Merfy Lou

During our sophomore year of high school, Britton and I first met on a bus going to Homer, Alaska for the bi-annual Honor Band rehearsals.  Neither of our schools had enough members traveling to fill a bus, so we shared.  He had originally met my best friend, Kim, at the All Northwest Music Festival a few months earlier and they were already pretty good friends.  The two of them spent most of the trip together.  A few months later, during our junior year, my band was going on a trip to Los Angelos, California to tour UCLA, USC, Warner Brothers Studio and go to Disney Land.  My director had held more seats on the airplane than were wanted from my band, so she offered them to the Redoubt Chamber Orchestra.  Britton jumped on the opportunity to go, because Kim was planning on going too.  Unfortunately for Kim, she wasn't able to go, but I think it was pretty fortunate for me.  Since Britton didn't really know anyone else on the trip, he hung out with me and my friends.  By the end of the trip, we were holding hands - BUT WE WEREN'T DATING YET!  Nothing was official, even though we shared our first (albeit, sloppy) kiss.  My mom was a chaperone on the trip, so she got to meet Britton's grandparents when they picked him up from the high school after the trip.   We talked on MSN messenger and the phone for the next few days.  Then one night, his friend Michael was over and encourage Britton to call and ask me out.  Of course I said yes!! He came over on halloween and watched the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  Because Britton is a percussionist and in the local orchestras I gained the opportunity to play with the orchestras as well.  They almost always need percussionists.  During rehearsals for the USO show on New Year's Eve, Mick told us about the Cold Stone Creamery he was opening.  We both applied (auditioned) a few months later and got the job! It was awesome.  When the thought of college came up, Britton didn't originally plan to go.  There were a few job openings that he wanted to apply for, but eventually didn't.  I convinced him to go to college!  We lived in the same dorm and played in the pep band together.  But, by the end of our first semester, things didn't seem to be working out very well.  So, I ended things just before Christmas break.  We were still friends and hung out on occassion through out the next ten months.  In the beginning, I was relieved not have a boyfriend, but after about a month, I really missed having him in my life.  But he seemed to have moved on, as he had a new girlfriend.  In the middle of our sophomore year of college, two of my Alpha Phi Omega, Jessi and Morgan, conspired to get us back together.  Morgan was in a bunch of computer classes with Britton and Jessi and I were becoming pretty good friends.  Behind Britton and my back, Morgan and Jessi knew the best thing for the two of us would be for us to get back together.  So, I wrote Britton a letter of why I thought we should get back together and we went to dinner at Taco Azteca.  Reluctently, he read it before our food came - he wanted to save it for later, but I persisted. I like to call the hiatus a sanity break.    He agreed that we really did belong together and agreed to get back together with me.  That was just before Thanksgiving.   We said we would take it slow, but after just a few days, things were like they used to be.  At that time, he lived with two roommates - Kendra and Craig... but I kind of moved in. In May, when Britton's lease ended, we moved in together to our own apartment.  It's been a wonderful time of learning and growing closer over the last two years that we've lived together.  I can't wait to spend the next bajillion years with the man I love.