Happy Anniversary, Mike!

Tomorrow, Mike and I will celebrate our 11th anniversary. We have actually dated since we were 19 years old! I met him while I was pledging a sorority at ACU (something that I literally cannot believe I did). Anyway, I met him the night before coffees for the guys, while I was trying to talk to and get to know some other Kappas at a party. It makes me laugh so hard, because when my room mate and I got to the party, we went out the balcony and laughed because it was the tamest, most nerdy party we had been too while we were at ACU. When we walked in, someone offered us a diet coke from the cooler... c'mon, a diet coke? Please. But, we agreed to just stay a moment, and then leave and go home. While we were sitting there, I noticed a boy playing cards. I was invited to be the 4th player, even though I had no prior experience playing spades. This very nice boy offered to teach me. He was so encouraging and kind, and he took time to explain everything to me. I couldn't help but notice his blue eyes. We exchanged names, and didn't really talk about pledging at all. He actually ended up leaving before me, and I can honestly say I can still see him standing in the doorway. He was very tall (a plus for me, I am 5'8 and really don't like to date shorter guys). His face was slightly sunburned, and he was wearing a yellow shirt and a baseball cap, jeans and tennis shoes. I still remember his frame filling up the doorway of the apartment. I wondered if I would see him again.
That was Saturday night. On Sunday at lunch before coffees, I ran into him in the bean. I reintroduced myself to him and asked him if he was dressed up for coffees. He confirmed that he was, and said he was considering either Sub-T or Galaxy. I thought Galaxy guys were just pretty boys, so I told him to definitely go Sub-T. (He ended up pledging Galaxy with his friends). But, we began talking and thanks to Galaxy's date requirement for the football games, he very nervously asked me out. Of course, I went, but he didn't get to talk to me. I was pretty much on the sidelines by myself: no other scrappies in sight. I really didn't mind, though. After the game, he took me to the Whataburger on Judge Ely, and I got a diet coke and he got a strawberry milkshake. I found out that he liked Jimmy Buffett, liked to kick back with his friends and play volleyball or cook out fajitas. I also found out he is extremely intelligent: when we met, he had a 4.0 in accounting and finance. I was embarrassed to tell him that my GPA was much less than that. I don't think he cared, which was funny because knowing him now, I know he doesn't judge people on things like that. But, I did. (A theme in our relationship has been that he is much kinder and gentler than I am.) One more thing I found out was that he wasn't in a rush for a relationship. He didn't even hold my hand that night, and it took him over a month to kiss me. After our first date, I went back to Sikes dormitory and told the girls I had met that I would marry Mike. It was either me knowing for sure I could be with him forever, or me being overly dramatic (the more likely option if you know me well).
So, our entire relationship has been laid back like that. I chased him, making myself available at random times at the Business building. I had dated lots of guys, and I thought I was making myself very obvious, but for Mike, he didn't even seem to know that I liked him. Finally, I took him cookies and told him "I LIKE YOU". His response, classic Mike: "I know". He now says he didn't know. Still, I cannot help but be so thankful and smile for those fun times at ACU. I really feel like God was playing cupid with us.
We didn't plan on falling in love and getting married: that wasn't a goal for either of us upon entering ACU. I was planning a career as a freelance journalist, perhaps overseas. He just wanted to hang out with friends, skip church on Wednesday nights, and watch sports on TV. We dated for three years at ACU, and I had decided to travel to Europe. But, before I could go, Mike asked me to marry him over a Strawnilla cajun cone on the coldest night in April at Nelson Park, on the exact bench where we shared our first kiss. We have laughed countless times over the great engagement stories of our friends, and compared them over and over to becoming engaged over a strawnilla cajun cone while we froze our butts off. We decided to get married at a random time, Jan. 4th, because I would have finished my degree and student teaching, and because he could save up money while he worked in Houston. I was very nervous about getting married. Literally, every time we saw his mother while we were engaged, she would tell us over and over what HUGE commitment marriage was and how HARD it is to stay married. (She wasn't a big fan of us getting married, and to be honest, she wasn't a big fan of me, either). Here is a secret, though, for me, it is not staying married that is difficult. Leaving Mike would be the hardest thing I would ever do. (And the stupidest, too). I am so blessed to have spent so many years of my life with such a wonderful, kind man who loves God so much. We have been through so much together, and I am thankful that he is still by my side. Happy Anniversary, Mike!