Today marks Kim and my one year anniversary. It's hard to believe that just one year ago today we were celebrating the fact that we had gotten married and had the most amazing day we'd ever had! (Who knew that just two days later, little Rory would begin to form into the cute little baby that he currently is.)
I figured since this is my one year anniversary and Rory is going to ask eventually, I'd write about how I met his mother.
It all started 7 years ago. I was a wild 25 year old and I'd just accepted a teaching job in Florida. One of my fantastic friends from college had moved down with me and we were excited to begin teaching for the first time. As we walked into our principal's office for the first time since arriving, we spotted a whiteboard that listed the names of all 13 of the new teachers. I scanned the list because I was nosy and my eyes stopped on one surname in particular. The name was shared with a famous actress with big boobs.
"Hmm," I say to my little friend Kimmi Doo. "I think I'm going to marry that one."
"Oh? How do you even know it's a female?"
"I just have a feeling," I say.
"Well that's nice," Kimmi Doo says.
A couple weeks later Kimmi Doo sought out this name on the whiteboard and tells me, "You know that red head? That's the one you said you were going to marry."
It was in fact Kimmi Doo who reminded me of this random moment all those years later before my wife and I were about to be actually married. I guess though, if we're being honest, that isn't the exact moment I actually met Kim. (Don't ask me why there are so many Kim's in my world. I'm just surrounded by them by default.) The first time I truly saw Kim and talked with her was at one of our new teacher meetings that was taught by our lovely reading coach, Sharona.
Sharona stood at the front of the media center explaining to all 13 new teachers how a certain reading program worked but before we really got started she threw in a couple icebreakers to get us all talking.
"Who has read a book over the summer?" Sharona asks.
Kim and I both raise our hands. Maybe 3 more people did too. Maybe.
"Oh!" Sharona gasps clearly thinking that out of 13 new teachers, at least more than a handful would be readers.
"What are your favorite kinds of books?" Sharona asks.
Some people say they like Nicholas Sparks. Some people say that they'd rather just read magazines. (That was Kimmi Doo, and having been her roommate, I know she likes to look at the pictures more than read.)
"I like Sci-Fi books!" Kim says.
"Oh, I do too!" I say.
"What books have you read recently?"
"I read about 20 books last night," Kim says.
"Wow that's good," I say. "I read the first Harry Potter book this summer. I didn't want to read them when they were popular. I just didn't think I'd really be into it. But I have to say, it was a really good book."
"I LOVE HARRY POTTER!" Kim almost screams. "I have all the books that are currently out. You can borrow some if you want to keep reading them."
I can hear Kimmi Doo talking to someone. "I just read an article about the proper way to massage your belly button."
"WHAT?" a girl named Peaches shouts.
"Yeah," Kimmi Doo replies. "It's realy important to massage your belly everyday. You never know when you'll find lint, or a reese's pieces stuck up in there."
'OH WOW! GOOD TO KNOW!" Peaches says.
"What's your favorite book ever?" Sharona asks, almost jigging in the front with all this new conversation about books.
"My favorite book is..." Kim begins.
"I would have to say my favorite book is," I say simultaneously.
"Enders Game." we finish together.
Time freezes. Our eyes meet. Then we start laughing. "Are you serious?" I ask.
"It is seriously my favorite book!" Kim says matter of factly. "I am a redhead and we never lie!"
From that moment on. We knew we were going to be good friends. We started hanging out in groups, sharing books, going to the beaches, exploring Florida in general. We both have fond memories or our first year in Florida. At some point, Kim started inviting me over and she would cook dinner for us. There was a time I thought to myself, hmm, I really could marry this girl! Of course, I was 25, and I had no interest in marriage at that time of my life. I just wanted to have fun and together we did just that!
In between then and now we had many ups and downs and truly got to know each other as friends, without fronting and pretending to camouflage what was really there. We got to experience the good and the raw, the insecurities and the aspirations. We knew each other so well that when we'd say the first few words of a thought, the other person was right there on the wavelength. We could tell the other's mood, by a slight gesture or bat of the eye. I know for a fact that's why we are such a strong duo. We got to know each other, and love each other regardless of our flaws.
Now 7 years later, we are enjoying our one year anniversary, our brand new little baby, and watching Ender's Game at the movie theatre on the big screen. (What Kim's been waiting for, for years!)
I love you baby! Here is to 75 more years!
Comic by Bitstrips
She worries that Rory will forget about her, and I don't know when babies start to remember things but I am sure deep down Rory will always remember Grammy Kay and her wild antics. How could he forget the five hundred faces she makes in the span of 15 seconds? Or all of the winter hats she made for him. There's no way he would forget watching and dodging Grammy Kay's Little Rascal Motor Cart at Sam's Club. (Which we still can't figure out why she opted to ride in it. We feared for our lives.)
