Our Story: The Dating Years and The Porposal

(My trip to Willamsport to see him, finally; circa 1998)

From that night forward we were together, or in those days we called it, “going around.” MSW first meet my family at Christmas. His first encounter was in my kitchen. Crystal, a junior higher, was sitting on one side of the bar and MSW and I on the other. Mid-sentence Crystal tipped a little too far back in her chair and flipped over backwards. And that was how he met my sister. Later that evening the rest of my family came over. You have to remember that MSW grew up in his great grandparents’ home. Quiet, calm, just a few people is what he was used to. My family, well, let’s just say we are the opposite of what he was used to. He kinda had a confused look on his face the whole evening. As he was leaving, he said, “I love your family!” We all adopted him in and he became one of us. He went on every family vacation with us and pretty much lived at my house. That is until the hour when my mom would run him off for the night but he was always back my breakfast time. We dated for the next two years just in that manner.
Then he graduated from PHS (top ten, might I add) . We often discussed our future college plans. I had always dreamed of leaving the small town life and going to either A&M or UT. MSW wanted a smaller college, one where he had a chance to play baseball and one that had a good Accounting program. He was recruited by a couple different colleges. He actually started summer ball at UIW but after a day there, decided that was not where he wanted to go and signed with TLC. I spent that summer lifeguarding at the public pool and he working for his cousin. We both dreaded the end of August.
I remember the day that we moved him into his dorm, I more specifically remember driving away that evening. I began my senior year of high school, and he is freshman year of college. We talked on the phone every night. My mom got him one of those bag phones where calls were free after a certain time. We saw each other every single weekend that year. I would either go up there or he would come home. There was one weekend where he played baseball out-of-town all weekend and did not get back to Seguin until Sunday evening. We met in San Antonio for an hour that night to eat dinner together. I do not remember it being a difficult year, to be honest. I enjoyed being a senior and spending my last year with my life-long friends. He adapted to a new place and devoted a lot of time to baseball. Our relationship only grew that year.
He came home for the summer and we shifted right back into our “regularly scheduled program.” The state passed the top 10% rule that year that guaranteed admission to any public university. So, I went ahead and sent in my apps to A&M, UT and TLC. All three options sat on the table for months. In the end I went with my gut, which took me to TLC. Today I can tell you that was by far one of the best decisions I have ever made for a multitude of reasons.
The next four years were some of the best of our lives’. Our relationship grew and deepened, yet we also realized the importance of remaining individuals. MSW played a lot of baseball and I pledged a sorority and was a cheerleader. We both made the most amazing friends which to this date still remain some of best friends. We were both very active at TLC, which became TLU after a couple of years. I was a bat girl all 4 years and never missed a home game. We enjoyed going to most of the Greek parties, heading home when we had a free weekend and enjoying picnics at Stracke park. MSW was on a 5 year plan due to needing 150 hours to sit for the CPA exam and I graduated in 4- that put us graduating together. As we both approached our senior year we had decisions to make about our future. I knew I wanted graduate school, he was hoping to be drafted. We talked about marriage, it seemed inevitable but we were not on a specific timeline. We both had dreams and goals and supported each others’ 100%. I applied to SWT, Trinity and Emporia State (Kansas). He kept in close contact with his scout. The spring flew by and we found ourselves into April. I was waiting for letters from Graduate schools and he was waiting on the draft. We were both too nervous to discuss what would happen if both of our dreams did come true.
It was finals week, a Wednesday to be exact. We were both home for lunch, I remember having to take a Multi-media final exam that afternoon. While eating a sandwich, the phone rang, it was Emporia State University (ESU). I had only been to Kansas once. I presented at a small university in Wichita that February. ESU was my professor’s alma mater and I had applied there only out of obligation to him. My hope was to actually attend Trinity- it was the easy choice, especially if MSW was going to be away playing baseball. Dr. Weaver was calling from ESU to congratulate me on being accepted to their university and wanted to offer me a full ride and a graduate teaching position. This changed everything. After 4 years of private school tuition, this was very, very appealing. But, it was in Kansas and that was so not my plan. I had no idea what to do and I only had a few days to accept or deny the offer.
I went and took my final. When I came back to the apartment, MSW met me there with roses and a ring. He had bought my ring weeks before and was waiting to plan a big, romantic proposal. After the ESU call, it only made since to him to do it that day. So on a random Wednesday afternoon we were engaged. We had never looked at rings but I do have to say that he did amazingly well all on his own and that means so much to me! He told me that he thought that I should accept the ESU offer and that no matter how far away he or I was, that our relationship would last and we would marry. I made the call the next day.
His call came a few days later. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs and was to report to training camp early June. In a matter of days, dreams of all kinds were realized and the reality of time apart was impending. We graduated TLU early May and set off for a road trip to Kansas a few days later. We checked out the campus, figured out my living arrangements and made peace with our decisions.
The day we took him to the airport was one of the hardest days. While I swelled with pride for him, my heart broke at the same time. We both knew it would be months until we were together again. I had no reason to stay in Seguin and it was too early to move to Kansas, so I went home to Pearsall for the summer. I spent every day hanging out with my sister and her friend, Thomas. We did a whole lot of nothing. I planned all summer for my first visit to see him.
We talked on the phone as often as we could but it was usually only for a few minutes each night. He was on the road a lot and trying really, really hard at baseball. He wrote to me every single day. I have every single letter and cherish them as one of my most prized possessions. One day I am going to have them bound into some type of book to protect them but today, they still remain in their post-marked envelopes. We decided to plan the wedding for the following January. We were both now anxious to get married and saw no point in waiting. January made sense since he would be in his off-season and home and I would be on break from school. So, I spent that summer planning our weeding and planning for my move to Kansas. I needed him with me so badly and he was so homesick. It was a hard time for both of us.
Finally he had a home stay and I got to go visit him in Williamsport, PA. It took me three different planes to get there. It had been exactly 100 days since I had last seen him. I think I was there for 3 days and those days flew by but it felt so good to see him and be in his arms. Upon my return to Texas, I would be moving to Kansas. I needed him to tell me in person that I could make it there and that everything would be ok. He was going to come straight to me in September at the end of the season. It was wonderful to see him play in those games and see the life that he was living.
My whole family packed up and moved me to Kansas. They stayed a few days after me and my little friend, Luckey dog, moved in. I did not want them to leave. The first few days there were horrible. I did not know anyone. I was lonely, I missed MSW terribly, I was homesick and I was losing confidence that I could do this. I think I only made it 5 days there by myself. I decided one night enough was enough and I loaded me and Luckey up into MSW’s Yukon and headed south the next morning. I think they called me the boomerang  I spent a week at home trying to figure out what the hell I was doing. Was I going to give up that easily? I just had to make it on my own a month and then MSW would be there and then I knew everything would be ok. I headed back, reluctantly, but I did it. It was now the week before school was to start and I had my first meeting at Dr. Davis’ house. It was there that I met, Meggan. I am not sure if she knows what a God-send she was for me. We hit it off right away and for the first time, I felt like I just might make it there. Once school started I was fine. Keeping busy with teaching undergraduate classes during the day and attending my classes in the evening. I spent some weekends with Meggan and her family and in no time MSW was flying in. One of the happiest days of my life!!!!
We lead a very simple life in Kansas. I kept my school schedule and he worked out and subbed at the local high school on days they needed him. We would occasionally make a Saturday trip to Topeka. We looked forward to the wedding and spending some time in Texas with our friends and family. After months of being apart, we relished in being with each other again. In no time it was December and we were packing up to go home and get married!!!
Our wedding…tomorrow!