June 17th, 2008 was the first date Clayton and I met, but I suppose our story
starts a few weeks earlier. We met on accident via MySpace (the prequel of
social media) when I believed he was someone else entirely. Mistaking him as
someone else turned out to be the greatest mistake I’ve ever made, though
terribly embarrassing at the time. We struck up a conversation which quickly
revealed my error but something was there that made us want to meet. So, June
17, 2008 I met my future husband at the park at 9pm to sit on the swings and
get to know each other. Thank the good Lord he wasn’t a serial killer, because
I opened that door right up and made myself an easy target. Following that
first date we were inseparable. By October we had dropped the “I love you” and
about 8 months after that we lived together. In my head things were progressing
so well we’d be married in 2010 and have babies by 2012, 3 in total by 2016. We
were on the path I had always imagined for myself, 3 by 30 and head over heels
in love with my future husband. But both God and my future husband had
different plans. In June 2012 we broke up because he wasn’t ready to commit and
I wasn’t ready to continuing waiting. So 4 years (nearly to the day) following
our first date I decided to move out. It was the hardest and most heartbreaking
thing I’d ever done at that point in my life. I was so crazy in love with him
and here I was moving out because he wouldn’t marry me? Was I insane? Yup! The
break up didn’t last long. He called about a week later to ask me out on a
date, which I accepted and after about another week I moved back in. Once again
we were inseparable. I had decided I could wait forever if that’s what it took.
Luckily it only took another year. In May 2013 on a cruise with our family he
got down on one knee just before dessert and popped the big question, I
obviously said yes! I was ecstatic! The ring was a fake stand in until he could
get me the real one he wanted, but I would have said yes to a Ring-Pop. The
ring never mattered, I just wanted to marry him! He had asked my father and my
brother for permission (something I told him he had to do from day one, they
are two of the most important men in my life) and he had asked me to marry him
while we were dressed up over the top for dinner on Allure Of The Seas. I had
waited nearly 5 years for this moment and it was perfect. More than I ever
could have imagined. The following Christmas after visiting everyone’s homes
and doing meals and gifts with everyone we love we were back at the
Littlefield’s (the ones we were on the cruise with) house opening Christmas
gifts. I had a fairly large box and started opening it, inside was a slightly
smaller box, followed by a slightly smaller box and then another. This went on
for about 10 boxes. And at the end was a small perfect box. As I opened it
Clayton got back down on one knee in front of me to put my ring on my finger.
This engagement couldn’t have been any better. I was truly blessed with an
amazing man that I just couldn’t love anymore without my heart bursting.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT
~Ashley~
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