Jeff and I had a great date in Boston that started off with my meeting up with him at his apartment in Brookline (he had the Marquette game on - good move). Then we went to Boston for dinner, dessert, (Science Museum?? EEK, I can't remember) and then back to his place. We played ping pong at his place (no really, we did). And then there is much debate between the two of us about what happened next. I somehow managed to find myself backed up into the doorway of his kitchen and he was standing very close and I remember thinking, "He wants to kiss you. Just calm down and let him kiss you if he wants to." (I was BEYOND NERVOUS)" Jeff on the other hand was thinking, "Look at the way she's standing there. She WANTS ME to kiss her." (WRONG-O). Did he kiss me? Not that night, he waited for date #2 (good boy :-). And then I headed home. I remember thinking on the car ride home, "I think this guy could be the one!" and I was beaming. But the story behind how we met is equally "fun", if not the better part of the story.
In February of 2003 I was 29, was working as a Speech Therapist at Morton Hospital in Taunton, and was living with my lovely cousin Bridget in Bridgewater (yes, BRIDGEt lived in BRIDGEwater - it never seemed funny to me until I typed it out just now). I thought I was happy, my beautiful mother thought I was not. She decided that I was approaching 30 and had been single LONG ENOUGH - commence operation "Find My Daughter A Boyfriend/Husband!" So without my knowledge she went into work one day (she was a teacher at a high school), entered the Guidance Department Office and said (announced), "Doesn't anybody know any nice, single, Catholic guys?!" There was silence until Jim S. spoke up and said, "My brother-in-law is single and he's Catholic." My mom said, "Great, give me his number." Jim said he'd have to call Jeff first and ask. Jeff was called, agreed, and his number was given to my mother. Apparently my mother also made the same announcement in the Faculty Room. She came home with 3 phone numbers that day, Jeff and two other guys. That night I got a phone call that started off with, "I hope you're not mad a me" (oh boy, this could be bad...very bad), and then she proceeded to tell me what she had done. I actually wasn't mad, but there was no way in heck I was calling these men. I told my mom that she could give them my number and that they could call me. Jeff was the only one that called, and the rest is history.
I guess I'll take this opportunity to publicly thank my mother for looking out for me, in an embarrassing sort of way. :-) Hey, she did real good - Ten years later she's got a happily married daughter who has a wonderful husband, three beautiful children, and another baby on the way.
Oh but that's not the end of the story (like any story of mine could be so simple!). Jeff's brother Jay was the best man at our wedding and of course was assigned the toast. Jim S. (remember him? the guidance counselor) is kind of a joker and he told Jay before the wedding that my mother had actually posted a personal ad for me in the faculty room and HANDED Jay a "copy" of the ad. Now of course this ad was a fake but Jay thought that's what she had done! So at our wedding and during the toast Jay pulled out the piece of paper and read it. It was OVER. THE. TOP - it said things like, "Mother seeking husband for her daughter. He must be between the ages of 25-40, he must be good looking, he must make at least $75,000 a year, he must drive a sports car, he must be athletic, he must want children, he must be funny and not lame at all....." and it went on. While Jay read it I thought he knew it was a joke, Jeff thought he knew it was a joke, I "think" my mother thought he knew it was a joke, and we were thinking/hoping that everyone at the wedding reception knew it was a joke. However, turns out that Jay thought it was real (we found this out over a year later). It was only then that we realized that many people at the wedding must have also thought that it was real! Oh the horror! So while I'm publicly thanking my mother for finding me a husband, I must also publicly announce that my mother NEVER actually posted that piece of paper in the faculty room, or any other room in the high school for that matter.
Whew! Anyway - it's been a wonderful 10 years. We were engaged in less than a year, married within 9 months after that, and then our first born arrived in just under a year of our first anniversary. Ten years, a house, a minivan, 4 kids and a lot of love! I love you Jeff and thank you Mom.
