Our first date

February 24th, 1989. 25 years ago today Tami and I had our first date. It boggles my mind to think we have been together for 25 years. In many ways it just doesn't seem possible. It's as if our days of dating were last month, but a check of the calendar indicates it certainly has been 25 glorious, wonderful years.

We met in college. I had admired her from a distance for quite some time (Tami says I stalked her, I say I admired her from afar). Either way, I was too shy to approach her and she had no idea I was even alive. I knew she was out of my league and I don't think she was in the market for a boyfriend. I thought things would remain that way until one day we ended up in a class together. As luck would have it, we wound up being two people in a larger group who gathered in a lounge to study and chat before that class. It was in that environment that we kind of got to know each other (but just barely). I was smitten with her, but was too scared to act on those feelings. I guess she got tired of waiting because she eventually asked ME out. How lame is that? I was such a chicken! The funny thing was, I didn't even realize she was asking me out. She wanted to know if I wanted to come over to her house to watch some movies (I didn't know at the time she had a child at home to care for). I already had plans for that evening so I politely declined. It wasn't until an hour later on my drive home that I realized she was actually asking me on a date. DUH! I couldn't believe it. A golden opportunity and I blew it! Somehow I found her phone number and called her. I explained I really was busy that night, but asked about the following weekend. She was available and we set up that first date.

There's really not much to tell about that night. I arrived after Tami had already put Jessi to bed. We watched two really bad movies (she picked them out... haha!) Jessi had the chicken pox and woke up crying as we were watching the movies. We had some popcorn and chatted a little bit. That's about the extent of it. It's nothing earth shattering, but that's how it all began. Needless to say our subsequent dates were a little more eventful as we went out to restaurants and movies etc... It didn't take long before I realized I wasn't just dating my new girlfriend, but her 4 year old daughter as well. Most dates after that took us to the park, the zoo, Kids' movies and anything else we could do to keep Jessi entertained while we got to know each other better. It certainly wasn't a typical courtship, but it's our story and I wouldn't trade it or change it for anything. 25 years later here we are. Three children all grown or nearly grown and grandparents to boot.

God sure knew what He was doing when he brought the three of us together.

Soli Deo Gloria!