Every Monday, I’m picking from the List of Things to Do, Places to Go, Possible Acts that Help and Possible Fun to Have. It’s a list I made before The Project started and I’m still adding to it. If you have suggestions, please feel free to throw them my way. I’m calling the list my Monday Dares, as I get overwhelmed just looking at the words “challenge” or “goal.”
This week: Celebrate a love a story. (p.s. originally posted a long-ass time ago, I took it down afterwards but wanted to share it again because it’s Valentine’s Day, and I totally buy into this commercial holiday like the true sucker that I am. Hey, at least I’m self-aware.)
__
Every summer during high school, I went to sleepaway debate camp for weeks at a time and I enjoyed it immensely. Like, I waited with bated breath all year long and counted the days ’til I could board the bus, car or plane that would take me to my magical wonderland.
Trips to Paris with the French Club? Hell to the no! Not when I could spend my summers in stuffy libraries in Waco, Texas or Iowa City, Iowa. And, let’s not forget Lawton, Oklahoma.
That’s where I met Harv, at a debate camp in Lawton, Oklahoma. I was 14; he was 17.
Tall, skinny and sporting a slightly cooler version of a bowl cut, he made my little debater heart skip a beat every time he offered me a fresh legal pad or a gel-rolling pen. I had never met anyone that could pull off the black high-top sneaker and black sock combo in the middle of a scorching summer like he could.
It’s a shame our young love couldn’t survive the barriers of 1995. Long distance calling from a land line cost 35 cents a minute and we lived hundreds of miles apart. We exchanged a few letters and then we lost touch.
Fast forward to 2007.
God bless Myspace. That and Harv’s persistence. He claims that he casually looked three other times during the 12 years we lost touch before he stumbled onto my Myspace profile. A repeat search doesn’t sound that casual to me. Either you’re a stalker or I’m incredibly amazing and unforgettable. I choose to believe the latter, because it’s true.
I opened a message in my inbox to find this:
To this, I simply replied:
I like to play hard-to-get. It’s the lady in me.
We exchanged current pictures. He sent a shot taken during a celebratory dinner right after business school graduation. I sent a picture that a friend snapped while I was dancing at a club in a short black dress with my hands in the air.
I enjoyed all the little quirky things about him: He had never been in trouble with the law. He could read AND write. He knew how to pronounce quiche (don’t ask). He didn’t live with his parents.
In other words, he seemed decent and that made me suspicious.
Part 2 coming later this week. In the meantime, want to tell me about the quirky places you met your current (or former) Valentine?
That is such a fun story! Have not met a hubby yet…hoping for an amazing story though one day :)
Not quirky – but I was dating an acquaintance of his when we first met, a good 10 years ago. And 2 years later, we were the ones dating.
My husband and I met at work. I schemed to make him my office mate. He was dating another girl in our office too, and picked me because I was the better conversationalist. Now, I bet he wishes he picked the girl who would never have disagreed with him. :)
Can’t wait to hear the rest of your story…although I beg to differ. I had one of those fancy flip phones (it was about 2 inches thick) in 1994. But calls were still 35 cents a minute.
I wish I had such a super cute ans awesome story! I met my husband through work.
areyoukiddingme &babymamma- i love workplace stories. There always seems to be a. tension, b. alcohol, c. a work-related trip or d. a nosy co-worker involved. Juicy!
rachel- Perhaps you would let me be your wingwoman in NE? Can’t believe it’s just a few weeks away!
Rainy- I’m super curious about this. =)
That Harv character sounds fishy. I wouldn’t trust him!!
I met my husband via work. Over the phone. He say I had him as soon as I referenced Oedipus, i.e. “I’m gonna gouge out my eyes with Jocasta’s brooch pin!”
What an interesting concept for a blog! And welcome to TMC!
Fiance and I met in high school. He was tall and dark and looked like no one I had ever seen before. I tried repeatedly to get him to talk to me but he was super-shy and had a massive crush on me so all attempts were futile. He usually looked really scared whenever I approached him and would only give me one-word answers! We started dating two years after graduation. He now speaks like a normal person, thank god.
We met in spanish class, junior year. He cheated off of me during spelling tests. I made fun of the fact that him and his current girl friend at the time wore the same Adidas tennis shoes.
1 yr later and he would dump that same-shoe wearing, best friend-cheating whore, and would profess his love for me. And make me brownies.
Fast forward 5 years – married in Vegas @ The Wynn.
Fast forward to now.. most adorable 2yr old son. Pain in the ass pug puppy, house and 2 cats = happy life. That same shoe wearing ex-GF is still a whore though.
Dear People of the Internet,
Please excuse my grammar today. It’s Monday and I am not myself.
Love,
MammaBri
MammaBri- That ex just sounds whore-ible. Good thing he came to his senses! I read your comment over lunch. It made me laugh. Unfortunately, my mouth was full at the time and I spit a noodle lout. Thanks a lot.
My husband and I met because we were both late to a college science class and were banished to the back table. We dissected frogs, fell in love and still make each other laugh 15 years and three kids later. It works for us. –Tejas
Tejas- I love this. Way to go leaving college with more than a degree. =)
You went to Waco? I lived in Waco for four years back in the mid 90’s and loved that place. Well, except for a few things that I won’t go into here because someone else from Waco might be here. I don’t want to cause a fracas on your blog! ;)
What a cute story. I met my husband in of all places … a bar. (Gasp!) It was a neighborhood “gin mill”, not some fancy club. So I figured he was safe!
Ann
I have tried thrice with limited success using this tactic, could you ask Harv how many attempts and casual searching led to marriage?
so soon you’ll be headed to NE I know! It is getting chilly here btw… wingman?? umm ok, I think I should be a little scared though…I mean that in the best way possible ;)
I met “the captain” on his dinghy…at the time I was dating his former coworker, and he had just gotten a boat. The thing I most remember about our first encounter is that my then b/f and I were like “What can we bring to your party” and he asked us to bring kitty litter, since he didn’t have time to shop before the party and wanted to make sure the cat box didn’t stink. Being the ever frugal person I was, I declared to my then b/f, “I know he asked for the 10lb bag, but I’m buying the 20lb bag b/c it’s only 10 cents more”. He was happy to get the cat litter and we became friends…and about 2 years later we started dating…probably b/c he too, would have purchased 20lbs of cat litter if it was only 10 cents more. We are a match made in heaven :-P
My husband and I grew up two streets away from each other. It literally takes two or three minutes to walk from my parents house to his parents house. We went to all the same schools (we’re a year apart) and knew a lot of the same people. I think we even knew of each other…but we didn’t meet until I started to work at the grocery store he worked at. He asked me to come over to his house and go swimming and the rest is, as they say, history.
Hah! It’s amazing- I met my husband when I was 14 and he was 17 at nerd camp too! Fortunately, this was 1997- and we conducted a long-distance relationship for three years. Then we broke up for a while, and we got back together again after we’d mucked around enough to know that we were perfect for each other. It took us six months to get engaged, even though we both knew from the day we got back together that we were gonna get hitched. We’re the marryin’ types, you see.
I love your story! You sound very lucky- just like me!
Miriam- I love this! when people shake their heads at our “young love” i just chalk it up to the fact that they’ve never experienced it like we have.=)
Hi, Elizabeth.
I recently discovered your blog through Gretchen at the Happiness Project and I am SO glad I did. You are hilarious and I am loving catching up on your posts so far!
My husband and I met while working at the local Mall; I was 14, he was 19. We didn’t start dating until I was 19 and we were working together in a different store in the same mall. His exGF of 9 years (right?!) also worked there. A nosy co-worker (more juice) encouraged us to start dating and that was it.
Although it did take him 6 years before I got a proposal.
I was 4, and he was 11. It was my first ballet recital, and he was one of the older dancers assigned to make sure none of the little kids fell off the stage. Then we lost track for 13 years, became friends, added benefits, and eventually dated, got engaged, and got married. Classic American Love Story.