How I became Mrs. Ballard

As with my journey to becoming a chiropractor, the relationship I have with my now husband was a long time coming and a little convoluted.  You see, our lives were slowly circling closer to each other for years before I decided I loved him.

Zac is from northern Illinois, near Galesburg and had many, many options for college.  Instead of going to Northwestern, anywhere in Chicago, U of I, or even the college that is housed right inside of his home town, he picked SIU in Carbondale, 6 hours from his family.  He is my sister Annie's age, so he was there for a few years before I made it down.  When I went to visit Annie, my second or third trip down, I was 16.  I stayed with her off campus at her townhouse where she and her roommates where throwing a party.  The next morning, I had to take one of Annie's still-kinda-drunk friends home.  He was a tiny Latino man named Dario and as it turns out, he lived with, and was best friends with Zac.  I didn't meet Zac then, it was a few years later.

I was living in Carbondale with some of Annie's old roommates.  The one I love most dearly is name Chelsea.  She is now married to a boy named Andy.  I had recently split from my boyfriend of 1 and 1/2 years and Chelsea decided I should go out and be cheered up.  I never really went out much, I'm not a good drinker and no one is impressed with the girl that can drink 3 beers and fall down outside but I went anyway.  I set down at a table with her and the other girls and pretended to watch a Cardinals game as I ignored them singing bad harmony to Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl.  Let me just say, that shit was B-AN-AN-AS.  Zac eventually sat down next to me and asked me if I'd like a drink about 6 times until I said "ok...just suprize me" and went back to pouting.  The night was kind of slow. Chelsea and Andy were ready to go and we decided to go to Andy's and watch a movie.  I don't think the movie had even been picked yet before Andy and Chels were upstairs.  I was left alone with Zac in his moldy, low-ceilinged basement.  How did Zac get back in the story....well Andy is from Zac's hometown, he lived with Zac and Dario and a few other crazy boys in a dilapidated house on a party street.

Zac picked the movie Mean Girls which I thought was hilarious for 23 year old boy, but none the less, I had seen it before and found it amusing.  After the awkward Christmas concert scene, I decided it was time to go.  Zac walked me to my car, and I didn't see him again for 4 months.

My boyfriend and I got back together for the summer and on one of his weekend visits we decided to go to a party at Andy's house.  We'd been there awhile (long enough that I fell down trying to carry the cooler through his yard) before Zac showed up.  He ignored that fact that Brad was with me and asked if I wanted a tour of his house.  It was nasty and dirty and unimpressive, but Zac was funny and I didn't mind the other stuff so much.  Brad and I eventually left....and eventually left each other.

The weekend after Brad I split for good I ran into Zac again.  It was Halloween weekend.  He always worked late at Best Buy (notice the pic above of him in his BB outfit towering above the fridge), so it was 1am before he showed up where I was.  I ran into Zac as I was leaving at about 3.  I told him I was going home, showering and falling asleep on my couch watching Joe Dirt.  He said, "That sounds great, I wish I could do that." To which I replied, "you can go if you want." He said he might call me later, which was odd to me because I didn't remember ever giving him my number, but I let it slide.  He did call, right as I started Joe Dirt.  Ten minutes later he knocked on my door and as another ten clicked by I went to sleep.  After the 4th time he asked me if I was sleeping I stood up and told him, "I'm going to bed, you can stay or you can go, you can sleep on my couch or you can sleep in my bed, I don't care, but I'm going to sleep now."  A few minutes passed as he contemplated his options, then he came to tell me he was going to stay and if it was still ok, he would share the bed.  I mumbled ok and kept sleeping.  He had taken off for work by the time I got up the next morning, but from then on, there was rarely a day he didn't come by.

After a few weeks Zac told me he loved me.  I was shocked to realize that I loved him too.  Its amazing really, how your heart can make room when it needs to... Zac wass it for me.  He followed me to St. Louis after 7 months.  We should have gotten married then, but put it off until this summer.  We were married for 6 months on the 6th, together for 4 years on Halloween.  It's not the most romantic story in the world but it's ours and I love it none the less.

(This is a picture of Zac from our honeymoon.  This is his real smile and it's adorable)