anniversary

...I was doing very girly things!

That's a very crappy scan of one of my favorite wedding pictures from the day. I don't know where the time has gone, but it's been a blast and I'm hoping for another 18 years (times ten!!!!). I don't think I've ever told the story here of how we met and fell in love. Wanna hear? Okay, get a cuppa joe and settle in. Let's see if I can tell this without rambling too much. Set the Wayback Machine for August, 1989....

::wavey ripple effect::

It was a warm, August night in Oxford, Ohio. Class had been back in session at Miami University for only three days. But I hadn't seen email since the end of the spring semester (this was way before the World Wide Web, back before the AOLers discovered email and messed it all up!). So, wearing my latest in late-80s fashion (a very short white mini, paired with day-glo green earrings, a green t-shirt and high-top tennis shoes---I wanted to be fashionable, not stupid and a girl has to think about being and to run for safety!), I trekked up to Kreger Hall and the computer lab. It was virtually empty.

Ah, those were the days, when the only people in computer labs were the ones who had a reasonable clue what they were doing.

There were two guys goofing off...and me. I ignored them for the most part. I mean, hello???? Geeks much? Still, it was flattering that they wanted me to give them the "Go!" for their chair race. So I did. After a while, they came over and started chatting. I learned one of them was into Dungeons & Dragons. Since my roommate and I were hoping to start an adventuring group, I gave him my number.

I saw him the next day and pointed him out to my roommate. That night, he came over to help me with my first Calculus assignment. I think we actually got a few problems worked, amidst all the talking. (I later learned, he broke a date to come study with me!) As you've likely surmised already, this fellow is Randy. The next night, he took me out to dinner. We talked until 7:30 in the morning.

I was pretty smitten at that point, but I refused to fall. I was still unsure about the ending (and permanency of said ending) of a previous relationship, so I hedged my bets and uttered those words every guy dreads: "Let's just be friends."

Randy didn't take the news too well and said he'd probably be scarce the next couple of days while he adjusted. That lasted until that evening, when he called me. And then he came to see me and we talked until 3 or 4 in the morning. Every night that week. He was more ready and willing to tell me he loved me. I wasn't ready to go there; whenever I jumped on that emotion, I ended up losing myself in the guy. This time would be different. I would stand on my own and decide for myself. Little did I know, my heart had already decided, I just needed to give it room to come out of hiding.

I put the finale on the previous relationship and walked away quite happy. Randy and I had covered more topics and had more thoughtful discussions in one week, than I'd had with all of the previous guys combined. On the 11th of September, he asked me to marry him and I said yes without even batting an eyelash. Actually, what I said was, "In a heartbeat." It was as natural as breathing that we would be together.

We actually planned on waiting until I graduated (May 1992) to get married. But, life jumped in and gave us a chance sooner. When my Dad said he wouldn't pay for me to return for the spring semester, I looked at the choices he gave me and created a new one: I'd move to Oxford and get a job. The rest I could figure out in time. Mom convinced us (me) that we could save money by getting married. It didn't occur to me that we could have just moved in together and done the wedding thing later.... Hehehe. Sometimes, I wish we'd saved the money and done it our way in our time. But I also wish we'd eloped before the end of the semester in 1989!

Fast forward to Friday, the 17th of August, 1990. A white gown, tuxedos, flowers, a sunny day (shocking in Canton, Ohio!) and family and friends to wish us well. Not a nerve out of joint; just impatient for those words we longed to hear: "I now pronounce you..." The photo above was taken mere minutes after those words were spoken. I think my maid-of-honor was more nervous than I was.

One of my favorite memories in those very early years was a trip to ToysRUs. Randy had vowed to buy me my first Legos (TM) ever. I was rather excited for a woman of 22 or so! The girl at the register asked if we were newlyweds. We looked at each other and laughed. "Is two years still newlywed?" She laughed with us. I don't remember her response.

I won't pretend the ride has been without its bumps. That's what has made it interesting. Whenever I need a friend, Randy's the first person I think of. My happiness matters to him---I can see the pain in his eyes when I'm not happy. And I feel the same way about his happiness. Fortunately, he's very easy to please. You should have seen the smile on his face when I bought him 2000 game points for his Xbox 360. So easy.

I can't think of a single minute I'd do differently. Every minute we've had, we've grown, learned, taught, loved, laughed, cried----whatever we've done, we've done it together.

How did I get so lucky?