Hello there. My name is Blake Rivers, in case you didn't know that already. I've been living this crazy life for 16 years, I'm a sophomore at the hell hole called St. Mary's Academy, and I'm on the football team. She is my everything. Lillian and I are going to adopt African babies and raise them the way we want to raise them. I'm dating Drew too, but it's a secret shhh. Some of my friends are Cleo, Katelyn, and Miranda. Gavin is my secret fucking buddy and favorite out of all the boys. But don't tell them I said that. Ross kind of scares me, but he's still my friend. Willy has a hot girlfriend and he's pretty sexy himself. Oh and Ashleigh is my super sexy Bitch with great Boobs and one of my best friends. Oh yeah, and Chase Rivers is my brother. See you around. -6969
Makes me wanna sneak down your driveway,
Climb out your window,
Get in girl,
We roll till the dirt road ends,
You can climb up in that back seat,
With your pretty little bare feet,
Get them butterflies like we've still got our innocence,
Like we're 17 again
Let's face it, we've changed, we've all changed. Somewhere between summer ending and real life starting, we've all gone our own directions. Hearts were broken, friendships were diminished, new loves started, and new people came into our lives. We no longer spend all of our time together in our circle of friends; we no longer talk for hours about nothing at all. Some of us are finding love while some of us are trying to let go. Even though we've changed we all know that even though we're all finding our own place in the world that when we find love, let go of a love, or when the tears fall, or a smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us and no matter what happens nothing will change so much that we are all not friends forever.
Sometimes in life, you find a special friend. Someone who changes your life just by being a part of it. Someone who makes you laugh until you can't stop. Someone who makes you believe that there really is good in the world. Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open it. When you look back on your life, they're the one person who's in every memory you have. Lucky for me, I found four.
We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare and beautiful was created. For me, love like that has only happened once, and that's why every minute we spent together has been seared in my memory. I'll never forget a single moment of it.
I love you. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I've ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, everyday we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours.
There's honestly no better feeling than the feeling of her in my arms at the end of the day. Just knowing that no matter what happens during the day I'll always get to come home to the most amazing girl in the world makes everything easier.
You'd think that after twenty-four years of being married to the same girl, a guy would realize not to let her near an oven. "C'mon, babe, let me make dinner tonight! The directions are right here, I can do it." You can also almost burn the house down for the third time this month, baby.
Okay, this was totally random but one day Blake and I decided to do something crazy and he knew my obsession with tattoos and although he loves Batman much more I told him how he's my Superman from saving me that night many years ago and I still thank him because of that. So we went to the parlor and got matching Superman tattoos. Gemma and Drew weren't too happy, oops.
Whoops. Seems like I'm torturing him with my complains of him never seeing me now. What a hobo, am I right? At least he did one thing right--he got Sebastian to sleep before ten. He's the best friend I could ever have even if I never see him anymore. I just love him so much.
“I've apparently been the victim of growing up, which apparently happens to all of us at one point or another. It's been going on for quite some time now, without me knowing it. I've found that growing up can mean a lot of things."
As you get older, everything starts to fall into place and you start to realize why things happened the way they did. Every little puzzle piece that seemed out of place while you were growing up, has found its spot in the puzzle that you call your life. Growing up isn't a bad thing, actually. I've found it quite fun. Ever since the day I stood on that stage, back at SMA, wearing the blue gown and cap, I realized that growing up is a part of life we all have to go through at some point. Of course, my growing up didn't start until the day I saw her walking down the aisle. During college, it was all fun and games. Endless parties, constantly skipping classes, and even sneaking out just to see the girl I was, and still am, in love with. But the day we got married, I realized there was much more to life than I thought.
I realized that day I would have a family to take care of. Gemma was the first step towards that family. We went from a family of two to a family of six. And getting there took a lot of growing up. Do I regret growing up? No. Do I wish I had of done it better? Not at all. Every mistake I made throughout my life has brought me here today. Even if there are always those what if's I still wonder about every now and then.
What if Katelyn and I had actually gotten together? What if I never broke up with Lillian? What if Gavin hadn't died? What if I had of been with Cleo? What if this, what if that. What if. But life isn't about the what if's, it's about the whens. When I grow older, when I get married, when I have kids. We can't look back on the past, because it's the past. Simple as that. Maybe that's the reason they always asked us the when questions when we were five. Even though most of our answers were things such as, When I grow up I want to be a princess. Or When I grow up I'll drive a limo. Stuff like that doesn't happen to normal people like us.
It's been twenty years since graduation. Twenty years since I left the place I called home, and since I left the life I knew behind for one much scarier. College, well, that was an adventure. It started out how I had expected it. I played football, went to the same school as Gemma, spent as much time as possible with her, went to parties, I even did school work. The next few years are all a blur, even though there are moments that stand out more than others. The day we bought the apartment for example. Sophomore year of college, I was finally moving in with her. We were going to get to be together every day and that means a lot when you're young and in love. Well, the rest of that year was the same as the one before, except for when I proposed to her. She said yes, obviously. Being engaged for two years brings a lot of the whens in conversations.
Before I knew it, we were talking about the wedding and kids. I knew I wasn't ready for any of that. I could barely picture myself graduation college, let alone being a father, but we talked about it. What we hoped our kids would be like, if we would send them to SMA, or not. Well, that year went by fast. Then there was the day senior year. My plans for the future were changed. The plans I had to play football for the rest of my life were gone. I didn't know what I was going to do, but Gemma refused to let me think of that. She told me we'd get through it together and we did.
The next year we got married. When you're growing up, getting married is only something you can think about. You never actually know what it feels like, until you're standing on the other end of that aisle as she's walking up. When you've got every person you've ever been close to right there with you. You're nervous as hell, let me tell you that. You get so nervous that you mix up your "I do" with a "Me too." God, you feel like a complete idiot. She laughed though, so I guess that meant it was okay. Well, we got married on one of the worst days possible. That day just happened to be the day that there was a blizzard, so the lights in the Church went out, and the car broke down. We ended up running all the way home that day. It was totally worth it though because it was the day I was finally able to know that I'd get to spend the rest of my life with the woman I love.
It only took a year before we had the first kid. Her name ended up being Charlotte, but she doesn't know that it's after Gemma's puppy we had back in high school. Well, then there was Chase. He never got to see the world, and I know it's my fault. No matter how many times Gemma tries to say it wasn't either of our faults, I know it was mine. Well, then came the twins and, after them, Max. They're all such a hand-full when they're together, but I love them all. It's hard to believe that Max is going to SMA this year. Blake, Lexis, and Charlotte are already there, so pretty soon it's going to be just Gemma and me around the place.
Looking back on everything through out life, I've realized how many people have really made a difference in my life. Drew, Willy, Ross, and Gavin were always there through out high school. Well, actually, Drew was there for me even before that. I owe a lot to him. He's the reason I'm not still that kid who constantly gets beat up by those football jocks, the reason I ever got my first girlfriend, and the reason I graduated high school. All the boys are, actually. Somehow they had all found out about my grades, I'm sure it was probably Cleo or Katelyn who let it slip in front of them, but they decided things needed to change. There were a few threats and other words thrown around during that conversation, but I knew if I ever wanted to get out of that place I would have to change. So I did. And I got to sit with the class of 2016 and graduate.
Most of my closest friends during high school were girls. I'm not even going to try to cover that up. There were so many of them. From Cleo, to Katelyn, to Ashley. Then Hannah and Roxy and Aly. The list could go on for a while. Well, saying goodbye to all of them was hard. I know they all saw me cry a little when I had to say bye. Sure, I kept in touch with them, but mostly through texting and phone calls. I've seen Katelyn a few times when I went to baby sit for a few weeks while she went away. God, Lexi's grown so much.
I see Cleo from time to time. Mostly when her and Drew bring the kids over for Easter, or something. Out of everyone I definitely see Aly the most. Not in person though. Just on the TV and what not. I'm so happy for her. She finally made it big time, and she really deserves it. There's also Roxy. I see Roxy the most in person. She brings the family over for Christmas and Thanksgiving and surprise visits all the time. I'm not complaining though. I love getting to see her. It really brings back some good memories.
So I guess you could say, between high school and now, things have changed a lot. Definitely for the better, even if there have been some worsts. But after everything we've been through, I can honestly say I am happy with my life.
vaporwave
2087
theartofmadeline
