Love Story

So I’ve seen this meme going around that thought it would be fun to fill it out.  A lot of the info I’ve shared before and can be found in the Our Story section but hopefully there’s something new.

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

We met in person for the first time in May 2008 and we’ve been together ever since.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

We met at the Providence Place Mall in Providence, RI.  It was early…about 10 am.  We were going to eat lunch and then see a movie but once we were together, we realized that it was too early to eat lunch.  So we saw the movie first.  We both laughed about how crazy it was to sit in a dark theatre with someone you barely knew but we did it anyway.  After that we had lunch at Dave and Busters.  By the time we were done eating and playing games, we weren’t ready to have our date end.  So we walked around the mall and then we walked around Providence.  And because he had never had Dell’s frozen lemonade we got some.  Our date lasted 6 hours!  He walked me to my car and gave me a big hug after we made plans for the next weekend.  I got in my car and I couldn’t get rid of the smile on my face.  I remember thinking that he might be the one…something I NEVER though or said!  I was smitten and couldn’t wait to talk to him again (which I did later that day!)

3. If married, how long have you been married?

We’ve been married two and half years.  It’s flown by!

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?

We got married at a country garden in MA.  It was small; we had about 70 guests.  Even now we say that it was perfect, even with the hitches that happened.  The day WAS perfect and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way!

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

We’re boring.  We call each other baby and babe.  We rarely use each other’s first names…in fact, I use his first name when I can’t get his attention!  It just about always works too.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

Only 3?!  Ok…I love how excited he is to be a daddy.  He’s going to be a great one.  He is already taking great care of munchkin and I.  I love how hard he works and how important his sobriety is to him.  I also love how excited he gets when he’s talking theology.  He love C.S. Lewis and loves to talk about what he’s reading.  I’m blessed to be married to a man that hungers after God.

7. Tell us how he proposed?

A friend had won a gift certificate for two for a Sunset Cruise in Newport, RI.  She wasn’t going to use them so she gave them to me.  It was August and the fact that he was moving to WA in less than a month was very much on my mind, as was the fact that a deployment was looming.  I wanted a romantic evening, something to remember while he was gone.  We were unofficially engaged, meaning that we knew we were getting married and we had told other people but I didn’t have my ring yet.  I knew it was coming as he promised to propose before he left.  I wasn’t expecting it this night because I thought it was predictable.  

He drove up from CT to my place in MA.  He was late and when he got there he told me he had news and that I had better sit down.  I remember looking at him and feeling a little panicky.  The thought of “I hope he doesn’t propose to me in my kitchen!” also went through my head.  Thankfully he didn’t propose but he told me he got his orders and that he didn’t get a boomer like we were expecting…instead he was assigned to a fast attack.  I know that that means NOTHING to you non-sub people, but basically each kind of sub had a certain job to do.  The boomer schedule is about 3 months out and month home and is often predictable.  A fast attack schedule is anything but predictable and often have 6-9 month deployments. 

We hopped in the car and discussed what this would mean for us.  It wasn’t the end of the world but it did take up a lot of the conversation.  We walked around Newport and then boarded the ship.  We sailed around the harbor and enjoyed the moment.  As the sun was setting, he got out his phone and started playing with it.  He handed it off to someone, which I thought was weird.  Then he got down on one knee and proposed.  I was in shock said yes.  I was also a little tipsy from the complimentary champagne.  Everyone on the ship clapped and the crew opened another bottle of champagne for us.  They gave us the cork after writing the name of the ship and the date on it.  I have it, along with a picture of us and our tickets in a shadow box in our living room.

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

He’s more of a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy and that works for me!  Last year he got me flowers and candy even though I told him he didn’t have too….I just wanted the candy after V-Day when it was 50% off.  What can I say, I like a deal!

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

While I like both, I prefer to pop a movie in and snuggle on the couch.  Unless we’re in Ocean Shores, then there’s nothing better than roasting hot dogs over a beach fire while watching the sun set!

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

I’d love to travel with The Man.  I have a long list of places I’d like to go (we agree on most of them!) and on the top of my list includes Tahiti, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand and China.  Turkey, Greece and Luxemburg are also on the list.

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

I think we’re going to go out to dinner.  We normally just stay home but since this is our last Valentine’s Day just the two of us, we’re going to go crazy.  For us, going out to dinner is going crazy!  Well, not really, but it will still be fun.

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

Time with The Man.  He might get my flowers and/or candy but he doesn’t have to.  I know he loves me.  And he surprises me at random times with flowers.  Not too often…I like the surprise of knowing that he was thinking of me.

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Commitment and communication.  I think you need both to have a strong, healthy marriage.  I would also say that you shouldn’t fear the hard stuff.  It’s working through the hard stuff and growing closer that gives depth to a marriage. 

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.