by Kayla
I can still remember my first crush. It must have been about 2002 or 2003, and we were both on the same summer swimming team. Go Deerfield Dolphins! I don’t know if it was the sweltering Texas heat making me delirious or the sexy, skin tight swim Jammers he was rocking on that 8-year-old bod, but I was smitten the moment he asked to escort me to the starting block… insert swooning emoji here…. Actually, I take that back, it was for sure the frosted tips. After that fateful day, I think I wrote the name Yorn 500,000 times in my diary, and I was certain we were going to get married. Well, that dream lasted a whole 2 minutes because I quickly decided that “Girls go to college to get more knowledge, and boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider.” What a waste of paper in my diary.
I guess the moral of that story is that when I fall for someone, I fall quick. But as quickly as I fall, I normally jump ship even quicker…. Also, I need to make a confession. I “technically” had one other boyfriend in 8th grade. His name was Walter, and we dated for a whole 2 weeks. I found out from a friend that he wanted to kiss me, so I did the only thing a normal, rational, sane girl would do - I had my friend break up with him for me at the 8th grade dance and then proceeded to dance to Single Ladies while he watched. You seriously can’t make this shit up (don’t @ me), but I digress… So given my previous relationship success, I was not very focused on locking down a man in high school or early college. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely had some flings and crushes (I solemnly swear that I have never gone on a date soley for free food...or maybe I have. Sue me), but at the end of the day, nothing stuck. That is, until I met my husband.
Marc and I met during my freshman year at Texas A&M. He was a sophomore at the time and we met through a mutual student organization. Unlike my previous “relationships,” this one took a few tries to ignite the spark. The first night we officially spoke to each other was at an ABC (anything but clothes) party in April of 2014. There may or may not have been underage drinking involved, but because this was pre-MIP Kayla we can all just assume the former. Marc and I were gathered around the punch bowl and he challenged me to a chugging contest. I can’t say for certain who won because we both differ on that piece of the story, but between you and me, the name of the winner rhymes with Layla. After a few rounds of the game, he escorted both me and my soon-to-be roommate back to his dorm where an after-party was happening; however, he then proceeded to leave me with his friends while he went to meet with another girl. Spoiler alert: he left me on two different occasions to see two different girls!
Obviously, the story doesn’t end there, though. In June, I was hosting a housewarming party and my roommate decided to invite him over. Marc actually grew up in College Station (Cstat), so he was one of the few people still in town over the summer. Honestly, there is no other reason to be in Cstat over the summer unless you work or live there. Almost instantly, we hit it off again, though. It may have just been the booze, but the entire night flew by and before we knew it, it was 7:00am and we were still up talking… My old-lady self still shudders at the thought of losing sleep because of a boy (and for good reason). That next day at the pool was the absolute worst day of my life! I was a lifeguard at the time, and thank God nobody needed saving that day because I was worthless. Anyone who knows me understands that I need at least 8 hours of sleep to function. Nevertheless, young Kayla thought it would be a good idea to invite him over again the next night because my decisions as a college student were sometimes questionable. Of course, he showed up again and we spent the whole evening talking and laughing...that is until he abruptly got up and left. P.S. This is where he left me a second time for another girl. Luckily, I now know he was just going to tell his “other woman” that he met someone else. Phew!
Over the next few weeks we talked every single day and saw each other as much as possible. Once July rolled around, I was getting pretty anxious, though, because we still hadn’t “defined the relationship” or even had our first kiss. Naturally, I was starting to freak out! Also, I would like to point out that at this point in my life I HAD kissed a boy (sorry Walter). I knew that to take our relationship to the next level I had to do something drastic, so I devised a plan to win him over, and July 4th was the perfect time to execute. We planned to meet up at a friend’s Fourth of July pool party and then go back to his family land and shoot fireworks together. This was also supposed to be our first “official” date. Unfortunately, the plan slowly started to derail when everyone at the party found out we were going to shoot fireworks and they all wanted to join. College students can be such buzzkills. We didn’t let it stop us from having a great time, though, and ended up shooting fireworks in his horse pasture in the back of some pick-up trucks. My life could not be more like a Luke Bryan song if I tried.
At the stroke of midnight, I knew it was my chance to finally get the kiss I had been waiting for. Not only is July 4th one of the best holidays (I will save you from hearing all about my love of hotdogs), but my birthday just so happens to fall on July 5th! I’m pretty sure I was ten by the time someone finally broke the news that the fireworks on July 4th were not for me...but it’s nice to still pretend, right? Riding the high of the cherry vodka and being 19, I stood up in the bed of the truck and shouted, “Birthday Kisses!” Was this my best plan ever? No. Should I have been more discrete? Probably. With 30 drunk college students around, you can only imagine how many kisses I actually got that night. Boys, girls, basically everyone... except for Marc. To this day he claims to have known my plan all along, and he wanted to make me sweat it out. So, with my patience growing thin, I marched up to his truck and gave him the biggest kiss I could. I still love telling people our first kiss was under the fireworks on the Fourth of July (well, technically July 5th). From that moment on, I was smitten.
You could say the rest is history at that point. We started dating shortly after and never looked back. Even with months of being away from each other due to college internships and a study abroad (11 months to be exact), we stuck it out. On May 19, 2018 we said “I Do” in Franklin, TX at a beautiful ranch surrounded by all of our friends and family.
One of the questions I have gotten before is, “Do you feel like you got to experience enough since you only dated one person?” and my answer to that is: absolutely. I actually consider myself incredibly lucky to go through some of the most important life moments with my husband. We both saw each other graduate college, find our first “real” job, and get our first fur baby. Being 18 when we met, we have seen each other grow and mature, and that has strengthened our relationship.
Another question that a lot of people ask is, “Did you always know you wanted to marry him?” and to that I say marriage is a choice. Each day everyone has to make hundreds, maybe thousands of decisions. What should I eat for breakfast? What outfit should I wear? What Netflix show should I binge next? Although most daily decisions seem less important, they still impact the path you go down, and I think love is no different. When I met Marc, I didn’t immediately know I was going to marry him. I knew that I wanted to date him, so I made the choice to become his girlfriend. As we got to know each other more, I knew I would be faced with another decision - we either get married or break up. It sounds so harsh when you put it like that, but ultimately, that is the choice I saw. Everyday we make the choice to be with each other, and I could not be happier with my decision. Marc is the most amazing cat-loving, weight-lifting, meat-eating husband I could have asked for. In the words of Jesse Eisenberg, “One for me. One and done, I always say...I said that once.”
Shit We’re Loving: WATCH
Kayla’s Pick: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime
If you are looking for a witty comedy to binge-watch during quarantine, this one takes the brisket!...pun intended. Marc and I started watching this show as a recommendation from a coworker and we could not get enough. It is hilarious and will keep you and your significant other, roommate, parents, cat? entertained for hours!
Set in the 50’s and 60’s, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel follows the story of Jewish housewife Miriam “Midge” Maisel who has everything she has ever wanted - a perfect husband, 2 kids, and the most stunning apartment in New York’s Upper West Side; however, Midge’s life takes a surprising turn while she is helping her husband Joel try to pursue a career in stand-up comedy...Midge discovers her own gift as a comedian and the jokes on him because she is amazing. In between her incredibly sarcastic sets, viewers get to see the dynamic of Midge and Joel’s relationship evolve as the show sheds a humorous light on the stigma of being a 50’s housewife.
So whether you are just in need or a good laugh, or looking for a show to binge-watch with your “boo”, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is one everyone should see. Who knows, if you’re like Marc and I, you may end up watching an entire season in 3 days. (I can neither confirm nor deny the accuracy of that statement. It may have been 2 days).
Show Your Support: The Okra Project
Each day this month we’re featuring the lovely organization, The Okra Project, which supports the Black Trans community by bringing homecooked meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever they can reach them. A Trust Fund has already donated $90, enough for one whole session (includes chef’s pay and groceries) with an Okra Project chef, and we encourage you to share their story and help support them too!
Here’s a quick breakdown, directly from their website, of donations and how your giving helps:
18 people could donate $5
9 people could donate $10
6 people could donate $15
3 people could donate $30
1 super generous human could donate $90
You can click that cute button below that will take you directly to their PayPal account where you can donate to them 👇
Daily Intention
Today I will…
Water my plants. (And try not to think about disappointing Ryan again…)
Here’s some nifty buttons for you to press, enjoy: