 8 years old, I woke up, dressed myself, made myself breakfast & rode my bike to the babysitter half a mile away. My parents decided that if I wanted to sleep in I could because I was that responsible at 8.

Drew and I have just been different in that way. He was never given a ton of responsibility, never had any life-changing issues like a parent being out of work or divorce. Nothing forced him to grow up early like it did me, which I think is a blessing. Yet, the maturity difference made things hard for us & it still does.

Since we've been together so long, people remember the time he put syrup & oatmeal on my car when we were 16. They remember when he hooked up with another girl on Spring Break sophomore year. They remember lots of things.

But the thing is? He just did stuff almost every high-school boy does. Boys are boys. Most people just don't date as long as we do & certainly not through high school so no one talks about what the boy did when he was 16.

My point is, even though it has taken nearly 6 years and lots of break-ups, not being allowed to see each other, fights and tear-filled nights, I think we're finally there. I think we finally understand each other.

He's starting to do things without me asking & I'm starting apologize for expecting perfection.

We tell each other things that we may not really want to hear and accept that sometimes we need to hear things we don't want to.

& most importantly, we're starting to understand what each other need & how we can do those things for each other.

Sure, it's taken a while, but the saying goes, "what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger" and I think it's especially true in our case.