Two years

Very rarely in life are there days where our lives are irrevocably changed. Most days can blend together like a strawberry smoothie as the routine of waking, working, eating and sleeping remains relatively the same. But every once in a while there is day when your life takes a dramatic turn. Today is the 2nd anniversary of one of those days for me. Two years ago today, on Sunday, October 12, 2003, I met my wife, Kelly.

We were set up on a blind date by her sister-in-law and her sister-in-law's mother. After being given the number and receiving confirmation that Kelly was ok with the set up, I gave the number a ring on the Thursday before to set up a date and was faced with a roadblock as I encountered the answering machine. All my planning of how to start the rather awkward conversation of scheduling a date with someone who you've never seen or talked to before was thrown for a loop as I was left talking to an unresponsive machine. I kept it short and sweet, not wanting to be one of those people who leaves a two minute message (you know the kind - they'll also say the number to call them back at extremely quickly and unclearly at the very end of the message so you have to listen to the long message three times to decipher the number).

Kelly called back later that night and we had a quick conversation and scheduled a date for Sunday lunch since she had plans Friday and Saturday night. Since Kelly lived with 4 other girls, I walked up to the door of her apartment on Sunday wondering, "How will I know if Kelly is one who answers the door?" Not being completely in the know about feminine cleverness, I didn't realize that Kelly roommates were watching my approach from a window and would never answer the door for a friend's blind date.

I was met at the door by a cute young woman wearing khakis, a white shirt and a denim jacket. We went to lunch at Olive Garden where it was almost like they were trying to get us out of there as soon as possible (the soup came before I'd finished one breadstick, the main meal came before I'd put a dent in my soup and the check was there soon after the meal was finished). Trying to buy a little more time to talk to my lovely new acquaintance, I suggested we stroll thru the nearby PetSmart before taking her back to her place. After fraternizing with birds, cats, and fish I took her home, met some of her roommates and returned home, unaware that my life would never again be the same. Within three or four weeks, I realized that I would eventually marry Kelly and ten months and one day after meeting her, I did.

Love ya, honey.