#142 Ten Years Ago...

Ten years ago this month I met Tess. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around that fact, but it definitely makes sense. We've now been married six years after four years together in college. Time flies. So in honor of Tess and me having had some sort of relationship for ten years, I thought it'd be fun to revisit the story of our first meeting. Sorry, dear reader, if you've heard this one before:

It was the very end of freshmen orientation at Trinity Christian College in the fall of 2009. To be exact, it was the night before classes started. Looking for something to do that evening, I wandered downstairs to the basement of my dorm, West Hall. A small group of fellow freshmen was relaxing around the table in the downstairs lobby, playing Apples to Apples. The guy at the head of the table was someone I'd briefly crossed paths with earlier in the week. I didn't recognize anyone else, but I caught the first guy's eye, and he remembered me and invited me to join the game. So I sat down with my back to the stairs. Across the table from me was a girl with dark wavy hair, who told me her name was Tessa. I grabbed a handful of cards, and the magic started to happen. Normally I'm not particularly good at Apples to Apples. I'll win a card here and there, but I'm not an expert at reading people. That night, however, I was dynamite, taking cards left and right. Before too long I only needed one card to win, and it was Tessa's turn to judge. The rest of the group told her not to pick my card, but she really had no way of knowing which was mine, so sure enough, she gave me the victory, earning herself a fair share of grief.

That was that. I'd like to tell you that the rest was history, that it was love at first sight or something like that. Things didn't happen quite that quickly, but it didn't take too long for Tess and me to become a couple. Over the next couple of weeks we bumped into each other for games a few more times. We ended up with a few common friends, exchanged phone numbers, and pretty soon we started getting to know each other over long late-night conversations. It only took about six weeks for us to become something more than just friends, but I think that's a story for another week….

Before I go, allow me to switch gears for a moment. Earlier this year I blogged about my love for Ryan Braun and listed my eight favorite Braun memories. That list may need some revising. Yesterday afternoon Braun came up to bat in the top of the 9th with the bases loaded, two outs, and the Brewers trailing the hated—and I mean HATED—Cardinals by one run. Braunie worked a full count before launching a grand slam into left field. Listening on the radio as I drove home, I went absolutely nuts, screaming and whooping and pounding the ceiling of my van in celebration. I think I scared Lanie half to death (again). Someday she'll understand. Anyway, the Brewers hung on to win their ninth game in ten days. Thanks, Ryan!

Grace and peace,

BMH