Our Love Story: Part 17

Preface: If you’ve missed any of the “chapters” of our love story so far, go back & get caught up before continuing below!
Part 1 — Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5 — Part 6 — Part 7 — Part 8 — Part 9 — Part 10 — Part 11 — Part 12 — Part 13 — Part 14 — Part 15 — Part 16

On Friday, November 21, 2008, I officially got the notice that I’d been accepted into the Disney College Program. I would be checking in to officially start the orientation & training on January 7, 2009, and I would be living in Florida for the following 5 months. That was about the extent of everything I knew though as I didn’t know where I would be working, what I would be doing, where I would be living, or who I would be living with. All of those details would be determined when I checked in on January 7.

When I called Derrick that afternoon, he suddenly seemed less than enthused. I thought maybe I had called at a bad time (maybe he had been sleeping?) but he denied all of that & just explained that the reality of me being on the other end of the East Coast for 5 months was tough to swallow. When we had discussed the possibility of me being accepted into the Disney College Program, he had seemed excited & all for the idea. But now, with the reality of it actually settling in, it was slightly depressing.

We talked for a long time that night & eventually ended in a good place. This was my “opportunity of a lifetime” and it would be crazy to give it up. This would also give Derrick time after he graduated in December to spend the next few months getting established post-college, with no worries about traveling across the state to see me. It would be good for both of us to have this time.

Thanksgiving rolled around. It was the first “major” holiday we had spent apart since we met back in May.

As is the tradition on Thanksgiving, before dinner was served, we went around the table stating what we were thankful for. This particular year, our table was packed with my family, my Grandparents, my Aunt & Uncle, and my cousins. As the “thankful list” came around to Meme, she started into quite the list: she was thankful for her parents & her upbringing, for the Lord’s direction in her life, for the wonderful man she was sitting across from who became her husband (at this, all the little kids started giggling). She went on that she was then blessed to have 2 wonderful sons, who grew up to marry 2 wonderful women (cue more giggling by the little ones) and how she now has 11 wonderful grandchildren. At that, one of my cousins piped up, “And next it’s Kara’s turn to get married!” Everyone thought that was just hysterical. So, while everyone was calming down, my Uncle leaned over to me & said, “Yeah, you’re not allowed to be thinking about that in 5 months when you come home from Disney, okay?”

At that, I realized that it was pretty obvious to everyone that Derrick & I were 100% smitten with each other. And I didn’t mind.

As we rolled into December, Derrick & I ironed out our Christmas plans. It would be the last time we were together for (potentially) 5 months, so we wanted to make every second count. The plan was for Derrick to drive his white Jeep from Phoenixville, across the state, to my house. He would arrive on December 23rd, we’d spend Christmas Eve (as is tradition) with Meme & Grandpa & go to Christmas Eve service at my church. We’d wake up Christmas morning & spend the beginning of Christmas Day with my family, and then leave mid-morning to drive up to the Abbey’s house. We’d spend the next few days there (including a big 50th birthday party for Derrick’s Dad), after which I would head home with Paul & Naomi, and Derrick would drive back down to Phoenixville.

Knowing that Derrick would be at my house on Christmas morning, I wanted to do something special. He had made it very well known that his favorite thing for breakfast was cinnamon rolls, so I set out to find the perfect homemade cinnamon roll recipe. How hard could it be?

Little did I know, it was extremely challenging! I quickly got the hang of flattening out the dough, coating it with the cinnamon & sugar, rolling it up & slicing it into “rolls” – it was the act of actually making the dough that proved to be a challenge though! Getting yeast to rise is, in general, super tough! Plus, since I was planning on making these rolls on Christmas morning, I really didn’t want to have a recipe that I would have to get up at 4am to start!

Thankfully, my family are very generous guinea pigs.

I rolled through a few recipes & finally landed on one that worked – and actually worked really well. And the best part was that it was called “One Hour Cinnamon Rolls” & it literally took exactly “one hour” from start to putting them in the oven to make. They turned out better than any other recipe I made & I was set.

As I was researching cinnamon roll recipes, I was also researching cars. Going to Florida for 5 months with my current car was simply not going to work out. It was old and we all knew it might not survive the drive down well, let alone having it be what I was relying on while 16 hours away from my family. Technically, I didn’t need a car in Florida. The Disney College Program info that I was sent was very clear on that: most of the college kids there would not have cars. Disney ran a very concise bus line, just for their CP’s, that would not only get us to & from work, but take us to the grocery store, etc. I really wanted to have a car though. It would mean independence & I knew that that was something I really wanted.

So, I was tossing around the idea of potentially buying my Uncle’s HHR, maybe buying a brand new Chevy Cobalt, a Dodge Neon from out of state got tossed into the mix, all while looking at other used cars as well. I was pretty much open to anything. My goal was simply to keep the payment & insurance as low as I possibly could.

Derrick & I talked for hours about money & budgeting during this time. Not only was I going thru some pretty major life changes, but he was too. His college career was just days away from ending & suddenly he was going to be “kicked” out of his dorm room, and thrust into “real life”. He & Caleb had decided to take an Aflac job together, so on top of finishing out all of his school projects & studying for finals, he was also studying for insurance tests and trying to find somewhere to live.

He had decided that he wanted to stay in the Phoenixville, PA area, at least for the time being. He really wanted to continue his friendship & vocal lessons with his favorite professor: Mr. Zuch, and he had some big dreams with Caleb (part of which was their Aflac job). He had tossed around the idea of moving back to the area his parents lived, but in the end, he decided to stay, at least for a few months.

So, not only was I moving, working out a budget, and trying to plan for the next 5 months of my life – all from a place of not being able to see the future & being fairly blind to what was to come, but Derrick was doing the exact same thing.

A few days before Christmas, shortly after I’d gotten home from college for the day, a cute little red car pulled into our driveway. Curious, I asked my Mom who was coming over, and confused, she responded that she didn’t know. We watched out of the window as a friend of my parents (who had been kinda-sorta on the lookout for a good used car for me) hopped out & walked up to our door.

Confused, but curiosity brimming, we went out to see him. He explained that this car had belonged to an older lady who only drove it to church on Sundays & to the grocery store right down the road from her house. She kept it in her garage, so it was in pristine condition, and it had super low mileage (less than 25k). This sweet older lady’s situation had changed though and her family had decided to step in and not allow her to drive any longer. They had sold the car to their car salesman friend (who “just so happened” to know that I was looking for a good, used car) and he literally drove it from her house, straight to mine. He explained to my Mom & I that he could not drive this car onto the dealership lot, because someone would immediately scarf it up, and he wanted to sell this car to me.

I was floored. Literally, a car had landed in my own driveway. After weeks of searching and agonizing over what I was going to do, a car had driven straight to my door. I signed some paperwork stating that I would be moving forward in buying the car, and with that agreement, he was able to take the car back to the dealership to be cleaned & gone over. No one else would be able to make a move on buying it though, because, with that agreement, I had already stated that I was going to buy it.

That night, my Dad & I rode over to the dealership & I signed the mountain of paperwork that comes along with buying a car. I got a great deal, my car payment ended up being way lower than I had budgeted, and my insurance was lower too (even though it was a “sporty” red, 2-door car). I was over-the-moon and so thankful for this huge blessing that had literally been dropped right into my lap.

As the fall college semester ended, the days slowly disappeared, and suddenly a tall shaggy “bear” was pulling into my parent’s driveway in his White Jeep & our Christmas holiday together, as well as our last 5 days together before some major changes occurred, were officially starting.

..Part 18 coming soon!