I hope this won't be as drawn out as the show "How I met your Mother" but it might be a really long post so stick with it if you really want to find out how it happened...and you don't already know. (If you know, skip this post.)
I read
Graces two part love story and hoped she would do a link up because I love hearing how people met,
then she did. Being that our anniversary was last Sunday (I started this two months ago) I am a bit nostalgic right now about how we met and when we got married. Then before I had time to type anything Amy posted her story and since she has a baby much younger than mine and had time to write her story I thought, I can find time to write mine. So this is for you....my kiddos...and anyone else who wants to read.
(picture from 2006, the first one of the two of us)
It all began in 2005. I dated a few different guys and was just looking to take a break from all of the self imposed dating drama and wanted to see what God really had planned for my life so I took a year off from dating in 2005. I wanted to focus that year on my faith, and loving myself and not guys. I was already in a Bible study but it was with older adults and I wanted to find a group of people my own age. I finally found a Catholic young adult group that I joined, it was awesome, just what I needed. I met a bunch of really great people and loved the deep spiritual studies that we would do. In the middle of the year I met Matthew. A group of us were going to a baseball game and a few of us rode the metro link down to the stadium, he and I were two of the four doing so. We talked a bit getting off the train while walking into the stadium and I had two first impressions. 1) I thought he was a bit too sure of himself (arrogant)-but I think that was because he was a bit older than other guys I knew, and he was sure of himself. 2) When we talked about what we did he asked me a bunch of questions about the design world, since he was a handyman we could easily talk about light fixtures and carpet; and I just knew my dad would like him. We spent the next 6 months just being friends and getting to know each other. I was interested but not focused too much on wanting to date him because I still had months to go before I would allow myself to go out on a date with someone. He called me before Christmas to go out on a date I had to turn him down by explaining that I couldn't go because of my year off from dating. He asked me why I decided to take that year and was impressed with the answer that I gave (and says now that it made him want to date me more).
Before our first real date he invited me to a square dance and New Years Eve party that "everyone from the group was going to," I said yes to the dancing and no to the party. Mostly to make sure we weren't together for the midnight hour (just in case he tried to steal a kiss) and I wanted to spend time with some other good friends who were having a party. Back to the dance...it ended up that I was the only other person from the group that went to the dance and it totally felt like a date. He was invited to the family square dance by fellow CL member Jim and we were the only non family members there except for Amy the girl Jim was dating. You can read more about that cute couple at the square dance
here. It was a blast and a great way to hang out on our first non-date.
About a week later he invited me to coffee later in the week but as the week moved on the drink turned into diner at Bread co (aka Panera) and then finally into dinner at
Aya Sofia (now one of my favorite restaurants). It was January 10, 2006. We had an awesome time, we were one of the only couples in the place and the food was wonderful. There was a belly dancer which made the date a bit awkward because she kept coming over to our table and when she did we couldn't hear each other, so he finally asked her to please not come back over to our table. HA We finished the date off with a visit to the adoration chapel which was so sweet.
(At one of my best friend's wedding. It was one of the many weddings we attended while dating.)
Thing moved along nicely and I think we both knew early on that we were the one for each other but didn't let on to the other. I had been asking St. Joseph's intersession for my future spouse and he had a devotion to St. Joseph. There were a million other cool consciences, like his oldest sister used to work for my mom!?! I know! How funny is that. :) His family used to live next door to my Aunt and Uncle and my cousins used to play with his siblings. Sometimes I would ask him...are we sure we aren't related? My parents almost bought a house across the street from him! Crazy!
About this time, after we had been dating for 6 months he told me that he called my Dad to ask if they could talk. WHAT?! I was freaking out thinking he was going to propose at that moment, instead he said that they did talk and that he asked if he could court me. I knew that things were serious and that the question would be asked but I had no idea when.
As we got closer to our one year dating anniversary I kept thinking...is this the man I am going to marry? Often times it would freak me out thinking about spending the rest of my life with someone and that I really wanted to be sure that I was doing the right thing. He was always so sure when I was having a freak out and I was always sure when he said we had nothing in common.
(At another friend's wedding after we were engaged and while I was growing my hair out)
We were coming up on our one year anniversary, Christmas, New Years, and his birthday and I just KNEW he would propose sometime around then. For Christmas my present was The Lord of the Rings trilogy dvd set and a soy candle. I had told him that I hate getting candles as gifts (mostly from people that I am very close to because it feels so impersonal) so when he gave it to me I thought there must be a reason. It was a WEDDING CAKE FLAVORED CANDLE!! I was freaking out! Then I thought no, it is just a candle, but he insisted that I open it up. Could the ring be inside the candle, I thought? NOPE. NOTHING. He just said....doesn't it smell good?! WHAT? What are you doing buying a wedding flavored anything for someone you are about to propose to and not propose with it? Ok that is a total girl thing but is anyone with me?
Right after that he got really sick and had to miss a bunch of family functions that I went to without him and then would go hang out with his sick self. He missed a New Years Eve party where everyone asked to see my finger...it was ring less. Everyone was just waiting for him to propose, not just me. Funny thing is that if he hadn't been sick he would have prosed that weekend-the Feast of the Holy Family.
The week after, on the feast of the Epiphany he did propose, it was unexpected and built up at the same time. We had gone to mass at his parish (Epiphany) and then went for a drive and decided to go to the art museum. Enjoyed wondering around and then went back to his place to make dinner. He made me some burgers and a salad I think. After we ate he asked if I wanted to read from the bible (something we did sometimes when hanging out). Before he came into the room he was going back and forth from the kitchen with a pan and big jug of water, I had no idea what he was doing, getting ready to clean? He opened up the Bible to a different part than we had been reading and started reading John 13:1-20, when Jesus washes the disciples feet. After he read it he pulled out the stuff he got from the kitchen and took off my shoe and sock and washed my foot. He then told me that he wanted me to be his bride (there might of been more but I can't remember all of it) and asked if I would marry him. I said yes and he gave me the ring! I was so excited, and nervous and felt like I was going to be sick since we just finished eating! We got in the car and drove all over St. Louis telling family and friends that we were engaged!! It was an awesome night.
The date of our engagement was 1/7/07. We were married six months later on 7/7/07. Yes we were one of the thousands that got married that day. It was special to us because it was six months after we were engaged and we wanted to get married in July. The wedding was a day to remember for me and I wish we could go back and do it all over again. Oh and did I mention that our first kiss was on our wedding day. :) His idea not mine but it was totally worth it! We also stopped into the adoration chapel after we left the reception, so our dating was bookmarked by visits to the chapel.
Speaking of dates, Bee was born 1/7/11 and I will never forgot his birthday and will always remember the day I was asked to walk on the path of life with my husband.
**I hope I got it all and I might have left out all of the details like long nights on the phone, hanging out way too late, and listening to Michael Buble and talking.
