A Ginger Life : Happy Anniversary

Warning: This post is mushy, full of love, and kinda long. Enjoy!

This post is very near and dear to my heart. I know this person won't be expecting a post about them, but I think they totally deserve this recognition.

Some/most of you who know me in person have either met or heard of this person in my life, because I am obsessed with them..

Everyone, meet the most caring man ever, my boyfriend, and my future, Eric James Ickes Jr.

Some things you may not know about Eric and I; we have been dating for a little while. We met while we both worked at the mall. Our love story is quiet the story. But I am going to tell it briefly and just tell the world how special Eric is to me.

I remember the first day I saw Eric. I worked at Sunglass Hut in the mall at the time, and as some of you may recall it's kind of like working in a giant fishbowl, all the outside walls are glass. Eric worked as a security officer for the mall. I saw him making a scan by our store and literally almost gave myself whiplash with the double take I did to look at him. I worked there for about a month or so before I saw, him, so I was talking to my boss and asked her what she knew of the "new" security guy. Turns out he wasn't new at all, I just had never seen him. He worked at the mall doing this job for about 3 years... Long story short word got to his supervisor that I was inquiring about him, and she came to chat with me. She had nothing but good things to say about the boy, she was right with everything she told me too. I truly don't remember how we got to start talking, but I had heard some things through the grapevine that he was recently out of a long term relationship, some drama with that as with any breakup. I agreed to go on a date with Eric.

2nd trip to Castle Noel, 2019

Our first date I was such an anxious mess. I was anxious because I had been single for a very long time, and while I went on a few dates recently before ours, they all turned out to be duds and from what it sounded like, Eric was not a dud. I wanted to make a good impression and of course anxiety set in to help that.... He picked me up at my apartment and brought me my favorite thing in the entire world, better than flowers for a first date, ice cream. Mind you it was Winter time in early December, so it was fine in the car while we went on our date. He took me to Castle Noel. Sound familiar? That's because I wrote a post about it immediately because it is such a cool and fun place! Fun fact: if you read that post you might have noticed Eric actually made his debut in that as a photo credit hahaha
I remember the car ride back we listened to Travis Scott's Sicko Mode, singing at the top of our lungs together. It was like we already knew each other. He dropped me off at my apartment, and we hugged goodnight. He should have kissed me, but he didn't. He was a true gentleman.

I soon made the mistake of telling him I just want to be friends due to the drama that was still happening with his ex. He was very persistent that the drama should not affect my decision towards him because honestly, it wasn't fair of me to judge him based on that. He was absolutely right. But I was scared, I could tell I already really liked him and could see it going somewhere special. And I am not the best with changing my mind after it is made up. He was still a gentleman and persistent about pursuing me. He approached me at the mall one day after and told me he was going to respect my decision and move forward. And just like that, I was saying never mind in my head, I wanted to be with him. It was so weird.

We started officially dating in February, and have been inseparable since.

Medina County Fair 2019

Today, we have been together for 1 year. And while I know that 1 year is not the longest time, it feels like we have known each other for a lifetime and I can't wait to spend the rest of my lifetime with him.

I love you Eric James 💖

I decided to not continue this post in a story telling format, and instead list a few of the things I love most about Eric.

1.) I love his eyes, the color is so different

2.) I love his jokes, he is the funniest & silliest

3.) I love that he is down to Earth, balances me out

4.) I love that he is an awesome dog daddy

5.) I love this certain smile he gives me when he is being silly or trying to hide a surprise, he hides behind a pillow or blanket to conceal his smile

6.) I love that he supports my Rae Dunn & other silly habits

7.) I love that he listens to my "girly" music with no problem

8.) I love that he would do seriously anything to see me smile & make my day

9.) I love that he likes me enough to maybe want to marry me one day..........

10.) I love that he is my soul mate

A snap shot of our first year together: