No, I will not be mashing up words to create a new one :)
Wow! Time flies when you're having fun. As here we sit enjoying breakfast at Chik-fil-a, 15 years into our relationship, happily married, with four kids, continuing to build a life together I can't help but marvel at the picture of our life. It has been a rollercoaster of an adventure. God has blessed us and sustained us in the good times and the very very rough times. We have dreamed and will continue to dream of what our family will be. Matt is my best friend and my lover, I am honored that he calls me wife, bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh.
I thought I would mark the occasion with a bit of reminiscing on the first moments of our relationship. This is the story (the abridged version) of the beginning of Matt and Lisa.
We first met in band (of course this would be where I'd meet the great love of my life). We both played clarinet for the Wind Ensemble of the local community college. Actually, our paths had crossed numerous times before this but we had never actually met. He was sick the very first week of classes. He was first chair, I hoped this meant that he would not come back so that I would move from 4th chair to 3rd and my part would, therefore, be on 1st part. But alas, he returned.
I was glad that he did as he turned out to be a wonderful section leader.
I still kind of thought he looked like weird, like a frog or something. He grew eventually grew into his handsomeness.
We would talk occasionally within groups that would form up outside of the band room or while we waited in the hallway. The first time we spent any amount of time together was when we ended up being set-up as dance partners by another girl in the clarinet section who was into swing dancing. She had invited several people to join her and her boyfriend them at one of the local dance clubs. Matt and I were the only ones to show. So hardly knowing each other we learned to swing dance together. I was very shy and hardly said anything. Yet, we had a fantastic time, and swing dancing became a favorite for both of us. I guess even way back then, months before we started dating (I really hate that terminology, by the way) we found we were quite comfortable together, despite my lack of conversation skills.
As the months went by we became good friends within the group of friends that had formed amongst the community college band nerds. However, the idea of dating, being an item, boyfriend-girlfriend, or whatever (yeah...I hate all those terms also) never really occurred to us. I was just a freshman and had only ever had one boyfriend before that, so while Matt was on the radar as a possible interest, but so were several others. I certainly wasn't on the lookout for a serious relationship, even as I still longed for one day being married and having that sort of companionship. In his perspective, he didn't really think he had a chance with me (at least that what he says).
Several times throughout this time, Matt proved himself to be handy to have around, as he rescued me several times. When I screwed up and nearly missed playing my end of semester jury (showing up clueless to how the process worked) he helped me, by begging the directors on my behalf during his jury to let me play even though I hadn't marked a time on the sign-up sheet. He also saved me from a very embarring party situation involving stuff that tends to happen when an 18-year-old tries to show off how good they are at drinking underage. By Spring, we had hit it off pretty well. Matt, as he still does, brought out my more humorous and silly side.
I was pretty impressed he got my brilliant jokes!
We finally moved from just friends to more than friends over spring band tour, with a kind of unexpected first kiss. The tour was to play for high schools in the central Fl area. It was basically promotion for the music program. One night many of us all went out to Disney's Pleasure Island. When I was asked to dance by someone else Matt suddenly found himself rather jealous. I suppose somewhere along the line I indicated that I was ready for him to make a move. Our group caught a Taxi back to the hotel, the two of us were still wide awake stayed up chatting and joking around. That night, well I guess it was like three or four in the morning, ended with a first kiss. The next day we were pretty much inseparable and by the time we returned from the band tour we were official, or whatever.
Our very next outing together, well not really an outing as I was just going over to Matt's house, is one of my most favorite memories. We lived on opposite sides of town. I was not very familiar with the Westside of Jacksonville, even though I've always lived in Jax, Matt decided he would meet me at a gas station right of the interstate and I could follow him to his house. He must've of been extremely nervous or something because as we went to pull out of the parking lot Matt couldn't get his care in gear, it was stuck in park. He tried and tried, called him dad, and was basically baffled as to what was going on. I asked him if I could give it a try. Apparently, Matt had forgotten that in order to take a car from park you have to have your foot on the break. The whole thing was very cute. When we arrived at his house he gave me the rose that he had purchased before I got there. He hid in his back pocket, and in all his nervousness he sat on it. So it was a broken. Still I thought it a very adorable gesture. This will be a great story to share with the grandkids in the far off future.
One of the things that swept me off my feet is that right away was that he surprised me by showing up to attend church with me. We feel quickly for each other, we fell hard, and for better or worse we are bound together.
Matt and I have a wonderful relationship, from the beginning of our relationship we have been like peas and carrots, conjoined at the hip. He still laughs at my lame jokes and endures my sarcasm. He makes me laugh and always makes me feel loved. We can still talk for hours or sit comfortably in peaceful silence. Being married has been a blessing, sharing a life with someone in this way. We are united together, as one flesh. I'm his rib and he is my protector. When we are apart or struggling in our relationship it is like tearing flesh. We both feel it. Over the years, we have grown closer, grown up (we still are) and have built a life. Becuase we started dating when I was 18 and he was 20 these 15 years are a large percentage of our life. It seems amazing to think of it in this way. We're sharing countless joys, lots of pain, giving and receiving much forgiveness and learning what it means to build our marriage and family in Christ.
In honor of the day, and because deep down I am a hopeless romantic, a little Shakespeare!
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