Meeting my wife part 2

Last week I began telling the story of my how I met my wife. Today’s post is “meeting my wife part 2”. If you haven’t read part 1, click here so you can read the beginning of the story.

Waiting

My roommate was working a late shift at J Crew, but I was determined to stay up as long as necessary. I needed to ask his permission to date Brenda. And, I was not prepared to take “no” for an answer.

When the door opened, I told him I had a solution for the awkward situation he was in with Brenda. Remember, his mother had set him up with her and he had said it was an uncomfortable situation. I announced that I could help him by asking Brenda out myself.

His exact response doesn’t come to mind. All I wanted to hear was, “ok”. And, that’s what I remember. I was now clear to date Brenda.

Pizza

Dating was always an negative experience for me and I was tired of trying to impress someone. So, I decided I would take Brenda to someplace I liked. If she liked it, ok. If not, well at least I’d enjoy the evening.

We had a cheap, all you can eat, pizza joint in town that I frequented every week. So, this was where we went. I’m not going to say that Brenda loved the pizza, but we did end up having our rehearsal dinner there on the night before our wedding.

Movie

What goes well with pizza? A movie. We went to a dollar movie theater. This particular theater had classic arcade video games in the lobby. You paid your dollar for a movie and then could play the games for free!

Cheap date, right? Well, remember, I was a Christian School band director. I wasn’t flush with cash. We were driving around in the cheapest Toyota pickup that they made. The only add-ons to the truck were A/C and a good radio.

Summer of ’92

Brenda and I spent every day of the summer of ’92 together. I never wanted to leave her side. Marriage was on my mind and I was getting a sense that she might be receptive to the idea.

I called my parents and asked them how they knew when they were in love. When I asked my question, my Mom’s response was, “Our boy is getting married!”. I backpedaled as quickly as possible, but Mom knew what was going on.

Ring

I was in Amway. I’ll write about it sometime, but for now let me say that I was an enthusiastic member of the organization. Brenda had also joined the group and we had a big convention in the fall of ’92. We both decided we would attend, but Brenda would go over without me. I had a football game and would head over afterwards.

Spending that evening at the football game without Brenda was torture. My soul ached to be by Brenda’s side. I finished my responsibilities, jumped in the truck and drove to the event determined to tell Brenda how I felt.

I found Brenda in the convention center and felt the euphoria of being united with my soul mate. But, I still needed to tell Brenda how I felt, so I asked if she wanted to step out and get a soda.

What follows isn’t very romantic. I expressed the depths of my love to Brenda while standing next to a soda machine in a parking garage. And, Brenda’s response? “You get no response unless you have a ring.”

No problem. I’ll get a ring!

Yes!

With my next paycheck, I went to the mall, bought a ring and headed to Brenda’s apartment. She was in the kitchen cooking when I showed her the ring. Not very romantic. I still can’t believe she said, “yes”.

We married on July 3rd of 1993 and have spent nearly every day together since. I love her.

Post #55