Q and A: 8 Thoughts About 8 Years

Today marks 8 years since little teenage Dillon and Amanda got together. We’ve gone through 5 years of long distance, a couple of moves, a few graduations, career changes, becoming roommates, getting engaged…basically, we grew up (I think?). This anniversary feels different in a lot of ways. One being that it’s the first year we have a new title (hi, fiancé!), but also it’s finally started to blend in with the other years. Last week, when thinking about our anniversary, I had to actually count backwards on my hands to figure out how long it’s been… eek! We’re old!

 

Obviously Dillon is a major part of my life, but he is also a huge behind-the-scenes part of this blog. He helps create content ideas, takes photos, and at the end if the day is the most supportive partner I could ask for. I thought it would be fun to pass him my laptop and do a Q and A on our last 8 years together.

1. What is Dillon’s best trait?

Dillon’s best trait is definitely his calm, helpful and easygoing nature. I seriously could wake him up at 3am and say “Dillon, we HAVE to drive 2 hours to go to a yarn sale” and after about 5 minutes of grumbling he would end up shrugging his shoulders and say… fine. There might be an ultimatum about stopping for snacks along the way, but I can live with that. I am someone who wants something done right away once it pops into my mind and I tend to take my ideas to the extreme. Having someone so willing to be on board and constantly helpful makes life a thousand times more enjoyable.

1. What is Amanda’s best trait?

Amanda’s best trait is her drive and creativity. She is an endless well of ideas and never gets stuck in a rut. I don’t think there has been a moment of free time in the last 8 years that hasn’t been quickly made into a trip to goodwill or a diy project, it’s impressive how much time and effort she puts into it.

2. Amanda, what is one day in particular that sticks out to you over the years?

One of my favorite days ever happened when we were 18 after seeing each other for about 3 months. It was the night before Dillon was heading to Missouri for college and leading up to that day we were both under the agreement that our fling was just a summer thing and that we would go our separate ways once we moved apart. That day, Dillon picked me up and asked me to show him all of the places that meant something to me from my childhood. We basically did the tour-de-Kenosha and hung out at all of the schools I went to, neighborhoods my family members lived growing up, places I spent time hanging out with friends and ended up at the spot at the beach where the two of us first met. Needless to say, after that we never did end up splitting up because of distance. We left things open-ended for about 48 hours and then he called me two days after he got to Missouri and said “I’ve still been telling everyone here that I have a girlfriend. Is that okay?” And I said yes… and that was that. It was a really sweet memory and something that I often thought back to when we spent months apart our first year together!

2. Dillon, what is one day in particular that sticks out to you over the years?

It’s pretty recent, but I will never forget the day I asked her to marry me. It was the day where I was the most nervous, as well as the most sure of myself I have ever been.

3. Amanda, what is your favorite way to spend time together?

I love just going to a cute bar and getting a drink together! Dillon and I both really enjoy the ritual of relaxing over a good cocktail, and spending an hour or so doing this is such a good way to catch up. I also love making new drinks at home from our own bar cart, but sometimes when we do that I feel a little more pressured to get up and do something around the apartment or work on my laptop. I find if we’re away at a bar or restaurant, my attention is totally there.

3. Dillon, what is your favorite way to spend time together?

Going on “wine walks” when it finally gets nice outside. We fill water bottles with our nightcap glass of wine and walk around along the lake instead of hanging out inside on the couch. It’s one of the only times we both get to really relax together (and see a lot of puppies…score!)

4. What is a chore that Dillon NEVER does?

Picking up/Putting things away. Probably about 30% of my time spent at home is putting his shoes and clothes away, throwing out receipts and wrappers, filing through mail and putting his dishes in the sink. He’s lucky he’s worth it 😉

4. What is a chore that Amanda NEVER does?

She spends much more time cleaning her little fortress of solitude (the closet room) than any other room. In her defense there is a lot of clutter in that room and she knows exactly what she is doing…I wouldn’t know where to start in there.

5. Amanda, what is one funny thing that other people may not know Dillon does at home?

Look at puppy pics, LOL. Dillon is SO stressed that we can’t have a dog in our current living situation and I so often look over at his phone to catch him browsing photos of miscellaneous dog breeds. Yesterday at 1:30am when I was JUST about to fall asleep he yells “Google Rottweiller puppies, now! Look at those fluffy little guys!”. Please invite Dillon over to pet/walk your dog… he needs an outlet.

5. Dillon, what is one funny thing that other people may not know Amanda does at home?

She is all over the place during the day, but once she sits down at night… she becomes a part of the couch with her laptop. There is basically a couch monster absorbed into a screen yelling “can you get me water, and chapstick, and wine, and a foot rub!” From 8pm-1am.

6. Amanda, best and worst things about being long distance?

We did really long distance (9 hours) for one year and semi-long distance (2 hours) for 4 years. The worst part of it is feeling like you’re missing out on experiences with each other. There are a lot of things that Dillon did with friends and family over those years that I would have loved to be a part of. But looking back I honestly think the experience was a great thing for us. We were SO young when we started dating and having that distance gave us space to grow a little and also taught us that relationships take effort and patience. With social media and technology being where it is, I think our generation is so used to everything being immediately accessible. Not having the luxury of constantly spending time together made us both a little more independent and a lot more appreciative of each others company.

6. Dillon, best and worst things about being long distance?

The distance definitely made us appreciate our time together more, although the months in between were hard. I’m not a very chatty person so that made phone conversations more difficult, but its surprising how far just hearing her voice everyday went in making it easier to get through.

7. What is one thing that has not changed a bit about Dillon since 8 years ago?

His sense of humor. Dillon has been full of sarcastic remarks and dad jokes since we were 17 and though I don’t show it as often as I should, it makes life much more fun.

7. What is one thing that has not changed a bit about Amanda since 8 years ago?

She still randomly gets in this crazy mood where she just starts jumping around/dancing obnoxiously and doing things to make me feel uncomfortable. I hate awkward situations and she definitely exploits that in a pretty hilarious way to make me lighten up a little.

8. Amanda, what is most unique about your relationship with Dillon?

How different we are. Dillon and I are actually the definition of opposites attract. I am the creative, anxious, emotional, glass-half-full-type-of-girl and Dillon is the mechanical, brave, level-headed, stay-the-hell-away-from-my-glass type of guy. This occasionally makes us butt heads, but for the most part I think it makes us a good team!

8. Dillon, what is most unique about your relationship with Amanda?

The fact that most of our hobbies and interests are vastly different, but we both appreciate the same, simple day-to-day pleasures. We spend our days doing such different things, but then can connect over good food, crazy scented candles, and a murder-mystery Netflix series.

To sum it up briefly, he’s just the absolute best. I think I’ll marry him… and spend about 80 more together 😉 Although we will have a new anniversary date not too long from now, 5/30 is one that will always mean a lot to me and that I want to continue to celebrate.

Thanks for following along! And for all of our friends and family reading who have been along for the ride, we appreciate you beyond words. Dillon and I truly have the best support system and that makes our life together so much easier!

Xo Amanda (and Dillon!)