HOW I MET MY HUSBAND

When I was reading comments from my post on Wednesday (hubby's birthday), Maria asked me to tell the story of how I met my husband. I like telling this story; because it's just not ONE story... it's an actual series of little stories. But if you look at the picture as a whole, you'll see why each little part is significant.

Encounter 1: I had a friend in high school who had an older brother named "S". I was supposedly dating him, but I already knew at this point it wasn't working out. I just had come off of a two-year relationship with this guy I was madly in love with. In a way, I think I was still a little hung up on him. I was looking for any excuse not to spend the night with her brother (sounds sad huh?) and she had a crush on this guy that lived in the next town over. I should mention this was a "rival" town. Any sporting event we played against them was insane!! Don't ask me why, it was just this crazy competition between towns 30 minutes from one another. So when my friend said let's go to this party; I figured sure why not. We get there and it was super boring!!! Since we are rivals, the girls pretty much ignored us. We were the only ones from out of town. The guys were a lot more friendly. I spent most of the party sitting in some old stained chair thinking of ways to break up with "S". We started saying there was this social party for an upcoming wedding back in our town, and we should go. The guys (six of them) were totally hyped! They wanted to go. The girls weren't amused, giving us dirty looks. So me and my friend, and six guys from the town down the highway went back to our town. We partied, we had a blast, at 1:00am I drove all these drunks back home. One guy in particular I found obnoxious. He was this guy with dark hair, blue eyes, and kept hitting on me in his drunken stupor. I told him to beat it; I still technically had a boyfriend. Never gave him another though (so I thought).

Encounter 2: One year later, we're at a friend's party (I partied a lot as a teen!) and some guys again from the next town over came. One was friends of her family. It was winter time and we were all pretty drunk. I decided in a bright moment to go snowmobiling with this friend of mine, who was equally drunk. We got maybe 100 feet from the house, and he hit the bottom of a deep ditch at full speed (which is equivalent to hitting a wall). I actually flew onto him and on the windshield. I cracked 2 ribs (I didn't feel a thing until the next day). Even so, I went on a snowmobile party into the woods the next day. We were all in this cabin talking and low and behold guy with dark hair, blue eyes staring at me. I couldn't figure out where I knew him from at first. Some of the guys were joking with me because my boobs still hurt from the night before (hitting the windshield) and calling me the "chick with the sensitive boobies". This is the same night I meet this guy "R" who I have a huge crush on. I decide "R" must be mine and make it my mission to snag him.

Encounter 3: One month later "R" invites me and my friends to yet another party in his town (same rival town). I'm totally excited because I've always had a thing for "R". He's totally hot and a catch; and he seems interested in me. We get to the party, and "R" introduces us to his three best friends. One of whom is guy with dark hair, blue eyes. I finally get a name now - Jarrett. Jarrett spends the entire night trying to talk to me, which is annoying me because I'm interested in "R". He says he remembers me, I'm the girl with the "sensitive boobies". I find him creepy for some reason, and don't want him pestering me. Jarrett somehow convinces my friend to give him my phone number. I was so mad at her for doing this. Jarrett continues to call me for the next year asking me out on dates. Every time we have a get together with the guys (cause "R" is there), Jarrett is there too. I find him useful because at least he buys me drinks at socials. But I have this on/off again thing with "R" - and I refuse to give up!

Encounter 4: Fast forward one year. We are at the labor day social in our town. This is a big deal, everyone from towns around come to our social. It's a great party with great dancing, friends and a lot of teens illegally drinking. This is the summer I graduate high school. During the summer I was seeing "R" a little here and there, but I was getting annoyed with his immature behavior. I finally wrote him off and thought I was going to start new. For some reason, I start to think about Jarrett. I haven't heard from him in about a month. I'm wondering what's up. Maybe he finally got the hint. I'm annoyed his on my mind at all in fact. At the social, me and my friends are having a good time and who do I see coming towards me? Jarrett. Except he's with this skinny blonde girl. I immediately feel a rush of jealousy. You have to remember I have a big head about him because he's had a very apparent crush on me for over a year, and I thought I had him wrapped around my finger. Now here he is with this girl. We talk a little, and he asks how I'm doing. He tells me he's going back to the States to start his second year university in a few weeks. Asks me what my plans are. Then he says to me, "So if I ask you to dance, would you dance with me?" Me being snarky says, "I don't know, is your girlfriend going to pull out my hair if I do?" He looks at me funny and then looks at the girl and laughs and says, "OHHHHH no we're old friends!! We're more like sister/brother!" I instantly feel dumb; because now he knows I was jealous. He smiles at me cocky and then continues, "So if I dance with you, is your boyfriend going to pull out my hair?" I couldn't help but laugh, so I danced with him. The song (and I still remember) was The Flame. At the end of the evening he tells me that I should call him (which is different), if I want to get together sometime. I say ok. The next night I actually call him and we get together to watch a movie. I learned a lot about him. He played guitar, he was studying to be a civil engineer, he never really dated girls long, and he wore blue contacts. His eyes were really brown.

Our first date... the movie sucked so we went to the backyard at his house. His parents own this house on the river and it's beautiful. He told me he remembered the day he finally knew my name. It was at the party and that he thought I looked beautiful. He told me he remember the outfit I was wearing, the way my hair was. He said he knew he had to know me. I was taken aback. We sat out by the dock and the night was clustered with stars, shooting every which way. We laid on our backs and played this dumb game of claiming stars (whoever called it first). I think if I was one of those people who wishes on stars, I would have had a thousand wishes. Who would know that the same guy I met two years ago in a beat up van... the same guy in a snowmobile shack in the woods, the same guy at a party the next town over... the same guy calling me asking me for a date - would be the man I married.

I have asked people if they believe in fate. Some say yes and others no; and there are people who aren't sure what to believe. If you are one of those that aren't sure, or don't believe let me say this: I met a boy that I continuously ran into never knowing he'd be a significant person in my life. I never had any interest in him, but he didn't care; he kept trying to win my heart. Something kept telling him I was something special, even if I never thought I was. He didn't really know why he wanted to be with me, but he never questioned it. That night under the stars, I finally felt it too. The night I finally opened my heart to thinking about him in a different way. I finally got to know him and in just doing that I "knew" he was it. He was the "one". I was never so sure of anything in my life. And if felt comforting and real. It felt complete. Soon after, we realized all our encounters over the years, and the forces that kept bringing us back together. He was the man I would marry and have babies with. How could that be anything but fate?

I was showered with wishes under a magical sky one night. Wishes that came true with a boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes.