Celebrating 2 Years Together!

This post is not travel related, but I wanted to take a few minutes to tell you a little about ourselves. Tina and I reunited on a random Thursday night about 3 months after I was separated from my ex-wife. She came back into my life at the perfect time. I had been on a couple of dating apps, and did not like what I saw, even though I never took a date with anyone. I had just deleted the apps a week prior and had pretty much resigned myself to being a bachelor. I knew Tina from CrossFit since back in 2018 or so, and had even interacted with her on a CrossFit Cruise, but I was married at the time, so obviously I did not look at her as a posssible partner. I bumped into her again at a club in mid January, but again did not consider the possibility, because I thought that she was out of my league.

That Thursday night, I was driving into town becaused I was bored alone at the house, and I stopped at Cardinals in Clayton just to see who was there. Normally I would never stop there around 8pm, because most people start the night in other places and end their night at Cardinal, since they are open the latest. Tina also would have normally never beeen there. She had dinner alone across the street at Manning's, and would normally go srtraight home afterwards, but was also tired of being lonely, so she walked The Cardinal. When I walked in, she was the first person I saw with a big ol welcoming smile on her face as she greeted me and asked what I was drinking. I told her I usually start the night with a shot of Jameson and a Michelob Ultra. She proclaimed that she would have the same, and we enjoyed some conversation as we did the shot and drank the beers together. What she did next surprised the heck out of me. I can't remember what we were talking about, but mid-sentence, she leaned in and kisssed me right on the mouth. I couldn't believe it! Tina is kissing me! That must have felt right, because a few minutes later she kissed me again. After that we hung out and talked and kissed like a couple of teenagers, completely oblivious to everyone around us. The picture above is from our official first date at Front Street Tavern 3 days later.

We talked every day since then, sometimes for 2-3 hours at a time. We kept the relationship to ourselves, because we just wanted to enjoy it and see where it went. Both of us had skeptisism left over from previous failed relationships. We openly discussed everything: what we wanted in a relationship, what we didn't want, and what we refused to tolerate. I credit our relationship today with that early on communication and openness with each other.

What I loved the most about Tina, is her openness, honesty, and how much she trusted me. I had never been with a girl who wasn't suspicious of my every move. Tina has never nagged me, has never tried to manipulate me, and has never questioned decisions that I made. She has trusted me every step of the way, which I value the most. There is nothing worse that being questioned for something that you have not done. They say that men prefer feeling respected over being loved, and I agree.

We hung out as often as our work schedules allowed, and I was always blown away at how similar we were. We like the same foods, enjoy the same activities, love to travel and explore, and both value fitness and nutrition. We also hold a similar work hard, play hard mentatlity. We work hard at our jobs and hobbies, but when it's time to relax, we both enjoy a cold beer or a strong whiskey when we have the chance. We are intentional about down time, and live in the moment, enjoying it as much as possible.

We kept our dating a secret for about 6 or 7 weeks. We finally had to tell everyone when we attended a party at a friend's house. Everyone was wondering why I was so happy, and when they found out that it was Tina, everyone that knew us both reacted with something like "of course, that makes complete sense!". Tina eventually joined the CrossFit gym that I went to, which gave us even more time together. It soon got to the point, where if I showed up anywhere without her, people immediately asked where she was.

One time, at my pool opening party, I was kissing Tina by the pool, and a good friend of mine came rushing over, she had not recognized Tina from that angle, and she was about to cuss me out for kissing another woman. I love that my friends and family immediately realized that we were perfect for each other. Coworkers who had not seen me for some time were always commenting on how much happier I looked and acted.

I finally got to meet her family at Carolina Beach in May of 2022. They immediately liked me, and we have had a strong bond ever since. They love how I treat Tina with the dignity and respect that she deserves. She is a strong, fearsly independant women, calloused by mistreatement by men for years, but she still allows me to do things for her to demonstrate my love and does not show me that calloused side. She knows that her scars did not come from me, and does not try to put blame on me that belongs to others.

Tina and I both have a passion for fitness and nutrition. We work hard and play hard. We're not super strict, but when it coming to eating healthy, we use the 80/20 rule (80% healthy, with occasional cheats). I love that we share so many of the same values and my hope is that it affords both of us long lives and the ability to enjoy it to the fullest.

My Son and his girlfriend love Tina so much, and during the early days, we enjoyed many at home dinners together, because we all enjoy cooking, and sometimes we would take turns so one couple would cook for the other. I am so blessed that my Son was immediately drawn to Tina and there was never any awkwardness. Many times I have walked in on them having great conversation, and it really warmed my heart.

The best part of finding someone so compatible with you, is that there is never a dull moment, and you can always joke around and mess with the other person.

Among other things, we really enjoy hiking outdoors and spending time in the Mountains.

Perhaps the only local desitination that we enjoy even more than the Mountains, is the Beach!

This was our first semi-formal picture together, taken at her Sister's 40th Birthday Party. When we first started dating, I said "Babe, you are the tallest girl I ever dated.", she replied with "Well, you're the shortest guy I ever dated!".

In August, I was able to cordinate with Tina's little Sister, Tiffany, and setup a surprise 50th Brithday Party for her. I wanted it to be a Irish-themed party, as we were leaving the following week to celebrate with a week long trip to Ireland! We set it up at a local Irish Pub, and it was a huge success. We had about 20 of her closest friends and family there, and she never suspected a thing! We had such a great time!

On the way home, she had tears in her eyes. I asked her what was wrong, and she said "Nothing! I just realized that all those people were there for me, and it just hit me all at once." We both got a bit emotional, because it means the World to me that everyone seems to love Tina just as much as I do (well, maybe almost as much!). When we got home, I finally dropped the "L" word that I had suppressed for weeks. She said that she was in love with me too, and I knew right then that I could never let this Woman leave.

Our first International trip together was a raging success! We got to do all of the things that we planned, and some than we never dreamed of. Ireland is so incredibly beautiful, and I am so glad that we to enjoy this trip together. If you would like to read about it and see some great pictures, make sure you go read the travel blog that I wrote just for that trip.

See? We never have any fun! This was our early Holloween weekend, as we would be in Cancun for the actual Holiday. You can read the blog about that trip as well.

We had such a fun trip to Cancun, where we stayed at my first all-inclusive resort. It was so nice to just relax and not have to worry about cooking, cleaning, laundry, or anything and just enjoy each other.

I guess this is a good enough place to wrap up our first year together. We had a great year, and we will have many more to come. Thanks for joining us in this Journey! Stay tuned for many more trips to come! We already have a 7 day Alaskan Cruise planned, and a 9 day Grecian Island Cruise planned as well. Thanks again for reading, and the biggest thanks of all to Tina, for making this all possible for kissing me in a bar on a random Thursday night... I love you babe, now and forever. -Micah