Annie Leavitt: Our Story: the lust years

I've been hesitant keeping up our "story" posts, because Ty said guys at work were asking him about it. Embarrassing much? One of the many perks of living in a small town. ha. But I started it, and by golly, I will finish it. Whether or not the content is quality or not doesn't matter at this point right? Right.

According to this book, every relationship has a "lust" phase that lasts approximately 2 years. This is a normal, biological reaction to love that gets you to get married and propagate a species. Experiencing this phase during high school is not something that I would recommend. Basically? It stunk.

I thought everything Ty did, said, thought, bought, laughed at, was absolutely the most fabulous thing I had ever seen or heard. That...is the lust phase. It doesn't last my little friends. I still love Ty, but I do not think everything he does and says is fantastic. And vice versa. He drives too slow to church, he won't tell me who he's talking to on the phone, he leaves his socks 2" from the laundry basket. The man is FLAWED I'm telling you! But do I still love him? Yes, yes and yes.

Looking back I see why I am resistant to tell people we were high school "sweethearts" etc. Because 99% of the time? It just doesn't work out. You change so much from age 16 to 23 and even after, that ending up with someone that you are still compatible with that young is very rare. Maybe I should just embrace the fact that it was meant to be for us. Yes, from the very beginning.

The next 2 years were spent having a lot of fun, and making books full of memories. One of the reasons I think Ty and I lasted was our dating rules. Friday night? Camping night for the boys. Ty and his crew would go out and get out all their manly bonding and burning tendencies for the week. My girlfriends and I would go out to eat, watch chick flicks and sing primary hymns driving home from Bunkerville. True story. Saturday nights: Date night. We'd hook up with our friends and usually go out into the hills together or to a movie or dinner. Sundays were family days and weeknights were forboden.

One of my favorite dates was when Shawn and Chandra drove us all in to Mesquite to watch a movie. There were all R rated movies, one PG-13 we had all seen, and a G movie called Bug's Life. We thought, "oh, what the heck, we'll watch a kid movie". Little did we know we would laugh the entire time and leave with our eyes wet from crying of laughter. I loved that movie the first time I saw it, I still love it. Classic.

Prom? It is really nice when you have a boyfriend, no worrying about being asked/going with a weirdo. Our Junior year I wore a sleeveless dress with lace inlay on the back that was gorgeous. The next year I decided to be "modest" and wear a dress with sleeves. Well, the sleeved dress also had a neckline, that between the months of January and April I sort, of well, filled out a little. Let's just say my cups overflowethed. And Ty tried to hide it, but he smiled a lot that night. Cheeky little devil.

Junior year I had a tonsillectomy and broken clavicle, so Track and Field was out to me. Thus began my love life with baseball. Chandra and I followed the team for almost every game. Sitting by Ty's dad I learned the stats and calls and workings of baseball. I liked baseball pants, baseball players and baseball games. I still do, and in that order thank you very much. Most of our "fun" trips have been to baseball games since marriage.

Sports kept us insanely busy (which is good) and hanging out with our friends also. We were rarely alone, which I think accounts for the fact that our oldest 8 and not 13. Just saying. Also I highly plan to implement my mom's advice that was her mom's advice dating in high school: "Make out in our driveway, things won't go too far when you know I'm only 10 feet away". It's totally true. Although our children have already been warned, "NO dating in high school...EVER."

And so, high school ended, we graduated. I knew I was going to BYU at the end of August. And Ty knew he'd be leaving on a mission for our church around this time. Next up? The mission years, or as my family would say, "2 years of a whiny Annie".