Chapter 5: Love - A & L

Chapter 5: Love - A & L

(as told by both of us)

We’ve only been a couple since 2004, but we’ve known each other since the fall of 1999. It was at the new student weekend retreat at the University of Minnesota when we met for the very first time. We spent our freshman year nurturing a great friendship, but the time when things really came together was when we began working together during our sophomore year.

Lindsey got Andy a job at a New York style pizza shop called Taste of Manhattan on campus at the U of M. It wasn’t the most difficult of work, so there were plenty of times to stand around and chat, laugh, and do the Daily’s crossword puzzles. Having each other around made cutting pizzas, making gyros, and eating pizza every day (for every meal) a great time.

Before and after the lunch rush, we realized that we had a ton in common. For one, we each shared a passion for Golden Gophers football. Neither one of us could out-do the other with the amount of games we had been to, the players we remembered, or how obsessed members of our family were (yes, that’s you John and Trol.) We listened to the same music, watched the same movies, and had some of the same skeletons in our closets. Our bosses, without ever really telling us, began to notice that there was a little more to our friendship than we even knew at the time.

Our time at Taste of Manhattan quickly became our favorite time of the day. We made sure we had the same shifts, and Lindsey would always be the first one to volunteer to go with Andy if he had to make a delivery. Every now and then on a Friday morning, Andy would make sure the shop was running smoothly while Lindsey nursed a headache downstairs at the restaurant. Each day would start out with cheese pizza for breakfast.  Andy would cut it into little pieces so that we could eat it as we prepared to open shop.  Then, we would catch up on what was new while making subs and cutting pizzas for the day.  The best part of the day was when we would take our lunch breaks while working on the MN Daily crossword together. Then, Andy would always wait for me to finish my shift and walk me home.  Although probably obvious to others, this time was spent as the best of friends and two people enjoying each others’ company. 

Our story obviously didn’t end there. We continued to cherish our friendship, and even after we quit the restaurant, we always tried our best to make time for one another. We even sat next to one another on the day of our graduation from the University of Minnesota in 2003.

In 2004, Lindsey moved to Colorado, and within a few months it became obvious that we had missed our chance to be with one another. We talked more and more on the phone, but there was always the unspoken reality that as much as we may want to be with the other, hundreds of miles separated us. After an unsuccessful attempt at meeting in Nashville for the Music City Bowl, Andy flew out to Denver and spent New Years Eve with Lindsey. We were holding hands before we even made it out of the airport.

That weekend affirmed everything we were afraid and thrilled over: we were in love. We both remember the tears streaming down our faces before Andy left for the airport after that weekend. We had no idea what to do, and neither one of us was willing to forget about the other. It probably would have been emotionally easier (and way, way cheaper) had we just said goodbye and went our separate ways, but instead we immediately started planning for the future. The second Andy’s plane landed in Minneapolis, we started making plans for the next time we’d see one another.

Over the next 6 months, we never went more than 2 weeks without seeing each other. Lindsey came to Minneapolis, Andy flew to Denver, and we learned long distance relationship issues as they came to us. That time apart strengthened our ability to communicate even when we didn’t want to, and it helped us learn how to always honor the needs of our partner. Andy finished his contract teaching, partied rather aggressively with his buddies for a few days, and moved out to Denver a few days later. We had never lived with a partner before, we were in a new city, and we really had no idea what we were doing, but we did it.

Our love is something that grew, and that eventually ran wild between the two of us. Sometimes all it takes is admitting what is already obvious, and letting it take you where it wants you to go. Love is such a wonderful, amazing journey, and we look forward to reflecting and refining our love together forever.