Crash Into Me

And Again

I totally remember the drive down there. Joel and I had a blast. It had been incredibly cold the night before we left (December 26th, 2002), so we watched the temperature readout in my truck go up degree by degree as we went south. Plus it was Joel and I, so that was cool. By the time we hit Louisiana, and stopped at the welcome center just over the Mississippi border, we were in short sleeves, and I was starting to get butterflies in my stomach. You know the kind, right before something huge and wonderful is about to happen? I called Lacey to let her know we were an hour away, and we set off. That last hour was excruciatingly awesome. When we finally pulled into Lisa, Lacey and Christin’s place (now Robbie and Angela’s house), I was about to burst. I swear it was like yesterday. Lacey had on her black turtleneck and dark jeans. I ran up, gave her a bearhug, and life was never the same. But reality had a little more in store for us. That week had its ups and downs. Joel and I hung out with the guys that first night after the reception. I hadn’t seen those guys in forever! It was a great party. I had just met Matt and Jonathon and it was like we’d been friends for years. Sunday was certainly a big day. Joel and I had dinner at the Rocketts, and I met Lacey’s family for the first time, including the dreaded Mr. Rockett. I had heard some horror stories, believe me. Not bad, just rough on the suitors Anyway, I informed Mr. Rockett that I would like to chat with him on Monday if possible. We met at Books a Million (of course) and I remember it went pretty well. He just said take it slow for now, and I’ll talk to Lacey. But everything looked good. That week, we helped Lacey and Christin move, went out to Enoch’s, hung out, did the usual. Wednesday of that week was a big day. Lacey had a talk with her dad that had put a little doubt in her head. We ended up over at Christin and Emily’s watching When Harry Met Sally. After that, Lacey decided she wanted to talk. I thought, Uh Oh, here it comes, I’ve had this talk before. She said she wanted to slow things down, take some time to think. I was pretty worried at this point, she really freaked me out. But it turned out, her dad had just freaked HER out a little bit. And by Thursday night, my fears proved unfounded and everything was back to normal. Well, normal for us anyway. We had a great New Years and last weekend together, and then it was time for Joel and I to go home. It definitely sucked parting, but it wasn’t the end of the world. Yet. After I got back to Indiana, life continued like normal. Work, school, and talking on the phone. But the second week back, I took a bold step. I knew something was true of me, and I thought the same was true of Lacey. So I wrote her a letter and told her I loved her for the first time. No rush, I knew what I knew and wasn’t in a hurry to hear it back, if she didn’t feel the same yet. It didn’t take long. By the time February rolled around, we knew it was meant to be. We started talking about visits and weddings. We were idealists. Time was not an object. It had only taken 3 months+ to get to this point, and a week together, why not get married next Christmas? I decided to drive down again for Lisa and Courtney’s wedding. We cemented the fact that we were in love on that visit. It was certain. We talked about the possibility of Lacey visiting me for Spring break. When I left Monroe that 2nd time, we knew it was distinctly possible that we would not see each other again for 2 months. That was one of the worst days of my life. Not because I wasn’t in love, but Lacey and I had spent a total of 12 days together, and we were being parted yet again. It was an exciting time, but let me just tell you: long-distance relationships suck. Shortly after I got back this time, things turned from painful to sucky. Mr. Rockett put the kaibosh on spring break, and then decided he didn’t want Lacey and I talking on the phone more than twice a week. It was clear he was not happy with how fast things were going. We were counting the days until my spring break rolled around and I could visit again. My spring break visit was amazing. I remember the night I got there, Lacey had been performing at a concert and she looked absolutely gorgeous. It had been 54 days since we had seen each other, and we hugged for what seemed like 20 minutes. When it was time again to go home, it wasn’t nearly as tough. I would be moving to Monroe in less than a month, in order to be close and persuade Mr. Rockett to let us court/be engaged/marry. I found a job at OCS (a private Christian school) and everything was falling into place…