High School Sweethearts and a Lifetime of Love

Being with someone for almost half your life sounds absolutely crazy, doesn’t it? Growing up, I remember listening to my grandparents talk about their relationships - how long they’d been together, how young they were when they got married - and I used to think, wow… having love like that is the dream.

Having your person by your side through every phase of life… your best friend, your sounding board, your partner in chaos and calm. That kind of love always felt like something out of an old movie or a storybook.

Funny enough, I never thought my story would end up resembling theirs.

Yesterday marked 13 years with my husband - my high school sweetheart. 💛

Want to hear our story?

It all started senior year of high school. Back then, I was a little wild (YOLO was the motto, remember?), but I still took my classes seriously. I was in AP Stats when I finally noticed Zach. Mind you, we’d gone to the same small school since 7th grade - same hallways, same faces - and somehow, it took me until senior year to go, “Wait, who is this guy?”

He just seemed… cool, grounded, funny. We started talking more in Mr. Sprung’s class. Fast forward to homecoming... Zach got crowned Homecoming King (yes, really), but he wasn’t even planning to go. You know, too cool for school. Meanwhile, I didn’t have a date.

Enter our friends Kelly and Lareese, who basically played matchmakers. They convinced him to ask me to homecoming. One day, I walked into class to find flowers, a Reese’s cup, and a handwritten note asking me to the dance. (And yes, I still have that note.)

And, as they say, the rest is history.

We graduated high school, went off to college, started our careers, bought our first home, and got married in 2024. Thirteen years later, here we are... which, when I stop to think about it, is almost half of my lifetime.

When I say my husband is my best friend, I truly mean it. I know that might make some people cringe a little, but when you’ve grown up together, it’s just what happens. He’s the first person I want to tell when something exciting (or ridiculous) happens. I want to dance in the kitchen with him while dinner is in the oven. I want to keep going on adventures, both big and small, for the rest of our lives.

Because somewhere along the way, our story - two kids from the same small school -turned into exactly the kind of love story I used to admire when my grandparents told theirs.

Here's to young love that grew up,

-CC