6 Years Ago...

Today is the 6-year anniversary of my first date with Jeremiah. It was by far the most memorable first date I have ever had. One thing that I remember about the date is how incredibly nervous I was! This was odd for me because I had never been this nervous. Not even on my first date ever. I remember I bought all new clothes and even a ribbon for my hair. I took my toothbrush and toothpaste in my coat pocket and gum in my purse and used them directly after dinner. I even took along a "Thank You" card that I intended to fill out at some point in the evening and leave sitting on the car seat for him to find later. Yes, I felt prepared from all angles.

On that date I had three distinct impressions that this was the man I was going to marry, and the first one came within the first 5 minutes after he picked me up! He told me that he had a hat from a former job as a baker that read "Best Buns In Town" and how he was going to give it to his wife someday. My immediate thought was, "I'm going to have that hat."

Later, while we were bowling I said something about how he bowled like Fred Flintstone, with the twinkle toes and everything. When it was my turn to bowl he encouraged, "Go, Wilma!" and I thought, "I am going to marry him!"

And lastly, as the evening wore on we were all trying to figure out where else we could go. We joked about going to a bar but it would be hard to get me in since I was underage. I was wearing a ring on my left hand and Jeremiah's brother - we were on a double date - said Jeremiah could wear his ring and no one would think twice about me. I pointed out that my ring was a sapphire ring and Jeremiah said, "Just tell them I was cheap! We'll win the perfect honeymoon." (He was referring to a contest that a local jewelry store was holding where you could win a honeymoon to make up for a lousy marriage proposal.) And I remember thinking, "We'll already have the perfect honeymoon."

6 months and 6 days later, we were married. I can honestly say that I knew from our first date that we would be married. I think it was pretty obvious to everyone - although maybe not so quickly. We just clicked. I don't think we rushed it either. We knew enough about each other's beliefs, goals and feelings to know that we would make it - everything else is in the details.