Eleven Years Together

Nathan and me, my mother in law snapped this pic right after we told her of our engagement

Today, Valentine’s Day, is the 11th Anniversary of my first kiss with my husband, Nathan 😎

We met on December 14th, 2001.  I was 18 years old and had just came back from a trip to Canada, I was going to move there, I was born in Canada on a Navy base in Newfoundland where my parents were stationed, and I have dual citizenship…but that didn’t work out, for a number of reasons, the most important being that my husband was back home and I had left him behind (although I didn’t realize it at the time) so I came home.

And I got a job working the front counter at McDonald’s and that is where I met my husband, he was working the grill, basically in charge of the grill.  I was the new girl and the boss was introducing me to everyone, when she got to Nathan he nodded his head and said a polite “Hello”.  The moment I saw him I thought he was quite handsome, and already I had developed a little bit of a crush…

I remember the first real conversation we had.  He drank A LOT of coffee and the crew basically had unlimited access to as much coffee and other drinks as they wanted, I took note of that and found out from my coworkers what times of the day he normally came to the front of the restaurant and got coffee, and so I always made sure, as much as I was able, to get over to the coffeemaker and start a new pot for him when I knew that is was close to his time.

One day, while he was putting cream and sugar in his coffee, and our co-workers were ragging on him for his serious caffeine addiction, I asked him “how much caffeine do you consume a day?” and he thought about it for a few seconds and then looked up from his coffee, right into my eyes and said “around 475 mg” in a very matter of fact kind of way.  “Oh”, I responded, “well that isn’t so bad.”  He smiled at me, and picking up his coffee, went to the grill and got back to work.  I, however, was instantly smitten.  For, while I love to look at a handsome man, it is intelligence that attracts me most…and if he happens to be handsome too, well that’s just a double win! 😉

We shared little snippets of conversation here and there over the course of the next two months.  Until one day, I believe it was February 6th, a Wednesday, I was in the breakroom, having just finished my sandwich, and sitting in the corner using my remaining break time to read a book, when he snuck in from the grill and asked me out on a date for that Saturday, February 9th, my first date ever lol.  A late lunch at Chili’s Restaurant and then a walk together at the nearby park.

I said Yes, of course.

After our date and walk together in the park, where we held hands for the first time…we went back to his apartment and he took me over to his computer and pulled out a chair and asked me to sit, then he brought up a computer program and said to me “I want you to hear some of my music.”  and I was like “Ok cool, you make music?” and he replied “Yeah, I make it using a computer program.” “Really??” I said, “I didn’t know that was possible”….and he proceeded to play song after song after song for me, and I liked every single one, of course 😀

From that moment forth, we have been inseparable, we have spent every.single.day.together.

(except for one day, when we were moving from Maryland to West Virginia.  He and a few of his friends loaded up the moving truck while me and our 2 sons, at the time, went on ahead in a fully packed car, to get to the house and open it up and do some last minute cleaning and stuff before he and his friends arrived with the moving truck, we were separated for nearly 24 hours, the worst day of my life lol 😉 )

We got off work at the same time, and I would rush home and shower and dress and then drive over to his apartment and then we would leave in his car and go do stuff.  Get a bite to eat, maybe go hang out at the bookstore and read and sip coffee together and when it got warm in the Spring he started taking me fishing (he taught me how to fish and I caught my first, a yellow perch) and hiking together in the woods.  We would watch movies together and play video games against each other, and every Sunday he and I would go over to his friend’s house and watch the Nascar Race together.  And it’s been that way for 11 years now, everyday, together.

Three months later, a few days after my 19th birthday, he asked me to marry him.

I said Yes, of course.

We had originally planned to wait till October of that year for a wedding, but couldn’t wait that long.  He had a bit of money saved up, so one month later, we procured an apartment (a little 300 sq.ft. efficiency apartment where the bed folded out of the wall, for $500/month) and then went up to the courthouse and made it all “official” lol…it mattered not to me, I just wanted to be his wife in the quickest and most efficient way possible! 😀

We then ate at Chili’s afterward and went back to our apartment, our whole wedding cost about $80 total, and that included the price of the marriage license lol…looking back I am very happy that we did things the way we did, people kept telling me “you’ll regret not having a beautiful white dress or a tasty white cake that you can smash into each other’s faces” etc. etc.  But I have never once felt that way,  I am glad that we didn’t waste time and money and resources on superficial ceremonies and pompous circumstances and for what? really??

My First Date, My First Kiss, My First Everything…My Best Friend, The Love Of My Life…

We just wanted to be married, didn’t really matter what everyone else thought about it.

And so here we are today, 11 years and 5 children later, and I can truly say that I am satisfied, overjoyed happy, and so grateful to God for what he has given me and for where I am in life.  I would have it no other way!

Happy Valentine’s Day! 😀