The Beginning

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Charley Brooke. She wanted love and to find her prince more than anything. She kissed and dated frog after frog trying to be disguised as a prince as detailed in my "It's Not A Love Story" posts. She had turned 23 and had resigned herself to loneliness. She felt like a flight risk with a fear of falling wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts. She felt like she wanted love so badly, it would never come. It seemed everyone around her would find love instantly and maybe there was something wrong with her. Then she made the choice to be happy with life and whatever happened would happen.

Luckily, this girl met two of her best friends in the work through work. Her coworkers Deedra and Stacie transformed into so much more than just coworkers. It was a blessing. These girls saved her from the loneliness and filled her with hope. 

                Charley & Deedra

     My little sister Jordan, me, & Dee

Dylan (Dee's little bro), Zach (Dee's husband), and Ryan (Dyl's friend but not my Ryan).

She started going out with friends content with living life single (although still a flicker of hope remained deep in her heart that love would find her). For instance, the above pictures are of her an friends going to a spook house at the Blackfoot Grandstands for a fun filled night. 

Stacie, Kate (our former boss and friend), Johna (nurse), Dee and me on Halloween at work!

The brother (Lambsey) and me! Twins seven years apart. 

                 SiStEr - sIsTeR

This girl had doubts that maybe she wasn't enough. Not pretty enough. Not good enough. Not smart enough. Not talented enough. Just not enough. Yet she tried her best everyday and focused on others and friends and hobbies.

She went on adventures doing the seemingly impossible like meeting Justin Bieber with Christian. Life was good. January and the New Year felt promising and a chance to begin again.

Her mother and family began to lecture her endlessly about how her Prince Charming would never ride up on his white horse with flowers and write poetry and letters and be all chivalrous. She would not find her hopeless romantic boy that she craved. Such boys didn't exist. But this girl didn't believe it. She refused to. If a girl like she existed, her dream boy must have been real. In the 7 billion people on this earth, he had to be out there and if not, she wouldn't settle for less. 

On January 14, 2013, her mother slipped  a book on her nightstand about being single and how to deal with it. A few day prior to this, a boy named Ryan Syndergaard messaged her on Facebook. She'd gone to high school with this boy and thought he was cute but he never saw her. She remembered memories clearly and in slow motion with perfect detail of walking down the halls of their school and gazing at this boy. Pleading with her eyes, trying to burn them into his, to just make eye contact and see her. His curly brown hair and dark eyes she could get lost in. He was taller than her. But she was invisible. 

So she was incredibly surprised to see him messaging her. They hit it off immediately, and talked for hours. They made plans to meet and have a date on January 15. When he walked in the door, her breath was taken away as he handed her a single, perfect red rose. Little did either of them know, it was love at first sight and they would be married in five months...

To be continued...