7 More Nights.

"We made it."

Oh, how I am longing to say these words as I wrap her in a hug. Salt Lake City International Airport sounds like the most romantic place on this planet at this point.  There's nothing I want more than to have her run off of her plane and jump into my arms.  And now, I only have to wait 7 days until that's a reality.

Seven days.

It's closer than I ever thought we'd be and, honestly, I didn't think I would make it this far.  I thought I could have tricked her into coming home before it got to this point.  But now that we're here, I'm so incredibly proud of her.  She has been working 40+ hours a week for 4 months and surviving the Disney College Program.  She has enjoyed it, made new friends, made memories that will hopefully last forever, blah blah blah stuff I tell myself to make this okay, etc.  But I really am excited for her.  She has been wanting to do this for a long time and she finally made it a reality.  

Yes, I've been lonely.

I've been sad.

I've been scared.

I've been a million things since she has been gone, but that doesn't matter now.

We made it.

I find myself in better spirits lately, the last few days, and I think it's because my heart can feel hers getting closer.  I am starting to realize that it is over, for the most part, and we're in the final stretch.  I have made it through 120 days apart and I only have 7 left.  I can do this. 

I need to thank Whit, though, for being so awesome while she's been gone.  I didn't expect much from her when she left because I knew it was going to be so hard for her to work and try and balance me.  I was ready to take a back seat to everything there and thankfully, I haven't felt that way once.  She has been incredibly caring and always been here for me to talk to about anything that's going on in my life.  If I needed her to distract me from something, she'd call me.  She Skype'd with me on nights I was lonely, called me every day, sent me beautiful pictures, did everything in her power to make me feel comfortable and loved.  She has been a million times better than I ever deserved and I can't wait to repay it.  

(She even got me the coolest present for christmas! A new slackline for us to use together in the spring and summer!)

Anyway, I really don't deserve her and I'm blown away by how great she has been to me while she's been gone.  It gets me really excited for the time we have ahead of us and how much love we're going to be able to show for one another. 

She truly brings a rainbow of color into my world of gray.

So now, when things get hard in the future, when we start to get on each others' nerves, when she gets sick of my puns and I get sick of being the one to always have to walk Sawyer (which won't really happen. He's my best friend.), we can look back on this time and realize that time apart is never better than time together.  We had enough time apart to last an eternity and I hope I never have to go through that again.

Just a little update on how things are going here with Sawyer and I:  I got home tonight and heated up a roll with peanut butter and honey on it, went to the bathroom, and came back to the bedroom, only to see sawyer licking his lips and trying to get the peanut butter out of his mouth.  He has also found out how to open his kennel with his paws, so now I have to tie the door shut with something as well as close the latches.  He has recently acquired a taste for anything that's not his toys.  Mainly shoes, jackets, blankets, a ball-point pen that he broke and got ink on 4 of my blankets and the mattress (sorry Whit.....) Basically anything that will make me mad when I get off work at midnight.  We walk every day except in the most extreme of St. George colds, he has really gotten good at speaking and rolling over, he loves to chase a baseball at the park, loves to run in the sand volleyball courts, pretty much never leaves my side.  This little pup has been the best friend I could have ever asked for during all this.  He knows exactly when I need him and helps me so much.  He is the perfect 3rd member to our little family.  

I'll leave you with a quote by Beth Davis: 

"And in her smile, I see something more beautiful than the stars."

Day 91. (12 Days After.)

People will ask me when I'll be home and I as I say "January 6th" the reactions are always "that's so soon!" or "that's not bad at all", but in reality, now that Skyler has come and gone, I'm ready to be back home with him and our pup. It's our first Christmas together and we are spending it apart, how masocistic of us. No amount of "you've only got a month left" will make that any easier. 

I miss him. I wish somehow I could explain to you how much the definition of missing someone has changed for me since being here. Skyler brings a light and a happiness into my life that I can't explain, and the darkness is lonely without him. But, I don't want this post to be a downer, so instead I'll talk about the amazing five days we spent together while he was here. 

Day 1:

Not only did I get to spend five days with my babe, but I also got to see my dad smile. THAT made it all worth it. The four of us took on Disney World like true tourists and after a stressful day of dealing with a scam-tastic rental car place and waiting what felt like HOURS at the airport for Skyler's flight to land, we went to Mickey's Very Merry  Christmas Party. My dad cried as he saw the castle for the first time, and again wen we walked into Main Street, and again during the parade, and probably a few more times I didn't notice because I was too busy kissing my boyfriend. The point is, it was incredible seeing my dad happy, and showing Amanda Disney for her first time ever was something I'll never forget. 

The lines were short during the party and we rode all the major rides, barely saw the fireworks, watched the cutest parade ever, and were about ready to pass out by the end of it. 

Day 2:

Hollywood studios. After waking up a few hours later than we originally planned we got ready, first thing we HAD to do was see the Indiana Jones stunt show. I suffered through that and then all my dreams came true. I GOT AN ICEE IN A BAYMAX CUP. 

And we shared it.

I don't know if this is gross or dumb or whatever, but my favorite thing about Skyker is that we always always share food and drinks. It's our thing, and I've missed it being here without him. Skyler scored extra boyfriend points this day because once we were done he carried that cup in his backpack. 

(Check out his beautiful hair.)

Then if that wasn't enough, we MET Baymax and Hiro.

I guess you could say I'm kind of obsessed with big hero 6 right now, but it's fine. We rode Rockin roller coaster and tower of terror, and were there on Streets of America for the lighting of the Osborn lights. Skyler stole my line in his post, but truly, there were four million dancing lights and I caught myself staring at him way more. How did I get so lucky?

We finished the night with watching Fantasmic! (Dad cried again) and went to downtown Disney to eat Earl of Sandwich. I got the Hawaiian BBQ and Skyler got the Ruben, we both ate half of each. ❤️

Day 3:

The morning started with Animal Kingdom. We rode the Safari, fell more in love, saw the Lion King show, and my dad braved Everest. This day we shared the best chicken curry (I don't know why you care about what we eat, but oh well) and we even saw the new baby gorilla! 

Then that night we went to Epcot, where we had reservations to eat at Coral Reef. The food was average but the atmosphere was amazing. We watched the sea turtles and manta rays swim so carelessly and reveled in the tranquility and peace underwater life brings both of us. We ventured around the world, and called it a night. 

Day 4: 

It rained buckets. Or as people in Disney sometimes say, it was raining Maries and Plutos outside. That didn't stop us from taking on magic kingdom again! The parade and everything was canceled because of the rain but we rode more rides, and played in puddles, and I was happy even though I was freezing and soaked because I had the world in my hand, and by the world I mean my world, and by my world I mean Skyler. 

Ew gross. More kissing.

Day 5:

This last day was a blur. As if two times wasn't enough, we went one more time to Magic Kingdom. I had to work at 3 and we subconsciously counted down the time until I had to leave. We shared food one more time and hugged tighter than usual. Saying goodbye sucks, and this one was extremely sucky since I was saying goodbye to him and my family (I think my dad cried).. But I picked up a shift that day for the sole purpose of having something to keep my mind off it. He was gone. and the only silver lining is the next time I see him, there will be no expiration date. 

Our relationship started with one, we knew I was coming here before we even made things official, and all summer we worked up to it. The whole time he was visiting we knew we had limited time together, and I can't wait for our moments to finally be limitless. When I touch down in the airport on January 6th, 36 days from now, I'm there to stay. And the only day I can count down to is our wedding day (if the boy would just freaking propose already.)

I love you Skyler. 

I'll be home soon. 

xoxo

Whitney