Dating Anniversary

First of all, I know it might seem odd to some that I still celebrate Matt and my dating anniversary. Also, I'm using the term "celebrate" very loosely here; I should probably say that I still acknowledge it. But June 8, 2002 was the anniversary we made a big hoopla about until we got married. That's when, I suppose, most couples scrap their dating anniversary & only celebrate the day they said "I do". Makes sense, I guess. Obviously marriage is a much bigger commitment than dating. Still, I can't imagine a year going by when I don't turn to Matt and say, "Do you know what today is?" on the 8th of June. What can I say? I have a soft spot in my heart for that date. So, today marks 8 years together & in honor of that, I thought I'd do a little recap of the beginning of Us.

A little prelude: Matt and I met in high school. We sat next to each other in AP Latin. Correction: we sat next to each other on the days that Matt actually showed up to class. I was a junior at the time and knew Matt only as the funny senior guy that skipped class a lot. When he graced the class with his presence, though, he was very entertaining. When asked to translate a Latin passage to English, he'd come up with elaborate stories that had nothing to do with the actual text. He passed time in class by either sleeping or selling Blow-Pop lollipops to the other students. Not surprisingly, Matt was voted "class clown" by the senior class that year.

Fast forward 5 years. I had just finished my junior year of college and was on a self-imposed dating and relationship strike for the summer. I remember telling my friends, "There is no way I'm dating anyone this summer, unless I meet the person I'm going to marry." It was around that time that I started getting periodic phone calls from Matt, asking me out to dinner. Now, I had seen Matt exactly once in the 5 years since he graduated from high school. So, to me, he was still the kid with the goofy grin & backwards baseball cap smiling up at me from his class clown superlative picture in the yearbook. For that reason, and because of my dating strike, I very reluctantly agreed to go to dinner with him just one time.

We had a great time at dinner. I was pleasantly surprised by the new, grown up version of Matt. But he was still just as funny. When I got up to make a run to the ladies' room, he smiled at me and said, "Take your time. I know you have to come back because I've got your keys right here." I think it was at that exact moment that I decided I liked him. Still, when he asked me to come back to his townhouse to hang out with him and his roommates after dinner, I declined. I made up some really ridiculous excuse about having to go home and bake cookies. True story.

I did end up at that townhouse a few nights later when Matt & his roomies threw a party. The date? June 8, 2002. We spent most of the night together that night and, towards the end of the night, he kissed me for the first time. I remember riding home with my friend and telling her all about that kiss. But then I quickly brushed it off and told her, "I can't date him. He has too much baggage right now." Isn't it funny how "baggage" takes on different meanings depending on your age? At that time, as a college student, I defined baggage as a too recent ex-girlfriend. I have to laugh when I look back at that statement. I was acting like he had 3 ex-wives and a dozen illegitimate children. As we neared my house, I looked at my friend and said, "Besides, I said I'm not dating anyone this summer unless it's the person I'm going to marry."

Matt and I never had "the talk"-- you know, that awkward but exciting "Do you want to be exclusive?" conversation. But after that night, we were inseparable. We dated long distance for the next year while I finished college and then we both packed up our bags and moved from Virginia to North Carolina. A year later, we were married. Five years after that, we became a family with the birth of Camden.

Sometimes, when we're laying in bed on Saturday mornings, I look over Camden's little blonde head and I see Matt smiling down at him. Never, ever would I have dreamed back in high school that the lanky teenager in the QuickSilver jeans snoring on the desk next to mine would one day become my husband and father to my child. But you know what? I am so glad he did.

Also? I kept my promise to myself that summer. I didn't date anyone other than the man I eventually married.