It was the beginning of summer 2009. I had just finished my second to last year of college. The first semester had been a little rough. It was full of heartache and disappointment. This is when I learned the importance of surrounding myself with a few close girlfriends. I had never been one to be close to girls. Growing up, all my friends had been guys; I just felt more comfortable around them. I was never interested romantically in my closest guy friends. They were there when I needed to talk, and I returned the favor. They laughed at my crushes, teased me, and treated me like "one of the guys." Honestly, I loved every second of it.
When my friend Grace said that she was wanted to set me up with a guy she knew from her work study job at school, I was hesitant. I didn't know if I was ready for a relationship. I had come out of a messy relationship less than a year earlier, and I was happy being single. I felt like I was in a pretty good place in my life. She wanted a friend at her husband's club Spring Banquet, and Garrett was in club with Tim. Despite my reservations, I agreed to a blind date, with the condition that Tim and Grace would go with us. However, Garrett had other plans. When Grace told him about her friend Mackenzie, he immediately shot her down. Several times. However, Grace is known to be persistent, and he finally agreed. By this time Spring Banquet had long past and we were on summer break.
The blind date was arranged for Memorial Day 2009. Tim set everything up and decided that we would go see Terminator Salvation at the local movie theater followed by dinner at Cracker Barrel. By the end of the date, Garrett and I had said maybe 10 words to each other. During dinner he and Tim had talked about video games, which I knew nothing about, and Grace and I had our own "girl" conversation. The next day I sent him an e-mail thanking him for dinner and put thoughts of him out of my mind. It was summer ... we would have to make an effort to see each other, and maybe we could be friends once the next school year started.
At some point during the summer I posted a status on Facebook about how I had never seen the Star Wars movies. I really had no interest in watching them, before, but had been continually ridiculed for not seeing these "classic" movies, so I went on a hunt for someone who owned the set. Garrett was the first to respond to this Facebook hunt. He offered to bring the movies by my house that evening. My roommates encouraged me to ask him to stay and watch one with me. I remember feeling very nervous and giddy ... a feeling that I never even felt with my previous boyfriend. It was very strange. He stayed and watched the first (or fourth?) movie with me, and honestly I cannot tell you what it was about. I do remember talking to him throughout most of the movie.
We hung out in big groups a couple more times that summer, and by the time school started I was crazy about him. I had never had such a big crush on anyone. I knew this guy was going to be important in my life! At some point during the first month or two of school, we started watching a TV show called Dollhouse together. I'm not really sure how we got started watching it, but I eagerly anticipated every evening we were able to watch the show together. Like a perfect gentleman, he always walked me back to my apartment at night, and I would open my door to 3 roommates eager to hear if he had asked me to be his girlfriend yet. On October 25th, 2009, I was able to answer that question with a very excited, "YES!!!"
In December we were already talking about getting married. I spent Christmas Eve at his house because my flight to Colorado had been cancelled due to snow. When I woke up to him on Christmas morning, I knew I wanted to spend every Christmas I could in the Keck's living room. It was perfect. His mom even stole candy out of his brother's stockings so that I could have my own stocking!
Garrett asked me to marry him on April 24th, 2010, and we were married on August 20th. It was fast, but I have never looked back. Every single day with him is more perfect than the last, and I fall more in love with him every minute. He is truly my soul mate. I am still crazy about him. He is the one I want to tell everything, and the one I want to spend every possible minute with. His hugs make everything better, and just holding his hand makes me feel like the most loved and luckiest girl in the world.
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