He's a Little Bit Country and I'm a Little Bit Rock 'n Roll

Between work and everything else I haven't had the time to sit down and blog in a long time. The saddest part is that the person keeping me so busy is too wonderful NOT to blog about. Funny, huh? So in this rare spare moment which can't be spent with him, I'm taking a moment to devote a whole post to Garrett. (I hope you're not embarrassed, but you knew I was a writer when we started this...)

Where to begin? What to say? I don't want this to sound like some crazy list of why my boyfriend is better than yours (even though he is). I guess I'll dwell on the sometimes quirky, sometimes charming, but always lovable things that he does.

Garrett is in the Army ROTC (those who know me really well are scratching your heads right now, I know) and one of the cutest things he used to do all the time when he saw me or we were saying goodnight was a little salute. It was adorable.

I think these days sometimes women are confused about how to react to certain situations in dating. As an independent tomboy, I especially have a hard time finding the balance between my stubborn insistence on being treated as one of the guys and allowing the men in my life to be respectful and chivalrous. I wonder if women of my generation have been so trained by the media and the increasing evils of the world to be independent, suspicious of kindness, protective, etc. to the point at which we fear or are even insulted by gentlemanly behavior. I personally have to fight off thoughts that I am either undeserving of the attention or it's cheesy. There's a real gentleman in my life right now. He pushes in my chair, he stands up when I leave the table. He offers his arm as we walk down stairs. I'm still working on letting him open more doors, but--unlike other guys I've dated--he doesn't insult me when I open one for myself. At twenty-three, I'm finally starting to appreciate fully what it means let a man with manners show you how he feels about you. Letting him do those things isn't about being high maintenance or overly feminine. It's about being treasured and respected and that's exactly how Garrett makes me feel.

I love to give Garrett sugar... no, all you Black Eyed Peas fans, that's not what I meant. I mean feeding Garrett sugary food is the most fun thing in the world! He hardly ever eats anything sweet, so, when he does, he gets instantly hyper. He starts pacing around, talks faster than I ever expected an Idaho boy could, and then he starts bouncing. Yes, bouncing. (England family, think of me on the "bouncy grass" and you'll get the picture.) I run around bouncing off the walls most of the time anyway, so I like to feed him sugar so I don't have to do it alone :) I love that Garrett can be a five year old with me when I want to be and an adult when I need him to be. Finally, a kindred spirit!

When Garrett and I first started hanging out and we were still in the flirtationship stages, he told me he would redeem Idaho boys for me, that one guy doesn't make the whole state bad. So, I've retracted my former statement that I've sworn off Idaho boys and I've been reminded of what initially attracted me to guys from that state in the first place--they are a bunch of sweet, hard-working country boys.

So--even though I paint my fingernails black, start wicked awesome mosh pits at outdoor concerts, wear pencil skirts and Jackie O. coats, toured Europe, am scared of cows, and feel comfortable hip-hop dancing on a stage--I am head-over-heels for my Johnny Cash-loving, paintball playing, gun-shooting guy. I'm so crazy about him that he's got me listening to country music when he's not around! There's one song he really loves and I think it's really fitting.

"You can raise her up and lady, but there's one thing you just can't avoid--ladies love country boys."