Surrounded by the influences of the Kelly, Dylan and Brenda love triangle, as well as the Kelly, Zach and Slater love triangle, love blossoming in the ’90s was vastly different from the love blossoming in the modern-day era.
However, it has also stayed shockingly the same.
For Stacy and Joseph Buras, their love withstood the test of time and the test of growing with your one true soulmate. A test that not many relationships can withstand.
Their story began on any normal day in the summer of 1993 when they met for the first time at a little pizza joint previously located in Puyallup by the name Brewery City Pizza where they were both previous employees. Stacy was beginning her junior year, set to graduate in the class of ‘95, while Joe was starting his final year at Puyallup.
“It started off as just being a flirt. After that it just kept escalating and escalating. Then one thing led to another and here we are, 20-some years later,” Stacy Buras said.
With 20-some years under their belts, Stacy and Joe say they have pulled through many challenges, testing their relationship at every corner. In those 20 plus years though, they have also built a life with two children and a home filled with happiness, love, and joy.
“We had fun times; we had tough times, but we did it together,” Stacy Buras said.
The first chapter of their story though, did not reveal the happy ending that would eventually come. Of course, they had to live through their story to reach this point. Every story has a beginning, middle, and end. This was theirs.
“Ninety-nine percent of people will not stay together. It just happened that we were the one or two percent that may,” Stacy Buras said.
Perhaps that is the most magical part of it all. The fact that through everything the pair became the one or two percent to survive.
In high school you can only hope that you and your significant other stay together. You work towards the goal of becoming the exception. Not many people can achieve that goal though, despite how amazing the relationship may be.
“You just go with it and have a lot of trust and a lot of faith in each other. That we definitely have,” Stacy Buras said.
As well as trust, the couple has the shared experiences of growing together and getting to know each other along the way. The years of memories are surely not a negative part of their relationship, they may even strengthen the love felt for one another.
“My favorite would probably be when we had our son. That is probably the number one. I actually had to have an emergency C-section and he was there by my side the entire time for that. That was probably the best moment ever for the both of us. To experience, and to know the love that we had for each other,” Stacy Buras said.
Despite being together so young though, Stacy Buras stated that she holds no regrets of falling in love so early.
“I couldn’t imagine doing it differently,” Stacy Buras said.
Growing with your best friend and soulmate can be the most rewarding experience in one’s lifetime. One that so few get to have. It is such a rarity to find a couple who have stayed through thick and thin, coming out the other side and surviving through it all.
“We definitely, through the 20-some years have had rough patches. Now we are both in our 40s and know what we want, where we want to go and what we want to do. Now we have two children to go with it,” Stacy Buras said.
Their adventure and their story, with new characters and twists and turns, has only been strengthened and added onto throughout the years. All of it makes for a true adventure.
Stacy Buras offers some advice about making real life relationships work.
“If your heart feels like this is what it is going to be forever, then so be it. Stay strong. Work through the troubles. You will have conflicts, you will have disagreements. However, somebody has to be the bigger one in the relationship. You can’t argue all the time,” Stacy Buras said.
Love is not just a walk in the park; it takes hard work and effort that you must be willing to put in for the desired outcome. No one has a perfect relationship, even if it may appear that way. Everyone struggles and puts in the effort to make it work with someone that you truly love and care for.