How I met Jeff (Part 2)

Hi everyone!  

I loved discussing how I met Jeff with all of you last week. If you missed part 1 of how I met Jeff, you’ll want to read it before beginning this post. Click here to read.  After having this past week to think about our story  even more.. I realized how incredible it is that we ever met to begin with.

To recap… My younger sister, Betsy went to USC but almost went to Georgetown. Had that happened… I never would have gone to California, never would have spotted the guy who was to become her boyfriend (Doug), and never would have met Jeff. 

Betsy and Doug

What is even more coincidental… after visiting my sister at USC, my parents fell in love with California and moved to Santa Barbara. We are very close with our parents so as soon as they moved I knew I would more than likely follow and begin my career wherever they were. Of course it didn’t hurt that it was Santa Barbara. Once I graduated, I moved out immediately!

College Graduation

Jeff and I met by chance which makes this story so amazing. The fact that we ended up getting married is even more incredible.

How I met Jeff, Part 2…

Once I graduated from college I moved to Santa Barbara and began working for my mom at her new travel agency located on the UCSB campus. It was the perfect place for me as I loved to travel and adored working closely with the professors and students. I helped facilitate summer tours and groups going on archeological digs etc. What’s not to love?!

Working at the Travel Agency at UCSB.  (My top under my blazer!) 

After moving to Santa Barbara I broke up with my college boyfriend. Jeff found out from my sister and his brother, Doug as soon as that happened.. then asked me out.

He lived a few hours away and said he would drive to Santa Barbara for me. I loved how forward and confident he was. He was 3 years older which was probably the perfect age difference. We planned for him to stay at my parent’s house so that he didn’t have to drive the long distance home after our date. Everything was lined up for the perfect date.

My parents adore Jeff and have called him Mr.Perfect from day 1 

Jeff and I ended up having a really great date and even though I thought he was very handsome and.. he said and did all the right things… there was something missing. I couldn’t put my finger on why I wasn’t feeling it exactly until I saw Jeff standing in the kitchen the next morning talking politics and world issues with my parents.  Soooo not what I wanted at the time.  He was way too adult like and together for me. It killed me and while I admired him, it was definitely not what I was looking for at the time. 

I remember saying goodbye to him casually as he left and that was that.. I was happy to be single and available to date a million guys. 

Jeff called a few days later and while we had a great time talking… he could tell that I wasn’t interested. Being the smart guy he is, he didn’t call again. 

FaSt forward a couple of months. I dated a ton but didn’t meet Mr. Right. Prior to breaking up, my ex boyfriend and I had planned and paid for a European trip for the month of August. We decided to get back together just in time to still go and I was excited to see if there was anything there anymore. The night before I left, Jeff called to say hello and wish me a great time. He found out from Betsy and Doug that I was leaving and I remember thinking how sweet it was that he called. He even knew that I had gotten back together with my ex boyfriend. Major sign.

While in Europe my boyfriend and I fought the entire time. As a matter fact, one day while visiting the Eiffel tower… we broke up on the way up, fought horribly somewhere around the middle or top then got back together on the way down. It was a nightmare day.

While flying home, my ex and I decided to try to make our relationship work … even after breaking up more times than I can count during our trip.
We were gluttons for punishment because we ended up breaking up again just a few months later when he was visiting me in Santa Barbara.
The entire time this was going on…. Betsy and Doug would give me reports on how great Jeff was doing in his job, life, etc.

Ten months after arriving home from college and two months after being single yet again, Jeff finally called me to buy a plane ticket (remember I was a travel agent at the time) to watch Doug in the Olympic trials. (for pole vaulting)
While we were planning his trip he never acted interested in me. (Can you blame him?) He was all business. I couldn’t believe it! Why call for a ticket if he didn’t want to ask me out?!  There are a gazillion travel agents out there… Mind you, it had been 7 months since we had last spoken and we had only had 1 date! ;)  His excuse? He said he wanted to buy his ticket through my mom’s agency. Hmm… 

My hair!!!

I told Jeff we should get together. He agreed but still didn’t ask me out. In fact, I pretty much had to beg him for a date. ;) He made me go through an entire month of dates before he finally said he was available. He then said that this time around I had to drive down to see him since he drove to Santa Barbara the last time.  Ha
Of course I said yes. ;)

The weekend I went to see Jeff I clearly remember the moment I pulled up to his house. When he opened the door I felt a rush like no other and the attraction I had felt the first time I met him was there again.. 

How could I have ever blown this guy off?!

In the end that never mattered because I stayed the night and everything was right in the world.

Over the next couple of weeks we took turns driving the 3 hours or so to visit one another.
(every Friday-Sunday and every Tuesday night)

I told Jeff that I loved him after two weeks of this and I think a week after that I told him that we needed to get married because we couldn’t keep driving that far to see one another.
I told him that one of us was going to die on the road.. (I was a bit melodramatic)

I hated being without him to be honest… I just remember him looking at me and smiling and just nodding when I would go bonkers about the distance. He has always been so calm cool and collected. In the sweetest of ways. Always listening but always being the voice of reason. Lol.

Jeff and his 4 brothers

What I love about Jeff more than anything is that he never let me run all over him like I tended to do with past boyfriends. Even when I brought up marriage to him after a month of dating…. he just nodded and smiled and said that if it’s right then it will happen. Ugh! So annoying. ;)

Fast forward 2 weeks… (we are now at 1 1/2 months of dating long distance and one year past our first date) 

I felt so good about where I was with Jeff at this point I wanted to properly close the chapter with my ex-boyfriend. I had always felt horrible about how the way I broke up with him. I sent him a long letter telling him that I was so thankful that we dated for the few years we did and told him that he made me such a better person. I was so sorry for how I left things. I told him he deserved someone who put him on a pedestal and I hoped that he had found that person.

I was so happy with what I wrote I cried and waited for Jeff to arrive for the weekend. When Jeff showed up I was a mess.  I said I was so happy to have come full circle and then I proceeded to talk about my ex, Andy all night long.  He finally looked at me after I talked his ear off for a couple of hours and asked if I would like to go to the beach to watch the meteor showers.  I said sure, but I was drained. I really just wanted to crawl in bed and crash but instead we grabbed our blanket and headed toward the beach…

PART 3 to the story:  here to read it.