Like many other couples our age, Jonathan and I met at a bar. My new co-worker kept mentioning this great guy that she knew from home who had just moved to the area. I wasn't really looking for a boyfriend at that point in my life. I had just moved out on my own and in fact, I was sort of hanging out and hooking up with a guy I went to college with. It wasn't serious though so I agreed to meet my co-worker out at a happy hour where Jonathan and his roommates were going to be. I convinced my roommate to tag along with me.
If this were Jon telling you the story, he would make it a point to mention the first time he laid eyes on me. My roommate and I had just gotten off the Metro and were riding the escalator up and out of the station. As fate would have it, Jon and his roommate had been on the same train and were riding up right behind us. My roommate and I are like identical twins from behind. She was my college teammate; we both have the tiny distance runner's build and we're the same height with the same color hair. Jon and his roommate remarked to each other, "Wow, those girls are thin-you can actually see their shoulder blades!" I think I'm the first girl in the history of the universe who can honestly say that their husband noticed their shoulder blades first. It is kind of cute though. They redeemed themselves by going on to comment on our "sweet asses" and by saying, "I hope those are the girls we're meeting!"
It turns out that when we got to the bar, we were those girls they were meeting! As you might have already guessed, Jonathan and I paired off from the start. He bought me a beer (of which I still have the mug!) and the conversation flowed easily. When he told me his last name, I distinctly remember thinking, "Wow, that's going to be a hard last name to take!" And oh boy, was it. But he is well worth all ten letters and three syllables and the mispronunciations and wrong spellings because I knew that night that I was going to marry him.
I never before believed people when they made similar statements, but I'm telling you, it is possible. I think the feeling I felt for Jon that night is probably akin to someone finding enlightenment in a deep yogic meditation. Even now, it's hard to put into words, but I'll try. When we met, something inside just clicked and suddenly everything made sense. Every boy I ever kissed and every one who broke my heart, I now understood that they were all just practice, preparing me for the moment that I would meet Jon. It was like my heart said, "So that's why I cried so much over those other guys-it's because they weren't him!" I really couldn't believe my luck. I was over the moon for him instantly.
We were engaged a year and four months later, and married almost exactly two years later. This will be our fourth Valentine's Day together. On our first one, he bought me a sapphire promise ring, my birthstone. I wore that on my left hand until he replaced it with my engagement ring. I'll leave that story for another day because it's totally precious. May all of you feel as loved as I do today. XOXO.
P.S. Are my shoulder blades really that noticeable?
