I Never Thought I Would Find Someone I Couldn't Live Without

Often there are times where I come across people that make me smile—young, old, middle-aged, people who never let their inner child grow up and don’t care about how they are viewed by others. The ones who completely make my day are the old couples who still flirt like teenagers, the elderly man who still buys his wife flowers every day, the gentleman who still pulls his wife’s chair out when they sit down at a restaurant. They never let their love die, and they still look at each other just as if it were the first day they met.

I met my husband Scott back in 2005 when I was a cashier at Walmart. We became friends after he found out that I’m an avid gamer, playing such titles as World of Warcraft. We would spend our breaks talking about the game. I left Walmart for a time, thus leaving my friendship with my future husband hanging; a year later I came back and found out he still worked there. Imagine my surprise when we picked up our friendship just like nothing happened. Scott asked me out in a note while I was on break. I didn’t know it then, but I would soon find out that I couldn’t live without this man in my life.

As I got to know Scott more, I found that he shared the same mutual interests as me. We both liked to play video games, we both liked food, we also had some similar musical tastes. He was a nice guy, and our first date was amazing. He picked me up from my parent’s house and we went to a Chinese buffet. Simple, but very nice and casual. It didn’t really feel like a date. It was more like having dinner with a good friend. The atmosphere was relaxing when I was in his presence, it felt like we were the only two people in the restaurant. It felt right.

On our second date, we went to see the movie I Am Legend. I remember after the movie ended, he drove me home and instead of just waving and get out of the car, he walked me to the porch. This is where we shared our first kiss. It sparked something in me as if my heart was telling me that my search was over, the pain and lonely nights would come to an end. I had a promiscuous phase from 2001 to 2007 and that chapter of my life finally came to a close when I found Scott.

We got married on August 7, 2010. We were together a year and a half before he proposed on Christmas 2009. Some would say that’s a little too fast for a couple to get married, but I finally found my soulmate, someone I could be completely stupid with and won't find me weird because he’ll be weird right along with me. As of this article, we have been married for eight and a half years. I wake up every day thankful that I have someone in my life who loves me when sometimes I don’t even love myself.

A couple of years into our marriage, I found out that he had Aspergers, a high-functioning form of Autism. You really couldn’t tell looking at him, but there were some obvious signs that some things weren’t right. This didn’t matter, as I love Scott for who he is. He’s been there for me when I’ve been at my lowest. He’s lifted me out of the dark depths of depression and made me laugh when all I wanted to do was cry. We’ve been through hell and back, literally. But there isn’t one moment I would take back. He’s my lover, my best friend. I’m blessed to have him in my life.