2-21-98

Ten years ago today I met my husband on a blind date. The background and the twisting, turning story of how we got to where we are today starts here.

I realized today I have never actually blogged about the day and the date itself. February 21, 1998 was a Saturday. I had been on a terribly awkward blind date the night before with the nephew of the female CEO of my then company. There was no chemistry and nothing in common. Did I mention it was a triple date with my CEO and her husband and a Senior Vice-President and her spouse? No pressure. None. At all.

You can understand that I was NOT thrilled about another blind date less than 24 hours later, but I went anyway. I packed a go-to pair of black pants and a french blue button down shirt made by Jones New York. Once I arrived in Atlanta, I discovered we might be going somewhere that required a skirt, so I set off on a frenzied trek to find a skirt. I finally settled on a long black trendy skirt from a shop in Virginia Highlands. The pants were much cuter, but I wanted to make sure I was appropriate for whatever we wound up doing.

When my man arrived at our mutual friends' apartment for our double date, I was still scurrying around feeling insecure about my thrown together attire. I took one last look in the mirror and thought, "Whatever. Who is this guy anyway?" Good thing I didn't know he was the love of my life.

Then I rounded the corner into the living room and hoped desperately that he was. He was so good looking, with a twinkle in his eye, a genuine warm smile and those dimples (sigh)...and he was also dressed in a french blue button down shirt (the male version,thankfully). We were twins. It was a nice ice breaker.

As I climbed into his Nissan Pathfinder, the first thing I noticed was a jewelry box nestled down at the base of his gear shift. He noticed the line of my gaze and said, "Oh, it is just something for my Mom." Seriously? This guy was beginning to be too good to be true. (Interestingly, he and I cannot figure out what that box really contained now. His Mom's birthday is in December. It doesn't really matter now. It was a great line then.)

We went to Agnes & Muriel's, an eclectic little restaraunt off Piedmont Drive, for dinner. When orders were placed we laughed again as we ordered the exact same dish, cornish hens. After dinner we walked across the street to Smith's Olde Bar to play pool. (Good thing I bought that 'appropriate' long skirt, huh?) There I met Tom and Laura, friends of my husband's, whose firstborn daughter is actually now our goddaughter. After a little pool and a lot of conversation, we went back to D. & S.'s apartment and talked until almost 2am. He was a perfect gentleman. I barely slept a wink that night thinking "that was the most amazing man I have ever met."

The next day as I made the hour and a half trek home I thanked God over and over for showing me that there were still good guys left in the single pool. I really didn't expect him to be interested in me. He was amazing and completely buried under the demands of his surgical residency. He was an Intern at Grady Hospital. He essentially lived there, working 27 hours straight only to come home for 6-7 hours and start all over again. How (and why) on Earth would he find time in his life to date a girl who lived an hour and a half away?

I am so glad we serve a mighty, faithful, sovereign Father who loves to surprise us when we least expect it.

Kinda like the doorbell that unexpectedly rang as I was typing this post, and the beautiful bouquet of flowers on the other side. I love you, honey. Happy 10 years!