the Story of Us

(as seen in Etsy's blog today!)

Tis' the season of love, and as it is such, Etsy has been searching for tales of friendship and romance that are connected to/from Etsy.
Our story is such said tale. I shall graciously share it with you too. And so,
Once upon a time...

Patrick and I attended the same high school. He was cute, artsy, and two classes my senior, which means we didn't talk a great deal back then.

Time passed, I graduated both high school and undergrad. In early spring of 2008, 6 years after high school, I found myself needing an emergency letter of recommendation. I went to the high school office where Patrick's mom works. His mom and I chatted about what I was up to (running VerreEncore and applying to graduate schools) and what Patrick was doing. He sounded like a dream. Of course we lived 150 miles apart, so I figured he would stay that way, a dream. Turns out Patrick's mom gave him my Etsy business card. He bought his at-the-time girlfriend a necklace from my shop. (I promise, not as scandalous as it sounds!) At any rate, that was our first time being in contact in over 8 years.

Patrick noticed my flickr account and added me as a contact. We had more in common than we would have imagined, which we were soon to find out in the months to follow. Conversation was kept to a simple "glad to see you're doing well" kind of dialogue… Until he and his girlfriend ended their relationship.

It was a couple months later that we started sending brief messages on Facebook, a comment or two. Those small comments turned into daily long emails, and I looked forward to every message. Each time we shared a little more about ourselves… Not 20 questions; more like 2,000 questions. With every email, I felt as if he were really too good to be true; funny, smart, interesting, passionate, adventurous. Surely this was a dream...

He finally stated the obvious, that we didn't have each others' phone numbers, but we should. He found an excuse to make a trip to our hometown, and asked me out on a date Mother's Day weekend. I could have cried, I was so nervous and excited.

If I wasn't nervous enough for our date that night, Patrick ordered 3 necklaces for his mom, sister, and grandmother for Mother's Day, and with little notice he headed over to my house. I was busy in my studio working and was not looking my best. He walked in and we saw each other for the first time in years. I was wearing old jeans, a Hoosier sweatshirt, striped clogs, safety goggles and a respirator. I turned red, and to offset my ridiculous attire, I immediately showed him my flawed pile of enameled pieces. But he didn't mind that I made mistakes, and he didn't mind that I looked like a complete mess. He smiled and told me how amazing I was.
Our date night was perfect, and I'll spare you the mushy details, but we talked and laughed the whole night, staying out from 5 in the evening till 3 in the morning, doing everything from going to an art opening and having a lovely dinner, to buying a lotto ticket (since we were feeling lucky).

We've been together now for almost 8 months, and I cherish each day! Although I'm away at graduate school, and the miles between us have increased, our love holds us close together. (He's even going to be starting an Etsy shop soon with his illustrations!)

Long story short: Patrick and I would not have been reunited if it weren't for the amazing opportunity Etsy has given me to run a gratifying handmade business! THANKS ETSY! I am with the man of my dreams, we love each other and each day I'm thankful for the chance of being reconnected after so many years.


♥