Before diving into my love story and how I met my husband, Casey,  realize that WE all have love stories, they sometimes just do not unfold the way our mind planned on them unfolding. Write your own fairytale according to your life and LOVE it unconditionally.

Mine and Casey’s love story is a bit unconventional. If you want to hear more about us meeting in another country, traveling the world together for work and then somehow being from the same state, tune into this episode of the podcast for the full story as well as more on our struggles and patience required to get to where we are today. 

We now live at home in Lake Stevens, Washington with our two dogs and trying to start a family of our own. If you know our story, I understand that it may all sound crazy and like every star aligned for us, but do know that we have had our hardships just like EVERY OTHER relationship. Yes, Casey is my best friend and I could not have dreamed of a better husband, but our journey to get down the aisle was not always glamorous and came with MANY hard conversations/arguments and sleepless nights.

Communication was not our strong suit as a couple and it took a lot of growth and us willing to get over our stubborn personalities to move forward. 

Adapting back to “reality” after traveling the world and learning how to become a couple in “real life” was not easy for us. We had to relearn how to show each other affection in normal everyday life rather than our one day off a week behind closed doors. This was a strange part of our relationship to navigate through since we had already been dating for nearly 2.5 years. How do you go back and establish the things that usually take place from the beginning of a relationship? We worked through it and knew what we were fighting for. We were fighting for us and the friendship AND love we knew our relationship consisted of. It was just going to take time. 

We promised each other on our wedding day to never stop dating each other and to never go to bed angry. I encourage you to bring those key factors into your relationship. Ask yourself, if it was your first date, which version of you would show up? That is the version of ourselves we should always try to show up as for our significant others and vice versa. No, that will not always be easy and sometimes it may feel like you are forcing it. But too often I feel like we fall victim to our daily routine and habits which creates a stagnant feeling in our relationships. 

A book that we both loved and really got the conversation started was “The 5 Love Languages.” We learned that we do not speak the same love language and needed to make a few adjustments in our relationship so the other person knew how we were showing love for them.

Another book that has been incredible and was shared with me by a friend is “Choosing Me Before We.” If we are not showing up for ourselves first, how can we show up for our partners?  

Relationships are hard. Marriage is hard. They take work and it is easy to fall victim to routine. Try your best as a couple to keep yourself grounded, remind each other of the spark that started it all, and learn to grow TOGETHER. We will evolve throughout life and change is evident. Try and react together as a couple when that change presents itself and work together as a team.