Once in a Blue Moon: More of Our Love Story

This might be a long one, but I could seriously talk for weeks about my fiance.

Mr. Blue Moon and I met in high school. I know, right? I was never really the romantic type. I had a very Type A personality, though I would not describe myself that way now, and I was all about making good grades, obtaining leadership positions in my extracurricular activities, and basically building my resume for college. But as we established, my high school debate team was bae for a good portion of my life. And this is how we met.

All suited up for a debate tournament. Look at those posh suits and baby faces! // Personal Photo

Mr. Blue Moon is actually a year younger than me, so I was already the captain of the team by the time he joined. At his first tournament, he wore white tennis shoes with khaki pants. That's when I realized there was no hope for him and decided to take him under my wing. I mean, seriously...white tennis shoes with khakis, ya'll.

We remained good friends for the first several months. I actually tried to set Mr. Blue Moon up with one of my best girlfriends, but being their go-between made me realize how great of a guy he was. We went on our first date, really hit it off with maybe two or three hours of conversation, and the rest is history!

At one of our high school's football games. // Personal Photo

My senior prom. I was already practicing my budgeting skills- that dress was $10.00! // Personal Photo

When the time came for me to apply to college, I went a little bit crazy and applied to over thirty schools. My parents have some college education, but never finished, so I was really anxious about the decision. I vaguely thought that I might want to stay near Mr. Blue Moon, but being a little bit of a commitment-phobe at the time, it wasn't my top priority. I ended up getting an admissions offer and some great scholarships (including one for debate!) from Mercer University, a mid-sized university in Macon, Georgia. After I visited Mercer, I knew it was the one. 

Mr. Blue Moon and I weren't totally sure that we would end up staying together, but we agreed to give the long distance a shot. Mercer is about six hours away from my hometown, so I drove home about once a month to see him while he finished up his senior year at our high school. We usually fell asleep on the phone or on Skype every night, but the long distance was hard. An added stressor was Mr. Blue Moon's college application process, which could have taken him even farther away. 

Though Mr. Blue Moon was really hoping for Emory University, in Atlanta and 1.5 hours away from Mercer, it just wasn't in the stars (it was a real bummer at the time, but now we know it was probably for the best). But he did get accepted to a small school nearby to Emory- Oglethorpe University. He made the visit with his mom, and ended up falling in love with the campus. Before long, Mr. Blue Moon was graduated from high school and moving into his college dorm.

Less baby fat on the faces... // Personal Photo

Once Mr. Blue Moon was at Oglethorpe, we started doing exactly what our parents hoped we wouldn't do. That is, we were burning up the highway between Macon and Atlanta, running our cars into the ground, and spending every weekend together. Mr. Blue Moon started a debate team at Oglethorpe, and yes, we did debate against each other in tournaments (I have a perfect record against him, fyi). We also planned a ton of weekend trips and had a grand old time exploring our new state. While I was majoring in English and planning to be a teacher, Mr. Blue Moon was majoring in Biology and considering some kind of law school study. Life was good! 

Personal Photos

In our summers, we came back home to our parents' and worked lots of interesting jobs. One summer, we worked in the same fast food restaurant because we couldn't find anything else. You don't understand the meaning of love until you're sweating next to your soulmate at a cash register counter wearing non-slip granny shoes getting yelled at by customers. Another summer, we ran a debate camp for high schoolers together at a neighboring university, which was definitely good practice for when we have children of our own! In the meantime, we were talking about getting married and trying to come up with a timeline. We had been dating for almost four years at this point and didn't really want to wait to get engaged any longer. 

Personal Photos

On April 14, 2014, Mr. Blue Moon proposed on the beach during a weekend trip. He wrote "Marry Me" in the sand. I thought he was kidding and kept asking if he was sure. It took him about fifteen minutes to convince me that he was serious. 

While we were planning our future and starting to get concrete wedding plans in motion, there was one more big move in the works. Knowing that I wanted to be a teacher, and feeling that it is my life's purpose to work in underserved communities, I applied to Teach For America, which places teachers in some of the most underserved schools in the nation. I was accepted, and the decision was...Mississippi. TFA places candidates into regions based on need and qualification. 

It wasn't a question really, for me or for Mr. Blue Moon. I accepted the offer and prepared to move to Mississippi at the end of May. 

Now I'm here. I'm renting a cute little 100-year-old house, and it will become our first married home after the wedding. Mr. Blue Moon usually comes every weekend to spend it with me, and we go home occasionally to wedding-plan with our mothers. Mr. Blue Moon is currently applying for programs near our town to get his Masters of Public Health. He is incredibly brilliant, and I am so proud of him for pursuing his passions, too.

Although the long-distance still sucks, I know it's all worth it and I'm thankful to have someone who has supported me in every single thing I've ever wanted to do. I can't wait to build my life with my perfect partner!

How did you meet your future husband? Has it been difficult for both of you to pursue your separate goals, or easy?