How We Met

I've been reading The Pioneer Woman's Black Heels to Tractor Wheels: A Love Story and thought since S and I will be celebrating our own anniversary soon, I would tell about how we met.

I had just moved to DC to do an internship as a Child Life Specialist and S was in the Air Force stationed at Andrews Air Force Base. We were both relatively new to the area and found a great church, McLean Presbyterian Church. I knew that I needed some friends if I were to survive my time in DC so I decided to try the singles' group at MPC as it would provide the best source of Christian friends who were close to my age. My idea was that I would do my internship for 3 months, move back home and get a job. I expected that I would meet a marry someone eventually but thought it would be at home. I had no idea how wrong I was.

I was a bit afraid to go to a group of single people, fearing a "meet market" and all that comes with one of those. I really just wanted some friends to do things with. So, one night in late September, I got the nerve to go to a group where I knew no one.

I saw S within the first few minutes of being there. I thought he was handsome and rugged, tall with dark hair. I thought there was no way he'd ever want to talk to me. At the end of the meeting, all the new people were asked to gather at the front so they could talk to some of the "regulars". It's a good way to get to know others quickly. I saw S standing up there and decided to be brave and talk to him. I introduced myself, he introduced himself. That was the end of our first conversation. I thought he was a jerk for not talking to me more so I wrote him off.

A few weeks later at the fall retreat, I was hanging out with some of the girls I had become friends with when S walked up to our group. He knew some of them from a previous group function that I was unable to attend. He spent most of the weekend talking to us and I found myself oddly drawn to him.

As the fall wore on, we developed a great friendship. There was a large group of both guys and girls who would hang out and get together for food and fellowship. We would often gather at my house since I lived in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house all by myself. It had been my grandmother's house and my family hadn't sold it yet. So there was lots of room to have people over.

Now, before you go thinking we had wild parties there, it wasn't like that. We would order pizza and watch a movie. Once I had a pumpkin-carving party and made a huge pot of soup (it was a BYOP party: Bring Your Own Pumpkin). As I had friends over and starting doing more with these wonderful new friends, I found myself more and more drawn to S. I started seeking him out and he started seeking me out. He would call at night and we would talk for hours.

We made plans to go to Annapolis one day since he had the day off and my internship was over. We met at his apartment since he was closer to Annapolis than I was. I got in his car and he said, "Is this a date?" I was taken aback by the question but I can't say the same thing didn't cross my mind. "I don't know," I said sheepishly. He said, "I think it is. So why don't we pray before we go." What?!? I had never had a guy pray with me before a date. It was so special and wonderful and meaningful. We spent the day in Annapolis, had a great time even though it was raining, and I knew that this was more than just a good friendship. This was going somewhere.

We started dating in November 1999, were engaged on August 2, 2000, and married 6 months later. And the rest, they say, is history!