The Day We Met

The date was September 25th, 2010, IU was playing Akron in football and the tailgate fields were calling. A young Jackson strolled to the tailgate fields without a care in the world...little did he know his life was going to change that day. As the fields came across the horizon, Jackson scanned the masses of drunk college kids searching for a familiar face. After what seemed like an eternity, he spots an old friend, Mimi Strobel. She waves him over from afar. As Jackson approaches, he sees Mimi is accompanied by someone he does not know. She is wearing a Crimson Indiana shirt, jeans, and some fashionably questionable Ed Hardy shoes. Mimi introduces the mysterious girl as her cousin, Caitlin.

The Chase

Jackson was smitten from the start. Caitlin, however, was not so much. She saw Jackson more as a friend. Jackson obliged at first, spending most of his days hanging out at what was known as the “Cat House” with Mimi and Caitlin. Jackson looked for just about any excuse to spend more time with Caitlin, whether it was getting in on the same ticket group for IU basketball games or going to Little 500 concerts together, or Jackson’s personal favorite, being Caitlin’s sober driver when the duty called. After a few years of Jackson’s incessant pestering of Caitlin, she finally caved and agreed to give him a chance.

The Long Distance

After graduation, Caitlin accepted a spot at Washington University in St. Louis to get her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy. It was a 3.5 year program. Jackson, however, was still working in Indianapolis, so the long distance relationship began. The first year was not so hard. Jackson made the 4 hour drive just about every other weekend, so they still saw each other quite frequently, spending their time exploring St. Louis’s food and brewpub scene together. It wasn’t until Jackson decided to move to Colorado that things got significantly harder. This was the first time in their relationship that they weren’t a short drive away from each other. Never being people who were afraid of a little hard work, Caitlin and Jackson made it work. Even though they weren’t seeing each other every other weekend, they spent every night on the phone talking, mainly about when they would get to see each other next. Over the course of the next year, Caitlin made her way out to visit several times. Much of the time spent on these visits was in the mountains, whether it was skiing, hiking, trail running, or just exploring what the mountains had to offer, they cherished and made the most of each one of those trips. A year went by with Jackson in Colorado and the distance had become too much. With Caitlin firmly planted in St. Louis for the time being to finish her doctoral program, Jackson decided to make the move to be back with his girl. In what was a fast turnaround, Jackson packed up his life and was settling into his new apartment in St. Louis within a matter of days.

Finally Together At Last

Caitlin and Jackson were finally together again at last. Jackson had taken a job in St. Louis and moved into the building right next door to Caitlin’s, their doors no more than a football field apart. Things were finally right in the world. They enjoyed their time in St. Louis very much, tasting their way through its amazing food and drink scene and constantly “de-stressing” with great friends they made along the way. Oftentimes, their nights were spent over beers, appetizer parties, and occasionally tequila shots with good friends like Kara, John, Gabby, and the rest of the Music Majors (you know who you are). After Caitlin finished her doctoral program, she got a little bit closer than a football field away, she officially moved in with Jackson. This was the first time the two of them had lived together in their long relationship. At what is often the make or break point in most relationships, Caitlin and Jackson thrived. Six months into living together, Caitlin passed her boards and they started discussing what the next chapter of their lives might hold. Caitlin yearns to travel and contemplates travel therapy. After much discussion and deliberation, they decide to go for it and Caitlin accepts a job out west in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

Nomad Life

Caitlin and Jackson packed up their bags and sold all of their possessions as they shoved everything they could fit into Caitlin’s Jeep Compass. Just like that, they were headed west, watching as St. Louis faded in the rearview mirror. It was a long drive, but they were finally on approach to their new life in Scottsbluff. They pass the city limit sign, population 15,000. It was a nice town, small, but with all the amenities they could possibly need. The biggest draw of choosing Scottsbluff was its close proximity to the mountains, which was Caitlin and Jackson’s primary deciding factor when choosing that location. Caitlin spent her weekdays working for a local clinic as their Occupational Therapist, Jackson had taken a remote job so spent his days staring at a computer screen from the couch. The weekdays were often quiet, a lot of time spent exploring the local cuisine. It was the weekend though that they longed for. Many weekends were spent making the 3 hour drive to Colorado to spend time with friends and the mountains, however they also got a taste of Wyoming at Cheyenne Frontier Days and South Dakota’s Black Hills to see Mt. Rushmore. Work, travel, repeat. This continued over the 3 month contract Caitlin signed. Then came their long anticipated trip abroad.

The Proposal

Jackson flew to Amsterdam a week before Caitlin for work and then Caitlin was to meet him there afterwards. After a work trip that saw Jackson arrive back in Amsterdam 3 hours late, he got back to the hotel where he was to meet Caitlin and was surprised not to find her. He banged and knocked on the hotel room door but to no avail, Caitlin must have taken a stroll and didn’t have service. So Jackson goes down to the front desk and gets a new key, goes up to the room, opens the door, and who does he see passed out asleep on the bed, Caitlin. At this point, they are already running late for their reservations and Jackson’s plan is starting to go down the drain. In what had to be the fastest Caitlin ever got ready, she threw some clothes on and they were on their way to VondelPark. Jackson’s pockets weren’t ideal to conceal the ring, so he tucked it in his waistband and hoped for the best. As they get to the park the sun is essentially set, Jackson rushes and tries to play off the fact that they’re walking through a park in pitch black because he “hadn’t gotten a chance to see it yet.” Jackson dragged Caitlin to a location he had found earlier in the week. He went over the speech he had prepared in his head over and over again, he opened his mouth to say it and utter nonsense came out, he blacked out. Next thing Jackson knew, he was on one knee asking Caitlin if she would marry him. Caitlin excitedly said “OF COURSE!” Jackson, though, couldn’t get up off his knee until he got the “YES” he so desperately wanted to hear, Caitlin finally obliged. It was so dark out that the joke goes that you know Caitlin truly loves Jackson because she said yes without having even seen the ring.

Where We Are Now

After their European excursion through Berlin and Paris ended, they headed back to Indiana. Upon which time an opportunity arose for Caitlin at an outpatient clinic in Michigan, they quickly hopped on that and were off again, this time to Ann Arbor, Michigan.