The Story of Us

LPO and I used to be roommates. It seems like a long, long time ago. We were horrible housekeepers. Total slobs. We never bought groceries, never vacuumed, and left our clothes in the laundry room for days. We partied hard on weekends (& sometimes on week nights) and we mostly laid around and watched TV. The best thing about LPO was that we liked the same TV, for the most part. I could handle all the Sports Center and he could handle all of the reality show drama. About 3 months into our roommatedom, I met St. Pauly Boy. It wasn't an instant, I'm-so-in-love-I'm-running-away-with-him-right-now situation. The whole relationship thing made me very nervous. Uncomfortable, even. Prior to SPB, I was used to being the pursuer. I wanted to be the pursuer. I was comfortable being the pursuer. It's a control thing. But with SPB, it was different. Suddenly I was the pursuee, and it felt very strange. So I acted like a total chump. I mean, what else do you act like when you feel strange?

SPB was living in The OC full-time at this point in our relationship. In fact, he moved there to live and work, full-time, just 2 days after our first date. Which was 2 days after we met*. For the first month, he came to visit me every other weekend. Then he made the ultimate "I'm into you" move. He flew home from CA and then drove 8 hours into Wisconsin to meet up with me and 30 of my closest friends (including my only brother) for a camping trip and a couple of Dave Matthews concerts. I was so freaking nervous, sitting in my campsite surrounded by my friends, thinking about him driving down 94, wishing I had cell phone access to call the whole thing off and send him back home. So I pounded a few beers. I felt better once he got there.

Back to the acting like a chump thing. After the camping trip experience, he went back to CA for a couple weeks and then made arrangements to fly in for a weekend to see me. The night of his arrival, LPO and I had some friends over and I remember my stomach turning into knots at the thought of him. When he called to tell me that he'd landed, I told him that I didn't feel like hanging out that night and that maybe, just maybe I'd call him the next day. I could tell that he was crushed. And it really only made me feel worse. It was LPO and our mutual friend Rice who talked me down from the ledge. The two of them were talking about how much they liked St. Pauly Boy and how they would actually miss him if I broke it off. Sitting there listening to them talk about my boyfriend that way really triggered something in me. But I was too shy to fix it. When Rice offered to call him back and tell him to come over, I said yes. How awkward for SPB. His girlfriends [male] friend, that he's met twice, calling him up and re-inviting him over after she had made it clear she didn't want to see him that night. He wouldn't commit until I came to the phone and validated Rice's invitation. And I did.

After that night, I let myself love him. LPO was a big part of that. I'm not sure he knows.

LPO met his soulmate just another month after I met St. Pauly Boy. The 4 of us are very close. We all participated in each others weddings. We live pretty close and try, with all of lifes craziness, to get together on a regular basis. LPO and South St. Pauly Girl are one of the 3 people who actually read my blog! Now that's love. LPO and I laugh about how if neither of us had met our spouses, we'd still be living together in a messy apartment with no groceries and laundry overflowing. But I'm pretty sure we both agree that our current lives are too good to trade.

The inspiration for telling this story came last weekend when we got together with LPO and his South St. Pauly Girl and they announced that there is a little one on the way. I know my initial reaction was "OMG, you're going to be a dad!?!?", LPO, but honestly, I can't imagine anyone being a better one. I'm so happy for you guys and I can't wait until South St. Pauly Girl starts craving pickles and ice cream.

Here's to Gilly!!

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*The first meeting of SPG & SPB is somewhat controversial. We actually met twice before, but neither meeting was a positive experience**, so I count our first official meeting as the first time I actually really talked to him. That's the day I'm talking about here.

**He thought I was cute, I thought he was an ass.