It's hard to say exactly where it started. That is, neither Jacob nor I could tell you definitively the first time we met. I have vague recollections of a glancing moment at a social event or Sunday school class, he remembers me from my cafeteria-lady-day at the Tates Creek Presbyterian Church 4th of July picnic (who knew that donning plastic gloves and a ponytail to serve fried chicken could be such a winning endeavor?). One thing we did know back then, just about a year and a half ago, we could never date. We decided this on a hot afternoon while suiting up for our first
skydives--a spontaneous Sunday afternoon had taken us, along with another friend, out to a Kentucky drop zone (left) to pursue the first of what would be many adventures together.
Months later, Jacob seemed the perfect solution for my partner problem. A dancing partner, I mean. Having just started a new job as the editor of Lexington's Chevy Chaser and Southsider magazines the first of January, 2008, I found myself browsing through community calendar listings and came across an entry for an Argentine Tango class at Artsplace. Jacob had two distinct qualifications: he had moves and he had no moves. That is to say, he had ballroom experience and he'd never tried to ask me out. It was the perfectly platonic scenario, or so I thought.
After six weeks of class and extended evenings, Jacob finally made that move. Somehow it still surprised me when he told me just what was on his mind and I found myself unprepared (as I would many times throughout our short courtship), but made the decision that started in motion the beginning of the end. Knowing that he was leaving for graduate school in South Carolina and, eventually, an 18-month educational jaunt abroad, I'm not sure I knew what I was getting into. Then again, I'm not sure he knew what he was getting into, either.
May 31 marked both the wedding day of my now-sister-and-brother-in-law, Caris and Rick, and Jacob's and my first date. From there, it was literally a whirlwind of dates and decisions as we began our relationship and Jacob left for graduate school in South Carolina at the end of June. By mid-September we were engaged and by Jacob's Christmas break from school, we were immersed in last-minute details of a wedding, a home sale, an overseas move and a job transition.
If someone had asked me a year ago if I would be married right now, not to mention overseas, I'd have laughed out loud. If someone had told me how it would happen, who it would be and how quickly it would go, I wouldn't have believed it. If someone had told me I'd willingly leave a job I loved, a home I'd made for myself and my dog, well, I'd be slightly indignant.
But you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.
skydives--a spontaneous Sunday afternoon had taken us, along with another friend, out to a Kentucky drop zone (left) to pursue the first of what would be many adventures together.Months later, Jacob seemed the perfect solution for my partner problem. A dancing partner, I mean. Having just started a new job as the editor of Lexington's Chevy Chaser and Southsider magazines the first of January, 2008, I found myself browsing through community calendar listings and came across an entry for an Argentine Tango class at Artsplace. Jacob had two distinct qualifications: he had moves and he had no moves. That is to say, he had ballroom experience and he'd never tried to ask me out. It was the perfectly platonic scenario, or so I thought.
After six weeks of class and extended evenings, Jacob finally made that move. Somehow it still surprised me when he told me just what was on his mind and I found myself unprepared (as I would many times throughout our short courtship), but made the decision that started in motion the beginning of the end. Knowing that he was leaving for graduate school in South Carolina and, eventually, an 18-month educational jaunt abroad, I'm not sure I knew what I was getting into. Then again, I'm not sure he knew what he was getting into, either.
May 31 marked both the wedding day of my now-sister-and-brother-in-law, Caris and Rick, and Jacob's and my first date. From there, it was literally a whirlwind of dates and decisions as we began our relationship and Jacob left for graduate school in South Carolina at the end of June. By mid-September we were engaged and by Jacob's Christmas break from school, we were immersed in last-minute details of a wedding, a home sale, an overseas move and a job transition.
If someone had asked me a year ago if I would be married right now, not to mention overseas, I'd have laughed out loud. If someone had told me how it would happen, who it would be and how quickly it would go, I wouldn't have believed it. If someone had told me I'd willingly leave a job I loved, a home I'd made for myself and my dog, well, I'd be slightly indignant.
But you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.
I think he knew all along. He was just waiting for you to be ready. PS said dog is now MY dog
ReplyDeleteI think he knew all along. He was just waiting for you to be ready. PS, he's my dog now. And if you told me a year ago I would love having a dog full time I would have laughed out loud.
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