We were riding together one time (Matt was driving) and it was snowing. He went to make a "Michigan left" turn and didn't brake cautiously enough so we ended up sliding sideways into the curb. His tire was flat after that and Matt was not exactly the mechanical type. He called his roommate, Chris, over to my townhouse to help him put a spare tire on. It was snowing and when Matt came back inside, his glasses were just covered in snow and he was soaked (and freezing).
For Valentine's Day, I delivered a teddy bear, Altoids (because he always had them) and a card at his apartment door. He got me a nightshirt from Victoria's Secret that I still have.
When Matt went on spring break in Panama City, there was a man on the beach imprinting "fake" dog tags so Matt got one for each of us. They said, "After five long years...." and underneath was our names. He had one with my name and my middle name was spelled wrong. He added an e on Ann. :) I had one with his name.
That summer, he was accepted for an internship in Boston. Of course, I was sad that he would be away for three months. But I was able to fly out there twice for long weekend visits. The first time was 4th of July weekend. And the second time was his birthday at the end of July. We had so much fun there, it became our favorite city. I feel so blessed that we were able to enjoy Boston together (this time with Noah) one last time. We went for 4th of July in 2010 and his cousin, Jeremy and his wife, Amber, along with their two kids, Jack and Tyler, all met us there for the weekend. Matt and I loved to travel. We wanted to travel the world.
I found this cleaning out the office:
I can't remember if this was done at the mall or the movie theater, lol. I think it might have been at the theater. It was August 11, 2006 - so cool that it put the date up there.
Before I had a job, I frequently went with Matt while he worked. That was the whole time we lived in Michigan because I never found a job until we moved to North Carolina. I loved riding around with him... we went all over the state. Flint, Owosso, Saginaw, Bay City, Greenville (MI), Petoskey, Fremont, etc. I was his road buddy. And I rode around with him once we moved, too... until I got a job. I remember riding with him on one of his first days and we were trying to figure out our way around. Smithfield, Edenton, Nags Head, Elizabeth City, Wilson, Jacksonville, Morehead City, Washington, New Bern, etc. Those were fun days. If this had to happen.... this tragedy... why couldn't it have happened back then? When I was with him?
We started at a new dentist's office down here in North Carolina and I had my appointment first. I remember leaving with EIGHT cavities! I called Matt to tell him and he was in disbelief. He thought I was a slacker and didn't clean my teeth well. Then Matt went to HIS appointment... THIRTEEN cavities later... hah! That is something I will never forget. He went to get a second opinion and the verdict stood. I wonder who had the last laugh there? Well, neither of us, really... because we ended up having to open a Care Credit account (a medical credit card) to pay for all of our fillings! Luckily, that was the only time we've ever had to use that.
