I’ve been challenged by my friend Jess to complete the “love challenge” that’s been floating around on Facebook for the last couple of weeks. Originally I was hesitant to to do the challenge because I generally don’t post anything on Facebook. I mostly use it to share things about my work with the Chronicle and Wasatch magazine and my business.( And to creep on other people, I’ll be honest). I’m a pretty private person so I tend not to post personal things about my life on Facebook. I’m also a bit self-conscious and most of the time with things like twitter and Facebook I feel like it’d be weird if I posted a status message. I always thing to myself “why would anyone care about things like what I ate for breakfast, or the fact that I went to the gym today?” Maybe that’s why I prefer Instagram, pictures are easier. Any who, with all that being said I thought it would be a good exercise for me to write down all the things that I love about Ashton. It’s a nice reminder for me about how lucky I am, so here goes:
Day 1: This picture is from our first road trip together. We went to Richfield for a friends wedding, then we decided to stay in town for the whole weekend so we could detour to Capitol Reef for some hiking. It was a great vacation and we learned so much about each other on this trip. I love this picture because it’s a great example of how we are together. He lets me be my weird goofy self and even though he teases me for it, he also laughs right along with me. I read somewhere one time that traveling together is a great way to test your relationship. One thing we’ve found is that after every trip we come back feeling so much stronger as a couple, and so much more in love. Our road trips are my favorite thing because I love that I can go on adventures with my best friend.
Day 2: This is the meal that Ashton made for me for one of my Birthday/ Valentines day. This is only one of the many amazing dishes he’s made for me over the years. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is, he’s always happy and willing to cook me a delicious meal, even if he’s exhausted after a hectic day at work. Whenever he cooks he always gives me the best cuts of meat, the best portion of food. That’s what I love about him, he always quietly does these sweet little things for me and they mean so much. Cooking together is something that I really love to do with him, something that’s really special to me is the time we spend together in the kitchen, and then eating dinner together and talking about our day and our plans for the future. For years I’ve struggled with issues with my weight and counting calories and worrying about how I looked. For a time I would never even leave the house without make-up. Being with Ashton has really changed all that, he always lets me know that he loves me and loves my body for just how it is. I am able to be free with him, I’m able to lounge around in yoga pants and eat 10 otter pops and he’ll still look at me and tell me that I’m beautiful. I love that about him, it doesn’t matter if I’m dressed up, or dressed down with no make-up on he never misses a chance to let me know how gorgeous I am to him and I never want to take that feeling for granted.
Day 3: I love Ashton because he’s a lot of fun, he’s never afraid to play around and get goofy. I remembered when we first met I was really attracted to him because he worked with kids with special needs. It really impressed me. I think it’s a certain type of person to take on a job like that and he does it with such a great attitude. I love watching him work with his kids, he genuinely loves his job and everyone that he works with always has so many good things to say about him. When I visit him at work for lunch, watching him interact with the kids just melts my heart. He is so sweet, and so good to them, he makes sure they know that what they say and do matters to him. He doesn’t ever treat them like they’re just kids with special needs. He gives them the time of day, he listens to them, and he takes the time to teach and discipline if they need it. He doesn’t treat them differently from any other kids and I think it makes a huge difference in their lives. Something that I’ve always thought is the cutest thing is that he’s very gentle with plants and animals. Even when we go on hikes he’s very careful not to traipse over the wildlife or destroy anything. He'd rather take a bug outside and let it go free instead of smushing it. He takes care of the underdog, whether it be a wilting flower, a mouse, or a non-verbal autistic child. I think it really says a lot about it the person that he is and I’m constantly impressed by him.
Day 4: This is our memory board. I’m thinking that I may have to get a new one soon because it’s getting pretty cluttered. Ashton and I are both homebodies so the fact that we have so many tickets stubs and tokens from our adventures is more impressive than you might think. I love the fact that no matter what we’re doing together we always have an awesome time. We’ve created so many awesome memories together already and I’m so excited for the new things we’lI get to do together as the years go by. We have plans to travel the world together, and I know that we will because we’ve worked so hard to make this relationship our number one priority. I know that it sounds cheesy but when we’re apart, even if it’s because of work or school I always miss him. Even when we argue, as mad as I am I still want to cuddle with him, while of course still telling him why I’m so mad. ( This makes it much harder to stay angry I’ve found.) After all these years of dating we’ve both learned that love is not the only thing a healthy relationship needs. Of course, like any other couple we have disagreements and stupid arguments but we’ve come a long way together and weathered through many challenges. Those challenges have brought us so much closer together and even though we’ve been through a lot I’m so grateful that’s He’s been by my side through it all. We’ve learned to communicate effectively, apologize when we’re wrong, be respectful, and talk things out. He makes me feel heard and he validates me when I need it. I think those are the things that are going to keep us going strong as we grow old together.
Day 5: Ashton makes me feel confident. Growing up you would have thought that my self-esteem was through the roof because of the way I looked but the opposite was true. In high school I dressed up pretty much every day. You would never catch me in sweats or even jeans. I wore skirts, dresses, heels, or flats. I only wore sneakers and t-shirts when it was required for gym class or marching band practice. If I was running late to school I would sneak way during first period to apply make-up. This continued through my freshman year of college, and then I met Ashton. When we first started dating I was still wearing make-up and super conscious of what I wore because I always wanted to impress him. Over the months though it just started to matter less and less. I remember the first time I took my braids out and showed him my natural hair I was so nervous. I truly thought he would find me less attractive without long hair but he didn’t even bat an eyelash at it. He just told me I looked pretty and we watched a movie and cuddled. It’s always been easy with him, he’s helped me to feel comfortable and confident in my skin. Regardless of whether I’m barefaced in PJ’s, or all dolled up for an occasions he never misses a moment to tell me how beautiful he thinks I am. I wish I could have found this confidence years ago by myself but I’m really glad that he’s been such a great support for me. I really need that, because I have bad days just like everyone else. He doesn’t let me dwell on things like my tummy pudge or a pimple, or the fact that I think my eyelashes are too short. I love the fact that we can be out and about and see a pretty girl or an attractive guy and we can make a comment about it with neither of us feeling any jealousy. It’s because we both feel confident in our relationship, and we both know at the end of the day that to me, he’s the most handsome man in the world world, and to him I’m the most beautiful girl in the world. His affection, sweet words, and love for me is something that I cherish. As the french say it: “C'est lui pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie” (It's him for me, me for him, in this life) I truly believe that to be true.
Day 6: This is a really old picture, but I love it because it was such a fun day. Ashton surprised me with a date to build a bear and we made bears that matched us. It was such a cute idea and even now I still go back to build a bear every now and to buy new accessories for our bears. Every now and then he surprises me with things like this. He’s very sweet to me and I love the fact that we’ve been able to try so many new things together. When I think about days like this that we’ve shared it makes me swoon over him a little. He’s so cute and after all these years I still have the biggest crush on him.
Day 7: This is the day we got engaged. It was such an awesome day. I’m so excited that I’m gonna be marrying my best friend in only one years time. Ashton is such an amazing man, and such a great partner for me. We’ve been through so much together and we’re so much better for it. The thing that I’m most excited for about being married, is the fact that we’ll get to keep going on dates for the rest of our lives. We’ll never have to stop adventuring, we can keep having our Harmons foodie nights, we can hike, bike, boat and travel together, try new foods, go for walks, cook together, camp, the list goes on and on. I’m looking forward to every new stage of our lives. I’m excited to grow old with him because I know we’ll keep having fun together, and there’s nothing better than that. ♥
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