it was the summer of 1997
and third eye blind and matchbox 20 were king
email was just becoming the premier way of communicating
i received an email from one of my college friends suggesting we become counselors to the incoming freshman
for me it was an easy decision
i remember standing in a parking lot waiting for a shuttle that would transport my new group of 17 {we later named roadkill something or other} up the gorgeous aspen lined provo canyon to aspen grove
where we would be ‘training’ on how to be counselors
needless to say it was a three day funfest
he wore razor blade frogskin oakleys, that were outdated even for 1997
{you know the kind that you could switch out the nose piece, arms, and frames with rad colors}
frayed cut off jean shorts and a beat up t-shirt
his style made quite the impression
upon arriving there we gathered around in a circle and each group member got a chance to introduce themselves
on someone else's turn this curly haired guy made some smart comment about this other guys major selection
i remember thinking, 'this guy thinks he's real funny'
little did i know that not only does this guy think he's funny, but he would make me laugh every day
and even after 15 years of marriage i would still not know if his dry humor and smart comments to me are serious or in jest
the next three days were full of fun and frivolity
water games, team olympics, trust activities, late nights of mingling, mixed with a little bit of training
i remember the first occasion i had to actually sit down and talk to mike in a small group
i learned of his ambition to graduate early and head to law school
and of his mission to hong kong and study of the chinese language
he had a confidence and direction that was very appealing
having dated a few guys who were insecure with who they were and what they wanted
it was certainly not love at first sight
but love at first real conversation
i was twitter-pated from day one
from that moment on i tried to create every opportunity to be next to him
each time we met in a large groups of hundreds of counselors in training or in our small group or at the cafeteria
i saved a spot right next to me
hoping he would sit there
and often he did
somehow i made my way next to him
i laughed at every joke or funny line
{later realizing that most of his lines came from tv shows like seinfeld or movies starring jim carrey or chris farley}
and hung on every word he said
for it had to have been important and oh so deep
and after those dreamy three days i didn't want to let him go
i wanted to continue to be right next to him
so of course on that bus ride back down provo canyon
i did what any other twitter-pated girl would do
i pretended to fall asleep on his shoulder
i felt safe there next to him
with a pounding in my heart that i didn't want to go away
this was the beginning of a whirlwind love
with the fire of love flamed by poems, flowers, dances, and all sorts of other romantic gestures
that i fell deeply for
after 15 years, this man has never ceased to treat me like his queen
never criticizing, always lifting me
with his positive outlook and strength that i continue to lean on each and every day
to read mike's side of how we met click here
to see photos of our life over the years i posted on our 14th wedding anniversary click here
