Who does that? part 1

Almost 22 years ago, my husband and I married. We met at a large church activity that encompassed people within a 200 mile circle. I was a city girl and he was from a small town. We met the end of May and we were married by the end of August.

Last night, our 2 teenage daughters, arrived home from a road trip visiting their cousins on their father's side, in that small town. They love these vacations and this was their first occasion to fly solo. To be perfectly honest, I can only imagine the excitement and fun they had on an excursion without the parentals. We sat up very late as they related all their escapades to us. Among their exciting activities, they met a woman who played a small role in our "beginning." Now, as most children do, our kiddos have asked us several times throughout their lives to tell the story of how we met. I wouldn't say it is a story they have memorized, but the general ideas they recall pretty well. The short story is; Shawn had become frustrated with the dating scene and had determined not to attend a regional type church activity. Through the persuasiveness of his older brother, he decided to make the 200 mile trip to the city and attend. The crux of his brother's influence hinged on the possibility of Shawn getting to see a girl he had dated a couple times, several years before. It was a "what the heck" kind of thing.

The church activity was to take place over several days, beginning at a dance on Friday evening and ending with a breakfast on Monday, Memorial day. For the first 24 hours, this girl, we'll call her Sally, was absent from all festivities. Shawn states that he knew this was a distinct possibility as he remembered her to be kind of erratic, but he was really only in it for the prospect of some kissing time, so whatcha gonna do? In Shawn's version, he says that he noticed me the first evening, but was too shy to ask me to dance. I have to confess, I never noticed him the first evening, but that is probably because he spent most of the night holding up the walls. On Saturday morning, we participated in a scavenger hunt throughout the city. I tend to be pretty out-going, bold, and crazy (especially as a young adult). Combine that with my competitive nature, and a scavenger hunt could really bring out the best in me. By my own admission, no one could have missed me Saturday morning. (Just as a side note, my hunting team came in second in the final tally, to a bunch o' boys who took the easy route by just getting a case of ketchup packets from one of their places of work. Lame! Can you tell it still bites? Sorry for the side track...) Shawn says he remembered seeing me from the dance the night before, and, shockingly enough, he still thought I was cute after all my antics that morning. I, however, had yet to see him. I first spotted Shawn that evening at the next dance; and this is where Sally enters our story. I knew Sally from previous encounters. Briefly, 4 years earlier, Sally and I had "boyfriends" who were best friends. I put boyfriends in quotes, because I wasn't old enough to date, so getting to hangout and do things together, rarely happened and the "relationship" didn't last long. Sally had a reputation of being a girl who dated a lot, and back in the 80's, that meant that dating Sally could get you, at least, some mighty lip action. She and I did not hang with the same crowd. This is not to say that I was a saint, but for the most part, the boys that went for Sally did not go for me. So, back to the dance. Sally always made an entrance and the second dance was no exception. She entered through the opposite door that everyone entered through, and was wearing a provocative shirt (gasp!!). One could not help but notice her. She walked across the floor and gave a hug to the cutest guy I had ever seen. "Oh my gosh," I thought to myself, "he is gorgeous!" I had now noticed Shawn! Just as late as she had come, she was gone. Shawn says that they danced a couple times and then she proceeded to tell him that she had a date. What?!! I believe Providence stepped in, because it was after the dance, as we were leaving that Shawn and I met. I had parked next to his '77 Camaro. He and his friend were stalling, you know, hoping to eek out just one more meeting with the opposite sex. I was finally leaving and I had hidden my car keys.... To be continued....