Marine Corps Ball 2001- Our first date. Today is Tom & I's 'Dating Anniversary'- 4 years ago today I made my first plane trip to New Orleans. Most of ya'll know the story.........but I will entertain you with it again.
Tom and I met through a mutual friend when I was a senior in high school and he was a freshman at Bethel. He didn't like me so much. I was wild and crazy senior girl and he was the serious 'I know everything' freshman. I instantly felt a......, well I'm not sure what it was but something between us. I had a crush on him. A big crush. He was so handsome but we both were in serious relationships and he thought I was stupid. We randomly saw each other a couple times the next few years and talked through email and such. He actually called me and wanted to hang out once but I was too scared- I always thought of him as someone out of realm. My sophomore year at Purdue Tom and I started talking on instant messenger. He had just ended a 2 year relationship and I was fresh from a breakup myself. He was now in New Orleans on a ROTC Scholarship. When we talked this time something was different- he was flirting with me! Something he didn't do before. We talked for a couple days and then one night he asked if I wanted to fly down to attend the Marine Corps Ball with him! I couldn't believe he had asked me! I was so stunned! This guy I had a crush on years ago and thought I could never get was asking me to come see him! A couple weeks later I flew for the very first time to New Orleans to spend 4 days with Tom. And we hadn't seen each other in years!! His friends joked with him about where I was going to sleep and what if I was fat and ugly. Needless to say, the minute I walked through the gate and into his arms I knew the trip was going to be something I would never forget. Tom's knees were shaking and his palms were sweating. It so wasn't like him to be nervous. We kissed that night- before we even made it to the Ball. I was in the restroom washing my hands and a woman introduced herself as a Marine Corps wife (this was her seventh Ball) and asked how long Tom & I had been together. I told her it was our first date and she couldn't believe it. She has seen us from across the room and noticed how 'in love' we looked. Tom still says he really did fall in love with me that weekend. It only took 2 days. I don't think either of us knew then what really was to come of that weekend. Long distance relationships are difficult but we made it and continue to fall deeper in love everyday.
We were married on Christmas Eve 2003 at a JOP ceremony. We decided to forgo a traditional wedding so I could move to South Carolina with Thomas to his first duty station. I was a little heart broken not to have the wedding I always thought I would have, but ending a long distance relationship was more important to the both of us. We still talk about renewing our vows on our 5 year anniversary.
