Flashback Friday: How We Met

Even though it is a couple days late, I thought I would share the story of how we met for flashback friday.  When Dallas and I got engaged I asked him to write his version of how we met and I wrote my version as well.  That way our children could read our stories and get a kick at how they were similar and different from each other.  With Dallas's permission, here is the letter sharing his point of view on how we met...

Dear Kirsten,

I had just finished an incredible night of soccer, and I mean a truly incredible night!  I had just played the best soccer I'd played in years and the team we played was ….well, I digress.  I remember running up the stairs only to look up and see a beautiful woman standing in front of Mark and Kendra's door talking to Greg.  My first thought was, "Wow!"  And that thought was quickly followed by, "I hate, Greg.  Where does he find these girls?"  Lucky for me, you turned out to be his cousin.

I cannot recall what was said during our first conversation, but I do remember being immediately drawn to your eyes and your laugh, which is ironic because I believe you were laughing at me at the time …which seems to be a constant theme in our relationship.  I ended our introduction early because I really wanted to an impression, other than a sweaty one, that would set me up for a date that same weekend.

As soon as Greg came into the house, I asked him if he would mind if I asked you out for this weekend.  He said no and even suggested a double date so things wouldn't be awkward.  I got your phone number from the next day and started prepping myself in the morning for the call I was to make that afternoon.  I should tell you that this was an entirely new sensation - to be so nervous to ask a girl out.  I'm not sure why I was so nervous, and I didn't do such a great job of hiding it on the phone.  After covering the basics of socially acceptable phone behaviour, my only thought was to get the date and get off the phone.  As you've noticed, I have a tendency to stick my foot in my mouth; a reason that I've decided John Mayer's song "My Stupid Mouth" is the theme song playing on my opening credits …if I were a TV show that is.

For some unbeknownst reason, I thought I'd try to ruin the first date by taking you on a vampire tour of San Francisco.  Oh no, all the museums or plays or restaurants or countless other activities paled in comparison to the ill conceived vampire tour with you in high heels.

I realized that I was a complete nerd after getting off of the phone with you, but the gauntlet had been thrown and I was going to have to make it good on the fly.  I will never forget how keenly I was aware of you when I got into Greg's car.  During exchanges of hellos and personal questions, I could not mistake the sense that you were close to me, that your hand was close to mine.

Midway through dinner, I had already realized that I'd met an incredible person, but if asked how I felt about you then I wouldn't have answered with any romantic sentiment.  At that point, all I had were facts and as incredible as they were the night was still a fun date night in the city.  There are some distinct thoughts I had during dinner, however.  First, Ryan is an idiot.  How could he ever let this girl get away?  Second, why am I telling her such personal things like my mother and her cancer?  At the end of day, I was too comfortable talking with you even then as a stranger.

I think I became first enamoured with you when the vampire tour didn't work out.  Thinking back, you were probably so cool about the situation because you didn't really want to go, but, at the time, I was extremely impressed that you didn't miss a beat. We just wandered and talked about the cathedral and about this and about that.  The debacle didn't need to be apologized for and the night didn't come to a grinding halt; the date and the conversation just kept going.

The night continued and, another theme now constant in our relationship emerged that first night, you eventually feel asleep.  In fact, everyone feel asleep, except me.  I was left to think and plan how I'd be able to communicate with Greg the idea of letting me take you home before he offered and especially before you suggested that he take you home.  I'm not sure how that quite succeeded but it did.  Driving you to Eric's house turned out to be a great decision …just to make a grandiose understatement.

I gave you a hug at your brother's door, and I made my way back to my stereo-less car.  I sat down and before I turned the key I felt light, I felt alive.  I knew then that I had found you.  The impression is no more clear and distinct now than it was then.  All I needed now was for you to be on board with the idea …to make another grandiose understatement.

On the drive home, I decided that I needed to be bold if there was any chance of catching your interest.  I talked to Greg, and he said that there was some other guy that you might be seeing.  I didn't know at the time that you were dating him, but I don't think I'd have cared anyway.

In my attempt to be bold, I decided to send you a bouquet of flowers to your classroom.  I think the people at 1-800-FLOWERS knew me by name because I wanted to make sure you received those flowers before your school day ended.  I was excited to get your text message, so much so that I couldn't help but call you.  You see, by that time, you'd already capture my imagination.  I'll leave this part of the story for you to fill in.

The next few days were absolutely brutal because I wasn't able to talk with you.  I learned about Mara from Greg, and my heart just broke.  Having listened to you talk about your nephews and nieces, I knew how much you loved them.  I knew you were devastated.  At that point, my motivation changed.  All I wanted was to provide some small measure of comfort.  I don't know why I felt compelled to do so, but I did and it was without regard to consequence.  You have my letter and I think I was able to articulate much better then the thoughts and feelings I was feeling at that time.

After the letter, we seemed to talk every couple of days, and then you invited me to your house for Thanksgiving.  I blame the rest of it on you from there.  Lets be honest with ourselves, how could I not fall in love with you after spending Thanksgiving with you?

So, there's the truth about how we met.

It was fun to reread our stories on our anniversary this year.  It's easy to forget just what a miracle it was that we were able to find one another let alone get married!  I am constantly amazed at how perfect Dallas is for me, how we compliment each other on so many different levels, and how quickly he became and remains my best friend.