Getting lavaliered!

In the simplest of terms - this weekend was wildly eventful. On Friday, I accepted a 2 year commitment with Teach For America in Chicago. On Saturday, I experienced my first Kentucky Derby. The most eventful of all - On Sunday, Chris lavaliered me. 

For those that don't know, lavaliering is the act of a fraternity man presenting his letters to his significant other. In Greek life, your letters are essentially the dearest interest of your life. When someone lavaliers their girlfriend, they are signifying that their girlfriend is as dear to them as their fraternity affiliation. The exact significance and traditions change from region to region and chapter to chapter, but for the most part - it is a promise that they are serious about the relationship and would like to be engaged in the future. It always involves the presentation of a lavalier necklace, a pendant with the fraternity letters arranged in a vertical row.

Chris and I have been together almost 2 years (1 year and 11 months as of yesterday) and our love has grown each day since we started dating. I'll save the mushy gushy stuff for our anniversary though because I want to write about how the actual lavalier went down!

After driving back from Kentucky for the derby, Wes (a mutual best friend of Chris and I) asked me to meet him at a campus bar for dinner and a drink. Wes and I meet up just about every week, so this was totally normal. When we were finished, he asked if I would be willing to walk with him to the campus library to pick up a book he needed. Begrudgingly (because I'm lazy), I agreed.

There I am, unsuspectingly walking to the library to "pick up a book."

And then, I realized... Also, yes my hair is sopping wet because I didn't have time to dry my hair before "dinner and drinks" with Wes. Lesson learned! Ladies - never leave the house with a wet head because your boyfriend may be lavaliering you and you don't want wet hair in all the pictures!

I didn't even make it earshot from Chris before tears are streaming down my face. He kept it together, though! Hands and voice shaking, but no tears. If he would have cried, I would have been a big, ole blubbery mess.

The Oval (Ohio State's campus quad) is especially important to Chris and I. When he started the conversation that ended with me being his girlfriend, he asked what I would do if I saw him on the Oval. For the record, I answered a little too honestly by saying I would probably nod and wave because at the time we were in that weird limbo between friends and dating that makes for very awkward run-ins. Oddly enough, we never actually have seen each other on the Oval after these 2 years. So for the first time the way I responded when I saw him on the Oval looked a little more like this...

Lots of excited, overwhelmed, teary-eyed, thankful, over-joyed, giddy... kissing.

And there it is! That's how it happened! This is possibly one of my favorite pictures of all time now. There I am wearing a totally fluorescent romper with sopping wet hair but happier than ever with my favorite people in the entire world. The men are some of our closest friends in his chapter and the women are just a few of my closest friends in mine. However, it does sort of look like the iconic statue of William Oxley Thompson (OSU's 3rd president) is presiding over the ceremony.

Next stop? There is a tradition that if you and your significant other walk across the bricks down the middle of the Oval while the bells of Orton Tower are ringing and non one crosses your path, you are bound to be together forever. We're planning on making a late night walk soon. ;)

I hope at least someone enjoyed my lavalier story! It isn't over the top, but it was perfect for Chris and I. While writing this, I have reached up to feel my lavalier necklace at least 25 time and almost teared up at least 5 times. Until next time!