How I Ended Up Married...

A question on Olga's blog brought back to mind for me, how my hubby and I ended up together.

You see, I met my hubby at the impressionable age of 11. The summer between our 6th and 7th grade years, my family moved to a new neighborhood. A neighborhood in which I was one of only two girls with a group of eight boys. Great odds for a young girl!

The story starts out rocky. Hubby lived a block away with his parents and younger brother. So it took longer for me to get to know him. In the mean time, the blond haired, green eyed pretty boy next door was attempting to make fast time with me. And sucker that I was for his dimples, I fell for him. Alas, that adolescent love was doomed from the beginning. Two years later green eyes moved away with his family when his father was restationed.

Hubby came around a bit more once green eyes was gone. And when I got my driver's license in high school, he rode to school with me too. Stubborn person that I was, I developed a crush on yet another guy. He was an older classman. And as embarrassing as it is to admit it now, hubby even rode along when I did the typical teenage drive by of my crush's house. Yet again, my poor little heart was destined to be broken to pits and pieces.

The summer between 10th and 11th grade, hubby and I spent a lot of time together. he worked on a project for his portfolio to get into Art school and I helped. Read: he needed to use my camcorder and I didn't trust him not to break it, so I supervised :-)

I can actually recall the moment I realized I felt more than friendship for him. We were walking through the halls of our school on our way to take the ACT, in the first few weeks of our junior year. And I looked up at him as he talked to a buddy. And I thought... "It's him. He's the one."

But I'm a coward. I mean... Hello, I'd already been crushed... TWICE! And I knew he'd laugh at me if I said anything.

So, I told the little first grader who lived on our street and was best buddies with hubby's little brother. I knew he couldn't keep a secret... but I also knew he was known for exaggerating and telling fibs. So if hubby reacted poorly, I'd just say he was lying. Only hubby threw a wrench in my plans. He decided for himself that the kid was lying. Argh!

Apparently this really offended the kid. And the next thing I know, the kid, hubby's little brother and their other first grade friend are working on setting hubby and I up. Long story short, the only thing that would convince hubby that it wasn't a joke was the horses mouth. But I wasn't talking. So, instead I did yet another typical teenage thing... I wrote a note. Check here if you like me too... Well, not that teenage, but still. It said something about liking him and being afraid to ruin a friendship, so no need to feel awkward if you think I'm a total dork. Not the best self-esteem. But hey.

So after waiting TWO WEEKS, hubby responded in kind and a first date was set. And now the rest is history....

As it turned out, he'd had a crush on me since the 7th grade, but didn't think I'd ever feel the same. Especially after riding past crush #2's house with me. Which I get reminded of from time to time :-).

And I explained to him that I'm a stubborn woman and he would have to just deal with that. I don't make up my mind until I'm good and ready. That may explain part of why it took us eleven years to get married.

As for green eyes, we still keep in touch and he's happily married with a little blond haired, green-eyed boy of his own now.

And the older classman... The last time I saw him was at a friend's wedding. He'd been in some trouble due to his bad boy ways, but was getting them straightened out. I hope he has.

As for me, who else can say they were set up by a bunch of first grade boys bent on match making?

How about you all? Any funny match making stories? Whether they worked out of not...

April