Wow, I have really been MIA!!!

Sorry to my one fan who reads my blog....Mira....for being hardcore MIA the past couple weeks and not writing at all! Well let's see....what have I been up to......a new job....a great girlfriend....football season (YEA!)....birthday's for everyone and their mother....and just all around been keeping busy.

It is a funny story about how my girlfriend, Laura, and I came together. It is one of those stories you definitely tell people and they act as if it is really cute, but they are actually getting sick on the inside because it is really DAMN cute.

Well, Laura and I have known each other for years now. Almost a decade now, but we have never been as close as we are now. In high school I was great friends with her 2 cousins who went to school with us. When Laura had decided to transfer to DePaul from Pompton Lakes, her one cousin, John, had asked me if I would be able to drive her to school (since I already had my license and he still had a couple months until he got his). So, of course, the nice guy I am said "yes".

I started picking her up for school every morning. Being friends with her cousins I quickly became a big brother/cousin figure to her. I would watch out for her, making sure no one was messing with her. And I would also scold her if her skirt was too short for school.....which I was secretly just checking her out.

The year had gone on and I got busy with college plans, Laura's cousin started to drive her to school instead, and we became a little distant. We fell out of touch but she was on my mind from time to time when I was off at college. She had gone on to do her own thing at Marist, in NY and then off to Lake Tahoe for a little while.

Then several months ago Steve's sister was getting married. At the wedding I was sitting down waiting for the ceremony to start and who would walk down the aisle with her mom and sister....Laura! She looked gorgeous in the black dress that she wore. We got talking at the reception and exchanged numbers in order to keep in touch and hang out. Me being still iffy, wondering if Steve would kill me for hanging out with his cousin, had second thoughts about calling her. She would later call this my "Hot and Cold Game". She would say I would flirt with her really bad and then have nothing to do with her.....I dont know what she is talking about.

It was then a couple weeks after that when Steve had called me from Thatcher McGee's, a local Irish Pub, a stone throw away from Laura's house. I wasnt going to do anything that night, but just stay home and relax, but Steve was persistant and told me to come down.....so, I did. Getting there for happy hour was a good idea. Had a couple beers, had some appetizers....all on the Enterprise Rent-A-Car dime, and had a good time hanging out with Steve, Di and some of Steve's co-workers.

After being there for a little while, I am getting a little bored of being the 3rd wheel, as I always was, and I started looking around at the crowd. Then, down at the other end of the bar I see this familiar freckled face with a big smile. Laura Finley! I hit Steve and tell him she is there and I head down to surprise her. One hug turns into stories of high school, which turns into pictures, which turns into Laura telling me about the crush she had on me back in the day, which all turned into the amazing relationship we have now.

Ever since that night we have seen each other almost every day and we are constantly learning more about each other and loving every minute of it. She really is an amazing girl and I can't get enough of her. Who would have thought 10 years ago that we would have ended up here, together.

She really has started a new chapter in the book of my life and I have the feeling its going to be a long happy one.