Is it too soon to say “I Love You”?

It’s that age old question any new couple asks themselves. Is it too soon to say “I Love You”? How soon is too soon? Should I say it first or wait for him? Do I just blurt it out or when is the right time?

Thankfully I’m painfully awkward sometimes (all of the time) and much too brazen for my own good, saving my boyfriend from any of that nonsense.

We were barely two weeks into dating when I decided we should take a trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Yes, you read that right – two weeks. Its not that I forced him, but rather I said that I was going to Mardi Gras and he could come with me or I’d go alone. Seven years later, I think he made the right choice.

A week later we flew down, staying right on the corner of Bourbon & Toulouse in the French Quarter – party central! We spent our first few days visiting every bar we could find – I still have my collection of souvenir to-go cups! We also played tourists, visiting Jackson Square, Cafe Du Monde, the Audubon Zoo (hey, I’m an animal lover!), Madame Louvre’s grave, and more! I’m pretty sure I was even cursed at the Voodoo Museum! But that’s for another post.

One especially fun evening after a round of drinks at dinner, another round of drinks with our new friends from dinner, a round of drinks with the band, a few more rounds collecting drink cups, and a “what the heck is in this drink” round at the karaoke bar, we were feeling good and heading home.

It was at this point, I was feeling really hungry. It was nearly 4am – so HOURS after dinner – and all I wanted was a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. I could almost feel the toastyness of the bread, the ooey-gooey cheesy-ness running out as I bite into it. I had to have a Grilled Cheese.

And being the amazing man he is, my boyfriend dropped me off at the hotel to get ready for bed and went out to hunt for the elusive 4am-Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

Now, for all of you less-than elite hunters out there, the evasive 4am-Grilled Cheese Sandwich is not easy to find, even in a city like New Orleans that seems to be open at all hours. So it’s no surprise that every cafe and sidewalk stand he tried, he came up empty handed. Everything was closed!

Then, off in the distance, he saw what looked like a mirage. A man selling hot dogs at a corner stand! Could it be? Someone with food this late at night?

He has his own story about how he tried to barter fifty cents off the cost of the hot dog. He had the money, but I guess thought it looked like more of a four-dollar and fifty-cent hot dog than a five-dollar hot dog.

All I know, is that when I was woken up a mere 2 hours later with my second favorite food, I uttered those three little words for the first time.

I love you.

And seven years later, I think I made the right choice.

// Onward & Upward //

~ K