This is a questions for all my married friends (which strangely enough, aren't too many! The handful of my really good friends are ALL single). How did you meet your spouse? How long did you date before getting married? Big wedding or small one? How long have you been married? I realize this is more than one question, but they all kind of tie together.
A and I's story is actually pretty fun. We met in 7th grade thru a cousin we both share. I know this sounds kind of weird, but I assure you it is not! My mom's first cousin married A's mom's first cousin. When they had kids, A and I were related to them by the same degree. My parents and some family friends used to do an annual canoe trip right around the time of the fourth of July. Every year, the group of people that went grew. One year it included A and his family. Of course we all had a blast hanging out together....these canoe trips were a lot of fun. So A and I would see each other occasionally. In 9th grade we spent the 4th of July together (well our families) and his parents' cat just had kittens. I was dying to have a kitten (Mitzi), so we took one home (it almost started WW III between my parents....a whole other story). On our way home, my mom teased me that A had a crush on me. I wasn't really into him like that, but it was kind of funny. Throughout high school we saw each other at different family events....somehow he was always single for me, even though he always had a girlfriend. One random day, I got a phone call from A and he wanted to ask me out on a date. I was so shocked and a little nervous and said sure. I was a little backwards in the dating department, so this was kind of new to me. The more I thought about it, the more I was kind of grossed out by A. Hahahaha. We went to different schools and I thought his was really dorky. Anyway, I went through with the date, but decided I would do my best to sabotage it. A wanted to go to dinner and a movie. I had completely different plans. I insisted that I drive (I had a super cute lime green VW Beetle). We went to Friendly's for dinner and then met my BFF (same one I swim with!!) at a boy's soccer game. Hahaha.. This story is hilarious. I thought the soccer team boys were super hot and didn't want to miss a game. If you think that I was terrible doing this, it only gets worse.... We decided to ride down to Overton to "Cry Baby Bridge"....so BFF, A, and I piled into my BFF's car (I sat in the passenger seat and A in the back) and went driving. When the date was done, he tried to kiss me and I freaked and shut the door in his face. I didn't find out until way later that A had spent a whole day detailing his car and getting ready for our date. I was a total goober. He did call for another date (now that is some persistence!) but I turned him down blaming it on the start of swim season.
I went off to college and didn't think twice of A. Every now and again we would email each other, but nothing real interesting. I would always get a kick out of his emails. The year I got cancer, for some reason, we had started talking a little more. I was in a relationship for 2 years, so I never really thought it was anything more than friends. After I quit school to have my surgery and heal, I realized that my long term boyfriend just wasn't the right person for me. A was home and around and we started talking even more. He would come in to work and see me every now and again. While I was still in a relationship, A and I decided to go see a movie together. This was a really hard time for me because all of my friends were in college still and my boyfriend was living in Canada, so I was really lonely and trying to come to terms with just surviving cancer. Having A as a friend and around was huge. The night we went to the movie was really great. At one point in the evening, I thought to myself that it would have been an amazing first date. I definitely started to evaluate my life, my relationship, and my future. Again, I can't really stress where I was in my life....I wanted someone stable to be with. It meant a lot to me that A was there for me and keeping me company. Suddenly, I realized that I knew all the things I didn't like about A, but I never really gave him a chance to learn the things I could like about him. It all happened fast, I broke up with my boyfriend and immediately A and I started dating. I knew instantly that he was the one. I swear, if you would have told me a year before that A and I would be dating and how sure I was that he'd be my husband, I would have died laughing. All those years of laughing at him because he had a hopeless crush on me and here I was falling for him! We were pretty much inseparable after that. I finished my senior year of college closer to home and went home every single weekend to be with A. We were engaged in 7 months and married 11 months after that. We have had a lot of ups and downs, but I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else! This past September we celebrated our 10 year anniversary by renewing our vows on the beach.
I love our story. It's one we will tell our grandchildren years from now. OK, your turn....tell me your story!!
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