<Originally posted elsewhere on September 24th, 2008>
14 years and one day ago, my life changed forever. I met the man who has made me giggle during unfathomable and highly inappropriate situations, has challenged my pre-fab assumptions about what is and what could be, and has introduced me to culinary wonders of the world (although neither of us can quite figure out how I came to adore sushi while he hates it).
It was 1994 and internet romances were a relative oddity. We met in an IRC channel. He claimed to be an freshman at Unnamed State University but I was more inclined to believe he was a pimply-faced 13 year old with a stolen internet connection (turns out, I was wrong). I was in my first year of undergraduate studies at the University of Midwestern Location and fresh out of a year-and-a-half long relationship. I was tired of being somebody's girlfriend and determined to play the field a bit.
After about 3 weeks of emails, IRC chats, and phone conversations, I finally agreed to let him come visit me. I knew it was crazy. I knew I could possibly be hacked up into little tiny pieces or end up brainwashed in some sort of agricultural cult (although, being a freshman at Midwestern Location University, it wouldn't have been a huge leap anyhow). It was totally out of character for me to say yes. I was cautious, steadfast and I didn't tend to take very many chances especially when the odds had to do with my oxygen supply OR my heart.
He arrived late on the evening of the 23rd. He was even more adorable than his picture with a smile that would make nuns blush. Stupidly, crazily, I let him sleep in my dorm room that night. I think we barely slept. We cuddled up on my roommate's bunk and spooned until it was a reasonable hour to get up. Even without any alcohol whatsoever, we were both very very drunk.
We spent the 24th touring my campus, meeting a few of my friends and hanging out. Lost very much in each other and wanting to keep it that way, we decided to stay in Saturday night. We agreed on Saturday Nigh Live and a pizza. Shortly after ordering food, we went out to the dorm lobby to wait. We sat on a bench together, our bodies mostly touching, still reeling from such a powerful draw yet somewhat awkward because we were still so new to each other.
Both of our eyes happened to rest on a girl sitting near us who was laughing quite loudly. He leaned over and quietly whispered in my ear "That girl has more teeth than the rest of us."
I simultaneously cracked up and fell in love all at the same time. He asked me to marry him two weeks later and I haven't looked back.
Edward - I know it's not our wedding anniversary but in some ways, this anniversary is more important to me. That weekend changed my life and has shaped the past 14 years. You are my best friend, my companion, my heart and my world. We've had our ups and our downs but I love that we still make each other laugh every single day. You are my comfort, my joy, and the logic that I sometimes lack. You are the noodles to my parmesan, the RAM to my motherboard, and the belayer to my scared ass that just might fall off the goddamn mountain.
I love you, my sweet.
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