Yesterday, was our six year anniversary. Saturday, was my 36th birthday. It has been 15 years ago since Mr. Bear and I met. We were introduced by a mutual friend. We went to Temecula to go on a wine tasting tour to celebrate; my sister and her boyfriend joined us. We went to four wineries on a tour bus. The big surprise was at winery four.
The shuttle bus on this water bottle was “our bus”
How we met:
Fifteen years ago, I went France and studied abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris (or: à la sorbonne) for a semester (pour un semestre). It was an incredible opportunity and an irreplaceable experience, one that I will always cherish. When I returned from Europe, I had lots of bills, no job, and yet, I would not have traded it for the world. I was also lonely and terribly immature. I was twenty-one and had a lot of growing up to do.
Mr. Bear and I in Old Town, Temecula yesterday
They would not grant me a leave of absence at my job, at a restaurant that rhymes with Crappletrees, therefore, I arrived home with no place of employment. Within a week of returning to the U.S., however, I had found another job waiting tables. I had to wear a forest green pair of shorts and an ugly peach t-shirt. The work was not tough, nonetheless, I worked tirelessly for very little money.
Mr. Bear and I got cork necklaces from the winery: one for my birthday and one for our anniversary
Shortly after beginning at my new job at the restaurant that rhymes with Hoho’s, I befriended my co-worker, Jackie. She was a year older than me, however, we shared the same birthday (June 20th). We ended up going to Karaoke with other friends, we hung out after work, we drank wine, and talked about the typical young college topics: boys, boys, and boys.
My sister and her boyfriend, Brad at Wilson Creek Winery (our second stop on the tour)
Jackie would tease me all the time about how nerdy she thought I was. I did not have a problem making fun of myself. I liked geeky technology, computers, classical music, European history, and calculators. Even typing it out, I cannot prevent myself from giggling. One day, I brought in my new graphing calculator to work. I was taking a math class and was so thrilled for ANY chance to use it. I showed Jackie a graph of the tips I had earned that evening.
Jackie: You are such a nerd.
Me: I know, but CHECK THIS OUT! THIS THING IS COOL!
Jackie: Dork.
A bit later, Jackie told me she had a “friend” I should meet. She told me her “friend” also liked geeky things and that she thought we would like each other. She described him as tall, dark, and handsome. She also mentioned that he was a surfer and had a very muscular chest. She failed to mention that she had dated Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome before.
Mr. Bear and I at Wilson Creek Winery
She had my attention though. She invited Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome to “check me out” at work. I was so embarrassed to be wearing my forest green shorts and my peach shirt to meet him. He sat a a booth for a long time and watched me work. I was so self-conscious and furious with Jackie for not warning me he would be coming in!
I had a New Year’s Eve party and Jackie invited Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Not too long later, Mr. Bear and I were hanging out almost daily. We played on the computer, we talked geek, we took walks, we went to the beach, went to dinner, we went to Hollywood, enjoyed drinking contests at Oktoberfest (Where I won several years in a row. It was based on speed, not quantity), and always had a great time. We were best of friends in no time and would talk for hours. We spent hours on end geeking out on my 486 Acer computer and Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome would fix my computer issues for me. He was smart, funny, sweet, handsome, and at one point I told my mom and grandmother that I thought he might be, “the ONE.”
The four of us in front of the wine tasting tour bus on Saturday
In the end, it took us seven years before we decided to take each other and our relationship seriously, at the same time, we grew closer each year. We both had a lot of growing up to do before we were ready for each other. We spent hours on the phone talking about life, our beliefs, our families, dating, and laughing. We had so much in common! At 25 or so, we vowed that if we did not find anyone else by our 30th birthdays, we would marry each other. It was a joke between us. Little did we know we would marry the day after my 30th birthday, a mere five years later.
The fourth winery:
At our last winery, my sister, her boyfriend, Mr. Bear and I were sitting outside, people watching, when Mr. Bear leaned over the table and whispered, “Is that Jackie over there?” Sure enough, it was Jackie, the ex-girlfriend of Mr. Bear and my former co-worker. We ended up talking to her for a few minutes and told her we got married. We showed her pictures of Allie Kat. She was in total disbelief. She began calling her friends and husband over to tell them, “I introduced these two FIFTEEN years ago and NOW, they are married!” She failed to mention to her husband that she and Mr. Bear dated. That is okay too. Without her, we may have never met.
15 years later, we got to share our news that we fell in love and had a baby with the person that introduced us. Life is funny!
Six years of a beautiful, amazing marriage with a beautiful, amazing person and fifteen years of friendship with my best friend and soulmate. It truly, truly is a beautiful life!
Happy anniversary, Honey. Happy Father’s day. I am the luckiest girl in the whole world. Thank you, Jackie for introducing me to the man of my dreams. I hope you were half as lucky I was to land such a great guy!
Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at
3:46 pm
Filed under: Entertainment, Family, Friends, Marriage, Vacation by Laura
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