Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday, Thomas and I celebrated eight years of marriage.  In honor of this momentous occassion, this post will consist of a stroll down memory lane dedicated to my husband.

August 2001, the first days of law school.  Two sets of eyes meet across a crowded room.  The world around them freezes, an instant connection forged.  They know they are looking at the person they are meant to spend the rest of their life with. 

Okay, maybe it wasn't quite like that, but it was actually relatively close.  We were in the same small section and became instant friends.  Almost immediately, we were inseparable--enjoying long walks along Woods Creek, studying together, hiking, and making frequent late night trips to WalMart (there weren't many options in Lexington).  Regarding the reality of our first meeting, Thomas came up to me and asked if I was from California.  He was looking for a friend who was from the West, since most of our classmates, myself included, were Easterns.  He had me confused with another girl in the class.  I told him I was from Florida, but that I had gone to school in Utah.  That was close enough for him.  Thomas has since told me that he knew I wasn't  from California and that he just wanted to talk to me (not much of a pick-up line).  But, I don't believe him.  I like to say that once he found out my real hometown, the relationship was cemented: Thomas is a huge baseball fan, and my family lives 30 minutes away from where his favorite team has their Spring Training.  So, it was probably for the best that I wasn't who he thought I was.

Our first date was to the Smithsonian in DC.  I had to take a friend to the airport and asked if anyone wanted to come along.  Thomas was anxious to see the city and agreed to keep me company. We visited the National Museums of Art and American History.  I vividly remember thinking how amazing it was that we got along so well, as if we had known each other forever.  We spent a very long day together and after that I knew there was something truly unique about our relationship.  As a sidenote, it has to be mentioned that both of us had recently been dumped; neither one of us thought we were ready to get involved with someone new.  But, as cliche as it sounds, it really was just meant to be. 

We started spending almost all our time together.  On the weekends, we would drive to Roanoke to walk around the mall or see a movie.  We tried out Cracker Barrel, which instantly became, and still is, "our restaurant".  During our second year school, our class had a party to celebrate being "over the hump," meaning we were halfway done with law school.  The class gave everyone a label (i.e. most likely to advertise on the side of a bus or most likely to be sanctioned by his state bar for cavorting with a client).  Thomas and I had to share a title, "most likely to always be within 5 feet of each other."  That pretty much sums up the three years of school.

Onto the wedding:  We got engaged in our second year.  Thomas proposed on a wooden bridge in Buchanan, Virginia, and we were married 6 months later, over Thanksgiving Break.  Initially, we planned on getting married after graduation.  However, at that point we knew were joining the Navy and I wanted to put all my paperwork in my married name.  Also, Thomas' grandparents had married in late November and their marriage was a great example to Thomas.  So, we cancelled all of the carefully planned arrangements and decided to get married outside in my parents' neighborhood.  It was a low-budget, low-key wedding.  We drove to Florida after classes the weekend before the wedding.  We got married on the Friday morning after Thanksgiving.  After a luncheon, with about 30 friends and family, we drove to Orlando and had dinner at  Colorado Fondue (which lead to a nice tradition of celebrating anniversaries and good date nights with fondue). The next day, we went to the Mall of Millenium and then headed back to school to wrap up the semester.  After finals, we went on our honeymoon to Couples Resort in Ocho Rios Jamaica. 

We have shared many, many wonderful times since.  A fantastic trip to Vermont for our first anniversary.  A fabulous vacation to Detroit, where we enjoyed the All Star Game hosted by the team that I like to say helped seal the deal on our relationship.   A really fun trip to Utah and Las Vegas to show each other around our college towns.  Mini vacations to Savannah, Atlanta, and Charlottesville.  We have lived together in six different states, and seen the birth of our three wonderful children.  Thomas has been beside me during the most difficult moments of my life and the ones that have brought the greatest joy.  He is an equal partner in every way.  He is a wonderful man and I thank God often that he mistook for the girl who really was from California.

11-28-2003



The bridge where Thomas proposed



Law school graduation: 2004



First anniversary, enjoying the leaves and covered bridges in Vermont



Detriot Trip, 2005

Hoover Dam, 2006