The Story of How We Met

Today marks one year since Shawn and I said "I do". (Well, actually we didn't quite say that... we said it in our own ways, but you know what I mean.) I'm not going to get all sappy here on you guys because honestly, while being married has been awesome, it also hasn't really been much different than whatever it was we were doing before. Our titles may have changed, but our feelings towards each other have not. (I guess that's the point!) Anyone who says is all changes after you get married is a big fat liar. We both have our weird, perhaps annoying, things we do that other people may not understand, but we get each other's weirdness. Isn't that ultimately what it's about? I can't imagine spending every day with anyone else. We don't go a day without laughing or making each other smile, and that's what it's about.

The end of this year also marks the ten year mark of when we first met. (Holy cow, guys... has it really been ten years?!) So I thought it only appropriate to share the story of how we met. We don't have any photos of us together from that long ago, but I threw in a few from our first year living together... just so this post isn't all words. Enjoy!

The story you are about to read may sound like a terribly cliche only-happens-in-the-movies sort of love story… but this is how it really happened. There are no embellishments or tall tales here- just the truth, in all its sappy glory.

When Shawn and I first met, back in the winter of 2004, I was working at a cozy independent coffee shop in a strip mall that also contained a chain grocery store, a CVS, a McDonalds, and a small independently owned video store, amongst other things. At the time, Shawn was working at the video store… a place I rarely frequented. Once the weather became colder, he'd come into the cafe every few days and order a hot chocolate. I was young and shy back then, but I couldn't help but notice the cute guy with bright blue eyes and curly blonde hair in a sleek black wool coat that had a love affair with hot milk and chocolate… long before I knew his name, I aptly dubbed him the 'hot chocolate video store boy'. Sometimes I'd walk past the video store on my way to and from work, just to catch a glimpse of him. (Yeah so, I'm a bit of a creep, so what? I bet you'd do the same.)



The first time we actually spoke was when I interjected a conversation he was having with one of my coworkers. I don't remember what they were talking about exactly, but I do recall Shawn being so struck by whatever I said that he came in a few days later and brought it up again. Over the next few weeks we chatted about various things while I made him hot chocolates. That's probably about the time when both of our minds started spinning and we realized there might be a connection forming.


Some time in mid-December I got up the courage to ask him out. (What? I said I was shy, I never said I wasn't a go-getter.) I gathered up my friend Kaci for extra courage and walked right into the video store, determined to casually drop it into a conversation… only to find out that Shawn wasn't working until later that day. Despite my initial mission being thwarted, I still needed to get my feelings out so I left a short handwritten note with his manager, who also frequented the coffee shop. I believe the note said something along the lines of:

Dear hot chocolate video store boy,
I came here to ask you out but alas you were not here.
Would you like to go out some time?
Give me a buzz.
Sincerely, the coffee shop girl
The rest of the day I was a nervous mess; I kept thinking - 'what if I read him incorrectly and he actually has no interest in me?' or worse yet, 'what if he never gets the note and then I never find out if he feels the same?' and 'oh my god - did I even write the right phone number on there?!'. There are so many questions that can run through a person's mind when they've put themselves in a vulnerable position and are waiting for an answer. I had absolutely nothing to worry about though because the next day Shawn left me a lovely voicemail*, cheerfully accepting my proposal! Apparently he was impressed by my note, and had every intention of asking me out himself but I had beat him to it! So I called him up, full of smiles, and we made plans to go on a date.

And what a date it was! But that's a story for another post...


* I distinctly remember my answering machine message at the time being a conglomeration of Homer Simpson quotes that I had gotten from some random website (that I unfortunately can't seem to find anymore). He absolutely loved that. What? I was practically Juno in high school, minus the pregnancy.