Memories

1182. This is how many days Ben and I have been together. Or, you could look at it in a few other ways: 3 years, 2 months, and 26 days. 168 weeks. 28,368 hours. 1,702,080 minutes. 102,124,800 seconds. It’s kind of fun to break it down like this and think back to all that’s happened in this time. I’ve been thinking for a while now what my next blog would be about, and I’d like to share with all of you some of my favorite memories; some of the funniest and sweetest moments that have happened in all this time. If you know Ben at all, you know without a doubt that he isn’t exactly normal…and this has made for some pretty hilarious times. He is also one of the sweetest people in the world, treating me better than I deserve most of the time. Here they are, some of my favorite memories for all of you to enjoy.

·         On a beautiful day in late September or early October 2008, Ben and I decided to go fishing. This was before we were dating and before I was actually allowed to spend time with a boy by myself, so I was slightly freaking out when we drove off in Ben’s gloriously rusted out truck. We headed to Subway to pick up lunch for the day, and this is where it got interesting. We got our sandwiches and headed back out to the truck, and Ben struggled to get his keys out of his pocket because his hands were full. He ended up setting his pop on top of the truck so he could fish out the keys, and then we were off. We had the windows down because it was so nice outside. We made it all the way to the Duck Pond across from the Hospital, when all of a sudden Ben says, “What the heck?” and starts wiping his arm off and rolling up the window. Some random liquid had started spilling into the truck. We determined it wasn’t raining, and I remember just laughing and saying, “aww, Ben! Your truck is crying!” We were both kind of confused, but didn’t think much of it and continued driving on. About two minutes later, it dawns on Ben that he had put his pop on top the truck as he fished the keys out of his pocket. I can remember exactly how he said the next statement: “Oh. I just realized. Subway cup. On top of the truck.” We both just start laughing, which erased all awkwardness that we were feeling. It’s been an inside joke between us ever since, and every time we go to Subway now I remind Ben to put his Subway cup inside the truck, not on top.

·         Ben and I like to go on “fancy dates” once in a while. We get dressed up, take pictures, and then feel slightly awkward because it seems like hardly anyone dresses up to go out anymore. (Well, I feel awkward…Ben probably doesn’t care.) The first time we did this, we went to Minerva’s in Yankton. I don’t even remember what he was eating…it was either some kind of pasta or a steak…but we were having normal conversation and enjoying dinner when all of a sudden, Ben puts his silverware down and looks out the window. He’s looking kind of flushed and has this weird faraway look in his eyes, and he’s not talking. I start freaking out, because it looks like he’s going to be sick, and how embarrassing would that be! It only lasts a few seconds, and now he’s just trying to calm me down. I was right; all of a sudden he just didn’t feel good and thought he was going to be sick. Luckily it passed, but I wish I had a camera to capture that face because it was so freaky. Every time we go out now to a nicer place, I always tease Ben about that. Luckily Ben is a good sport J

·         Ben is seriously the sweetest boy I have ever met. I had a really bad day back in high school, but when I came home later that night Ben had dropped off some flowers to brighten my mood. I needed a weekend to myself once after a stressful week, and Ben stopped by with a pint of my favorite ice cream for me. But my favorite memory of Ben’s romantic side happened the summer of 2010-the summer before he left for college. I had been freaking out for a few months now, because I knew the coming year was going to be hard. We’re always together, and it was just going to be lonely without him. We were hanging out at Ben’s house that summer night, chilling on the trampoline. I remember it was a little chilly that night, but it felt so nice snuggled next to Ben. I had my head on his arm, and all of a sudden I start sobbing…I couldn’t stop. Ben hates it when I cry, but I needed to get this out of my system and he just starts playing with my hair and reassuring me that everything will be fine, it’s only a year and we won’t have to do this again. I remember how clear the sky was that night… how the wind felt on my skin, giving me goose bumps…how I couldn’t stop crying. A few weeks later we went on a final walk around campus to say goodbye and he picks me up and swings me around and plants a huge kiss on me right in public. The year ended up passing pretty quickly, but I got really antsy in March, I just wanted the year to be over. We were on the phone one night and I was just so frustrated and annoyed…the next day I give Ben a call as I head home for open lunch. He tells me to wait a few minutes to go to my car, which confused me a little bit…”look down the street, what do you see?” he asks. Sure enough, here comes Ben driving to the school on a random weekday to surprise me. I love this boy.

I wish I could remember more moments like this…I of course journaled most of this but that journal is packed away somewhere in my basement. Every moment I spend with Ben is fun, because he’s so goofy and he brings out that side of me too. A simple trip to Wal-Mart for Zebra Cakes and Mello Yellows is entertaining with Ben. He makes me laugh every day, which is one of the biggest reasons I liked Ben in the first place. He treats me so much better than I deserve most of the time…I got pretty sassy sometimes last year when I was missing him so much. Good thing he’s so patient! Maybe if I think about it some more I’ll post more fun memories, but for now…that’s all you get J