As I wrote in my last column, I have a wonderful boyfriend named Ryan. For the past few months, I've been diving deep into the world of meeting the parents, cooking dinners for two and shopping for couples' Halloween costumes - I'm still trying to convince him to wear a Speedo covered in leaves as the Adam to my Eve.
Last weekend, I took Ryan home to spend time with my family in Virginia Beach. I didn't care about him impressing my parents as much as I cared about him impressing my dogs. If those two dogs, the loves of my life, didn't greet him with wagging tails and flopping tongues, then I knew our relationship could go no further.
Thankfully he rubbed their bellies into loving submission and all was well. My parents sent us back to school with full stomachs and a dozen Panera bagels, and now I think that Ryan probably likes my family more than he likes me.
When his parents came into Charlottesville, I was invited to meet them at dinner. After spending hours picking out the perfect meet-the-parents outfit - classy, fashionable, nothing too skimpy - I think it went as well as it could have considering the awkward, nervous mess of myself with whom his parents had to deal.
After a few months of relative bliss, it was hard to see a time when our relationship would ever be anything other than wonderful. But I knew there are always still bumps along the way.
When Ryan got home from a 10-day trip with his family, he told me that while he was gone, he realized he loved me. What a big thing to say! The dreaded L-word. Unable to say it back, the moment passed and we moved on.
The next week, the restaurant where I waitress asked all of the employees to come in and help clean up the building for a big event the next day. Ryan works at another restaurant in the company, so I asked him to come in with me to help out. The company's managers knew us separately from each of the restaurants. After we arrived, one of them saw us standing next to each other and took it upon himself to introduce us. I started giggling about the fact that I just got introduced to my own boyfriend, and now the managers think I giggle at the sight of any cute boy.
The two of us got assigned to clean the bathrooms - obviously the worst job to get - and I worried that Ryan would be annoyed that I dragged him along to scrub sinks and mop floors with me. We had planned to go out afterwards and were in nice clothes, forced to put on gloves and smell of bleach and cleaning supplies. Whereas anyone else may have gotten mad and started to complain, Ryan showed not a trace of annoyance. Furthermore, he made jokes to lighten the mood and made it more fun for me to be there cleaning, too. And then, in that moment, I knew I loved him too.
It still took a few days after that to actually say the words, but I did and it's done and the rest is history. I know, sort of makes you want to gag, doesn't it?
I didn't even mean to write about anything so personal but once I had the title of the column, I really couldn't pass up a chance to use it. So now that this column has revolved completely around me (relationships kind of tend to do that, don't they?), let me share what I have learned. A lot of relationships tend to be about the drama. Worrying and fussing and stressing when things aren't going right and worrying and fussing and stressing when things are going too right. But sometimes, if you stop worrying and just let things be, you can find yourself in a happier place than you ever expected to be in, even if that place is next to the toilets in a restaurant bathroom.
Jordan's column runs biweekly Mondays. She can be reached at j.hart@cavalierdaily.com.
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