The Never Boring Life of Jade and Paul: Blog? Why not!

I've never had a blog before but I figure that now that I seem to have a lot of time on my hands, why not? So where to begin? I suppose a little background information is in order, so her goes.

I'm Jade, I'm 24, I'm originally from Wendell, North Carolina but in August I moved to Peru, Illinois. My boyfriend's name is Paul, he's originally from Watertown, New York but most recently lived in California and will usually say that's where he's from. Paul's new job is the reason we moved to Illinois.

Paul and I met on Halloween 2008. It's funny how things just fall into place without you realizing it. On that particular Halloween, I'd been trying to find something to do. I love the holiday and I just refused to sit at home. I messaged my friend Monica and she informed me she was going to a party and asked did I want to tag along. Well I agreed, and after going to the mall and picking my costume (a can can dancer), I went with Monica to that party. I still remember the first time I laid eyes on him. He was standing in the living room with a white mask around his neck, along with a polo shirt and jeans. I didn't know what he was supposed to be but he was without a doubt the cutest guy there, however when introductions were made, he was lumped together with another girl at the party and I thought, "well there goes that one." It proved to be a pretty uneventful party until they started playing country music. It wasn't that I didn't like country music, it was just that for a party, it wasn't the right type of music. I headed to the radio and tried to change it before anyone could notice what I was doing but I wasn't fast enough and someone yelled "leave it!" I admitted defeat and was about to step away when I heard someone say, "is that the best you can do?" I looked up and there was Paul, smiling down at me. That led to us beginning a conversation and discovering that we had several music types in common. We talked for quite a while that night (despite the fact that there was another girl there that he SHOULD have been talking to) and at the end of the night, he asked for my phone number.

Honestly, I didn't expect much because I had just ended a particularly damaging relationship and wasn't looking for anyone. I figured that if anything, maybe I'd gain a friend. I couldn't have been more wrong about it if I had tried. They always say that someone will always come along when you're not looking and it was definitely true for Paul and I. From the very beginning, we've been a different sort of couple. It was always easy to talk to him and on each date we went on, the more I realized I had a great guy on my hands and the feelings grew. I had never had a guy before that was attentive to me and paid attention to things that I said in passing. He did little things that meant a lot to me and it was one of the first times that I realized that the little things can mean a lot. I remember one particular week in December, I was beginning the run of Theatre In The Park's A Christmas Carol and I was starting to get a bit on the sick side. It's inevitable that at some point during rehearsal or during the run, you'd come down with something. I had a stuffy nose and because it was my first time ever having a solo, I was pretty worried about it. When Paul picked me up for our date, he simply reached over and handed me a box of Airborne. It was such a little thing but it meant a lot.

Paul and I have never had a "normal" relationship and we've always done things in our own time. We've never worried about what other people thought and I've often said "in order to understand, you'd have to either be me or Paul." I suppose to the outside looking in, it would look like we did things fast but to us, all the decisions we made made complete sense to us. If I had to do it all over again, I would still make the same decisions. Paul and I had been dating two months when he asked me to move in with him. I was raised that you don't live with your boyfriend before you're married. I've always been more of a follow-your-heart type person and even though I wasn't for the idea, I figured that if and when that time came, I would only do it if I was engaged and in a completely different state than my parents. Of course, I never planned on Paul and when he asked, I couldn't imagine saying anything but yes. It made sense for us and I've never regretted that decision. A week after we moved in together, we added Abby to our little family.

I won't say that Paul and I's relationship has been perfect because no one's relationship is perfect but it's been exactly what we both needed. We balance each other well. He's the more practical one and I'm the dreamer. At times we're exactly alike and at times we're complete opposites. We've been together for a little over a year and there's not a day that's gone by where I didn't know that I was loved and wanted. He's a great man and I consider myself lucky that it's me who he wants beside him. And if you asked him, he'd say the same about me.

So why Illinois? Well Paul got a new job with the government and it wasn't a job he could turn down. So it was either take the job and move, or not take it and stay in NC. He opted to take the job and there was never a question whether or not I would go with him. I can't imagine my life without him and so we decided to take a huge leap of faith. But we wouldn't be Jade and Paul if everything was easy. With the news of the new job, brought the complication of how we'd make everything work. By the time Paul heard about the job, I had been cast in A Christmas Carol. I'd done the show for four years prior and this particular year, the show was touring to France. I'd been cast in the France cast as well and it was an amazing opportunity that I didn't want to give up. However, it meant that we had to figure out how we were going to make everything work. So our solution was for us to move to Illinois in August and in October, I'd come back to NC for the duration of the rehearsals and through Christmas.

Now it's January and we've survived the last 3 months. I've been to France (it was amazing) and we learned what was really important in our relationship. It's so easy to take someone for granted when you see them everyday and honestly, me leaving was one of the best things that could have happened. We got to miss each other and it helped us realize just how much we cared for each other. It wasn't that we didn't already know it, it's just that it was nice to be reminded.

So I suppose I should wrap up this ridiculously long post by saying that I've created this blog to be able to journal the events in Paul and I's lives. Our life is never boring and I think I'll have a lot to write about it. I'll end this post with a few pictures.