Christmas Eve

Creative.  David is definitely creative.  Every day I would come home from school and look in the mail pile.  A letter or a poem?  I couldn't wait to see if he had written.  Back in the old days, before cell phones and texting, people wrote each other letters.  Since he was in Berkeley, calling him was not free.  My parents did not think that calling long distance every day (or every other day for that matter!) was necessary, and there were no calling plans, etc. So, we wrote each other letters.  I loved his letters and poems. 

Back to creative... On Christmas Eve 1988, David invited me over to his house because he had a surprise for me.  When I walked in the front door, there was a bunch of balloons staggered in front of the Christmas tree tied around a fairly large box.  There was a long red ribbon attached to the box and it had a little card on it that read, "Pull me."  So I did.  As I pulled the ribbon, the balloons raised and the sides of the box collapsed open revealing gifts attached to each side of the box.  Not bad for a 20 year old guy.  (o:  Sweet and thoughtful gifts all picked with purpose.  One of the items was an ornament.   It was from the 12 Days of Christmas series, and it just so happened to be the 5 Golden Rings year.  I remember thinking at that moment that I would probably marry him. 

Davey

I loved teddy bears, and we still have Davey.  David bought me a huge teddy bear when we went to Pier 39 one Saturday in December 1998.  He bought it early in the day, and let's just say I didn't mind the attention I received lugging this huge bear around with me all day. I loved that bear, and he now happily resides on Dante's bunk bed often used as a pillow.

El Toritos

Dinner and a movie.  Nothing earth shattering.  Mexican food and the only bad movie Tom Hanks was ever in:  The Burbs.  But, we had fun, and I could sense he was a really good guy.  After the movie, my car broke down and we had to get towed home.  Plus, my parents were having a party and my aunt and uncle were over.  Essentially, it was David's welcome to the family. 

After apple pie, and uncomfortable moments, I borrowed my mom's car and drove him home.  Pretty sure I met his dad and his brothers, but in all honesty, I do not remember.  It has been a while. 

November 1988

I was 19 years old in 1988.  Now that I am 41, and my son is almost 18, I do not consider 19 old enough to really know much of anything.  But, at 19 I met my David.

On November 5, 1998 my friend Jason and I met up with some friends at TGIF Friday's, and as I recall, several tables were pushed together for a fairly loud/large group of people.  Mike, one of Jason's "bros" was there, and Mike's brother David was home from college for the weekend.  I remember the moment I met him:  dark hair, sparkling eyes, sweet smile.  David was definitely my type, but sadly, he thought Jason was my boyfriend, so he pretty much ignored me.  I wasn't used to being ignored and thought it an anomaly.  When I left, I told Mike that I thought his brother was cute, but since he didn't talk to me, I figured he wasn't interested.  The next night, the guys all showed up at Z&Z (men's clothing store where I worked) and invited me to go to some comedy club, but I already had plans.  So, my first date with David had to wait until the end of November.

Looking to the future...reminiscing the past.

Next year is a big year for all of us:  Nick will be 18 in February, and he will graduate from high school; Marisa will graduate from middle school; Dante will receive his first Holy Communion.  And, for David and I?  We will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary in December.  In an effort to chronicle our journey together, I am going to go back to our beginning ... November 1988.