Finding Love: Stacy’s Happily Ever After

Good morning and happy Friday to all! I am in pretty good spirits today. Why? Because I finally got some after the world’s longest dry spell for no good reason whatsoever. And I’m feeling better. AND? I totally made out with fist bumper last night who helped me download the Phish shows I missed in Chicago, fixed my computer, and has asked me out for when I return to town after the weekend. *HAPPY DANCE*

In other news, thanks to all who participated in this week’s giveaway from UPrinting! Congrats to Kristi from Kristi Taylor Fine Art who will win a free set of business cards. An email has been sent.

SO! If you are new here, I have been running a new series every Friday where I feature a different love story to give hope to us single ladies (and guys) and to reintroduce those warm, mushy feelings all over again. And this week’s love story is one that truly does speak to my heart. I *met* Stacy by way of the world wide web about a year ago and we connected because of our love of music and live shows. She is incredibly sweet and I’m so happy to have her here today. Please give her a warm welcome!

(If you would like to be featured in the “Finding Love” series, please email me at charlotte@mypixieblog.com. I look forward to hearing from you!)

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I find that true music lovers are pretty rare. Sure, we all have our favorite band, our favorite radio station, our guilty pleasure songs, but true music lovers share something deeper than jamming out to the newest hit in your car. Music runs through our lives like a river, following us through every twist and turn and leaving its mark behind, permanently attaching itself to a memory. I feel I’m one of those people. I’ve been going to shows for as long as I can remember and at this point, after seeing 100+ concerts of various size, genre, and crowd level, with no signs of stopping, I see how important music is to my life. I could only hope to find someone that felt the same and didn’t scoff at a lifetime of live music. As Spring bloomed in 2009, I was entering my third year of singledom. I had dated on and off but hadn’t found anyone exciting since my last breakup in 2006 (he wasn’t exciting either – he preferred to listen to screamo music and drink a case – literally – of Bud every evening while watching hockey. Don’t ask). I was a regular chatter on an online music forum and had been talking with one particular guy more than usual, but didn’t think much of it. I enjoyed our conversations but he lived in St. Louis while I was in Detroit. I have many “music” friends around the country that I meet up with for various shows, so I added him to my “concert buddy” list and moved on.

Except, I didn’t move on. I thought about him an awful lot for a “concert buddy,” talked to him well into the night, and couldn’t wait to make plans to meet up. He was a fellow music lover – someone that understood how I felt when I experienced live music and even loved the same bands as me! I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by, so I found the perfect opportunity to meet at an upcoming Phish show in Indianapolis. Indy is about halfway between Detroit and St. Louis and was the most logical place for us to meet. So, I jumped in headfirst and headed to Indianapolis on June 12, 2009. That concert was my very first Phish show – it was 90+ degrees, humid as all get out, and it stormed halfway into the show with some of the most intense lightning I’ve ever seen, sending everyone to their cars. The show was memorable in many ways, but mostly because I had found someone special. I grappled the rest of the summer with jumping into a long-distance relationship. There are lots of cons, surely, but the good seemed to outweigh the bad and I went for it. We became official two months later and Indianapolis became our official meet-up spot for the next year. Since that day, we’ve gone to countless shows together, including a 10-day road trip in which we saw Phish four nights in a row and ended up in (where else?) Indianapolis for a Dave Matthews Band double-header. We continue to go to at least one show per month, and nurture each other’s music habit as much as possible. 

Present day, I live with this wonderful boy just outside St. Louis. I love it here – I found a great job, made friends, and continue to go to show after show in our free time. It is amazing how well our situation turned out, despite living 600+ miles apart and being five years apart in age. It just goes to show what music can do to guide your life just the way it’s supposed to go.