My Anniversary Part 3

Just got back from taking our anniversary picture at the Red Coach Inn. See, we forgot to take pictures that night and I always try to take a picture of us for every anniversary (I even have the picture of us when my parents announced our engagement at THEIR 30th anniversary party!). It meant a lot to me to have it on the wall with the rest, so KEvin suggested we put on the same clothes and go back up to take the pic out front. It's not exactly on the date, but only 2 of them have been that way, anyway. Plus, it's the thought that counts.

It occurs to me that the way to prove you love a woman is to show that you care enough to remember what's important to her. Men seem to be much easier about the proof they need for love...it's all pretty physical, from what I gather! With us, though, it's remembering our anniversaries, our birthdays, our special days...that always gets me!

Anyway, I guess I'm to the last part of my "how we met" saga. After gently chiding my future husband on his belief that he could restrain himself in the face of my ultimate sex appeal :-p, Kevin made the trip down to see me again just after Christmas of 1997. I made sure we had almost NO moments alone. I had kids from my youth group over to sleep over and hang out at ALL hours of the night. He even came to my improv show with Rubber Chicken on New Year's Eve and we had just a blast.

We had SUCH a good time, I realized how much I really DID love him and how comfortable I was with him again. So much so that...well, I was the big flirt and tease that got things started again. There we were, alone after 3 days of constant company and I decide (after telling HIM that HE won't be able to be good) to walk around in a half shirt and short-shorts. Needless to say, this evolved into a makeout session pretty quickly, but one I was FULLY ready for.

Things were going quite swimmingly when Kev pulled away, muttering, "Oh, damn, honey, I promised I wouln't DO this..."

My first thought and words (which was a bit muddled, what with my shirt half up and my senses reeling) was "And you're keeping this promise NOW????" Then, as I started to calm down, I was less exasperated and more bewildered. I repeated the question and he shrugged helplessly at me.

"Well, of course, hon, I LOVE you. How could I do otherwise?" he asked, as if throwing one's passion into reverse while it's doing 90 on the highway is an easy thing to do.

But suddenly, I realized that the real shocker was my OWN attitude. I had done so many things that I thought were wrong (which I now realize were wrong in comparision to what women of the 40's and 50's considered right, not modern day standards) that I no longer thought I was worth keeping a promise to. Before I knew it, I was crying so hard I could barely breathe. He scooped me up and rocked me like a baby, saying, "Oh, hon, if you could only see what I see in you, you'd never worry about anything with us again."

When I could finally see him clearly again, I looked up into his eyes and said "I love you" and found that for the first time, I was able to say it and not turn away, embarrassed or feel guilty. I felt a wave of relief wash over me that was truly unbelievable. It was as if Kevin had merely been away on a long trip and had finally come home, instead of my committing to a real relationship with him for the first time.

Anyway, he went back home in January of '98 and returned a month later and we've been together ever since. We officially tied the knot on July 17, 1999, but as you can see, it's been quite the love thang! ;-)