glitter

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Once Upon A Time...

A boy met a girl.

The girl:  Freshman year at PC, I was on the cool hall -- 2nd floor Belk.  Ashley Festa lived next door to me.  She was feisty, competitive, loud, loved the Lord, and was more excited about Alpha Delta Pi than anyone else I've ever met.  Ever.  (This still holds true.)  I seriously cannot come up with an anology to describe her enthusiasm.  She also loved pearls, Vera Bradley, and staying up super late (ok, that describes most sorority girls, but Festa has a way of making things "hers").  Over the years, and subsequent ones to follow, we became good friends and I'm so glad!

The boy:  Apparently Austin and I both went to PC our freshman year, but I didn't know it.  The beginning of my sophomore year, I went to Outback Steakhouse with some friends.  Austin was with us and it is the first time I remember meeting him.  Our initial conversation went something like this:

Austin: Hey, you're in my poly sci class.
Me: I don't think so.
Austin: Yes, I've seen you there.
Me: Really?  I've never seen you before.
Austin: Yeah, Dr. Raber at so and so time on so and so days.
Me: Yeah!  I'm in that class.  Interesting.

We became friends and actually ended up having lots of classes together and being study buddies. 
But back to the main characters of this story.  Festa and Austin started dating our Sophomore year.  And dated.  And broke up.  And dated.  And broke up.  And I think you get the picture.  By the time we received our diplomas, they were not dating.

However, they both made the decision to attend Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas: different programs; same grad school.  The plot thickens.  This may (or may not) come to a surprise to you, but they started dating again in Dallas!  And...then they broke up.  Then they started dating again...and then not so much.  Yeah, you smell what I'm stepping in.  Festa graduated.  A year or so later, Austin did, too.  The pattern continued.

Summer of '09 I was lucky enough to see Festa as she passed through Spartanburg.  As we were talking about boys (because sometimes girls do that), she kept describing her perfect man.  We all laughed because Austin fit the bill, but that road had been traveled too many times.

Somewhere in 2010 I heard a rumor that they were dating again.  Picking Festa up from the airport this summer, we were able to hash it out.  I have to say, it was really cool hearing how the Lord had been working in Austin and Festa.  Hearing how their relationship had changed over the years and how the Lord had really taught them how to love one another, compromise and sacrifice, and really just matured them as people and in their relationship.  She assumed they'd be engaged by the end of the year...

Sadly, I was half asleep when Courtney texted me the other night to share the good news that they were (finally) engaged.  I got it early the next morning and promptly texted the boy and the girl.  Excited for you both!  Looking forward to a trip to Dallas!


No comments:

Post a Comment