Truth Be Told: A Mini Series

Okay people, it's time to get real here.

One thing I hear a lot from bloggers is that you should be completely honest on your blog in order for people to relate to you more. That instead of just sharing all the great things that happen in your life, you should share those shitty things, as well.

So here we go, "Truth Be Told" will be a mini series where I will share some of my "worst" moments, maybe once every other week. (I can't be too negative, right?)

And to start it all out, here's my truth be told: I wasn't a supportive girlfriend.

When Dillon first told me that the Air Force Academy had reached out to him about going there to play baseball, I honestly thought it would never happen. Although it was always his dream to play baseball in college, it had never been a thought in his mind to be in the military. He took the time to think about it and decided against it. As much as he wanted to play baseball, the bottom line was that he did not want to be in the military. But then came the pressure. The pressure from the coach to come out just to have a tour, the pressure from his family to "live up to his potential," the pressure from himself to "ensure a better future for us." So he went on the tour, and decided that he would go to the Academy that coming Fall semester.

I was hurt. I was confused. He had always talked to me about coming to UofA, and although I was the one that kept telling him to keep his options open, that he didn't have to go there just because I did, it was what I was expecting because that's all he would ever say. And he also said he would never play baseball somewhere that it would snow........interesting. ;)

Even though I should have never felt this way, and I should have never made him feel this way, I felt as if he chose baseball over me. Despite his insistence that he was doing it so that we could have a better future, I couldn't see that far ahead, all I could see was the "here and now" and that was that he was leaving me.

From the time he decided to go to the Academy and all through the first year of him being there, I wasn't supportive. It wasn't that I didn't want to be, I honestly just didn't understand his decision. I didn't want to talk about the Academy, and if it was brought up I would get quiet. I literally cried when he got his hair cut (pathetic, I know, but it was just one more reminder of where he was going and that it was somewhere I couldn't follow). Truthfully, we almost didn't make it through that year. I was slightly depressed that whole year and it definitely took its toll on our relationship. We would fight a lot or constantly be in a bad mood.

It wasn't until I joined the USAFA Girlfriend's facebook page that I started to warm up to the idea and become more supportive of Dillon's decision. Well at first it was hard because they were all so proud of their boyfriends and they all seemed so supportive, so it just made me feel like shit. In my defense, most of them would say things like "It has always been my boyfriend's dream to go to the Academy/be a pilot/be in the Air Force" etc.  So it was rough because I felt like I was the only one whose boyfriend went solely for sports. But then they had a "big sister/little sister" program and my "big" was absolutely amazing. I really believe that it is only through my relationship with her and a few of the other girlfriends that I was finally able to wake up and realize that I had to be more supportive of my man.

I still might not fully understand why he made the decision to go to the Academy (and sometimes I don't think he does either!) but I definitely think I have become more supportive, and I really hope he agrees. The Academy has brought some amazing opportunities for both him and us. We probably wouldn't have been able to go to Canada for a whole week if it weren't for the Academy, Dillon probably wouldn't have been able to go to Germany for three weeks this summer, and we probably wouldn't have the opportunity to live in other states (and hopefully countries!) if it weren't for the Academy.

We all have faults, and this was a major one of mine that almost took me away from the love of my life. If there does happen to be a girlfriend reading this that feels/felt the same way I would love for you to email me! It is okay to not understand and to feel sad and hurt, but I have learned that it is not okay to not be supportive of the people you love.
And for Dillon, I love you and I support you in everything you do at the Academy and beyond. As long as we get to live abroad...;)

That Time I (Spent the Weekend in Denver)

I now interrupt the That Time I: Cruise Edition for a weekend update!

I know, I know. I already did this to you once before and you hated me for it, but this is the first time I've had the chance to sit down and write about my weekend, and I'm way too excited to share!

This past weekend I was able to fly up to Colorado to spend the weekend with Dillon! I can't even start to explain how happy I am that we finally had a weekend to ourselves. The last time we saw each other was around the end of May but we really haven't gotten any quality alone time together in a few months. Since we last saw each other I started my summer job, turned 21, and Dillon spent three weeks in Germany; a lot has happened so this weekend was much needed!

I flew into Denver late Saturday morning, which was really nice because we pretty much still had the whole day together. Since my cousins were camping this weekend we ended up just getting a hotel in Denver since that's where I was flying in and out of. Plus we hadn't spent too much time in Denver (which is about an hour from Colorado Springs) so we thought it would be fun to explore! We were pretty lazy to begin with, just hanging out at the hotel and enjoying finally being together! That evening we went to California Pizza Kitchen and had a double date! Dillon went to Germany with a guy named Taylor and me and his girlfriend Lily had met when I drove through Albuquerque on my way to bring Dillon his truck. We really hit it off, and texted pretty much every day when they were in Germany, mainly just complaining that we missed our boyfriends, haha.

Me and Lily! We went out for FroYo in Albuquerque together! And you gotta love the awesome photobomb. :)

Dinner was great! Dillon was a little hesitant at first, he hates small talk, but I told him it would be fun, and it really was! After dinner we went to the theater and saw This Is The End. Yes, I had already seen it before, and yes I think it's good enough to see twice! D hadn't seen it before and he loved it!

On Sunday we went to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival! You can check them out here. They have an amazing non-profit mission in which they aim to "provide access to art experiences and support art education." Artists from all over the country came for the weekend to show off their artwork, there was even a guy from Tucson!

Okay this guy...amazing! We happened to stumble across his show right as his last one was starting. He is a performance speed painter who paints portraits of celebrity faces in a matter of 4-7 minutes. His first painting, on the right, was of Frank Sinatra and it blew my mind. He started painting and I was like, okay yeah that can be the top of his head/ear...then all the sudden it was the eyes/nose! You should definitely watch this video so you can see what I mean! And neither Dillon or I could figure out the left was Einstein until he drew the hair/mustache!

We walked through the booths for a good hour or so and we would point out pieces of art we would like to have in our future home together. Awh. ;) <3

Monday was a great day! Even though it was the day I was leaving, my flight didn't leave until 9pm, so it was really nice that we still had the entire day to hang out! There was an IKEA only a few miles down the road from our hotel, and call me crazy but I was begging D to take me there since the first day! I had never been in an IKEA and it just always seemed like so much fun. I actually had a a really good time, walking through the show floor, and again imagining the furniture we would have in our future home. It sounds super cheesy, but it's a really nice thing to talk about with this crazy long distance we have had to go through for the past three years, and the next two ahead of us.

After IKEA we ate lunch, stopped by GNC, and then went to the theater to see another movie! This time we saw Monsters University! I know a lot of people don't want to see it/don't like it because it doesn't have Boo in it, but I thought it was a super adorable and funny movie!

We still had a few hours to kill before I had to go to the airport, so we ended up going to the Denver Downtown Aquarium!

  Can you tell I like turtles?? That's pretty much the only thing I took pictures of...

 Even this picture...it's my "Let's take a picture with the turtles behind us!" picture. Can't see the turtles? Me either. But you know, we're cute too, even with the weird shadows across our faces.

What?!? You mean to tell me tigers don't belong in an aquarium?

I thought it was weird, too. But the Denver Aquarium doesn't give a f what we think! They had tigers and snakes and parrots and other weird non-aquarium things.

Squishies!

 This is the last picture we took "together." I thought it was rather cute because we were sitting at the aiport after finishing dinner, right before I had to head to the security line, and he says "Wait, take a picture of our bracelets for your blog!" Such a cutie pie. ;)

I won't lie, there were quite a few tears during our goodbye. We have 52 days to go until we see each other again for USAFA's Parent's weekend. And although we had to say goodbye yet again, I am so happy we had this weekend together. I can't say enough how much we needed it as a couple. It was a much needed refresher for our relationship, and I really do feel so much better now that the weekend has past, even if we are apart. I feel so lucky to have such an amazing best friend and boyfriend. <3

Rhonna Designs

As always, don't forget to check out Alex's That Time I post over at Let Life Be Like Music!

Linking Up: Random Wednesday, Weekly Wednesday