September 1, 2001 – September 1, 2011… and on and on and on forever.

Hubby and I met during the summer of 2001 at a youth politics conference.  I was going into my junior year at Cornell and he was about to start his third year at Cornell Law.  I remember over the course of the conference thinking that he was cute, but not giving him too much thought beyond that.  I assumed that he had a girlfriend (most cute guys I met did) and that even if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be interested in dating an undergrad.  Plus, one of my friends had a crush on him, and I wasn’t about to step on any toes – so I put him out of my mind.  In August of 2001, the first week back at school, I had an email from him.  We hadn’t exchanged email addresses specifically, so he had gone to the trouble of looking back through conference-related emails to find my contact information.  He suggested lunch and I was totally on board, once I remembered who he was.  (Told you I put him out of my mind.) 

For our first date, we met up at noon in the outside seating area of Collegetown Bagels – the handiest meeting spot on campus even if you weren’t eating there – and walked to a barely off-campus restaurant called Aladdin’s.  I was pretty sure it was a date, although I entertained the possibility that he just wanted me to set him up with my friend, who was still crushing on him.  But he asked me out for a second date while we were still on the first date, which was a good sign according to Cosmo Girl.  It was a bit awkward, actually – he suggested we go out and “grab a drink” and I had to remind him that I was 19.  I’m not sure which one of us was more embarrassed by that revelation.  Hubs bounced back quickly and suggested a party and I was glad to agree… and to see that my dorky inability to get into a bar (being 19, fake ID-less, and looking like I was 14) was not a deal-breaker.  After the party, sometime in the wee hours of September 1, 2001, we kissed.  And I was sure that he wasn’t interested in my friend.  (By the way, I ran the relationship by her and she graciously told me he was all mine.)

We were pretty much inseparable from that first kiss on.  By December, we were very serious.  In January, he met my family.  In March, I met his.  By April, the relationship had started to feel quite urgent, since he would be graduating and I had one more year of undergrad left, and then was planning to go to law school.  We knew that we were looking at a year or more – probably more – of long-distance.  I had no idea what to expect, except that I knew I hated being without him.  He graduated in May of 2002 and left campus while I still had a few days to pack myself up.  I threw myself down on my bed in the sorority house and cried all night because I didn’t see how I could wait three weeks until I visited him.

I didn’t wait three weeks to see him again, as it happened.  Two weeks after our tearful goodbyes (well, I was tearful – he was stoic), hubby arrived unexpectedly at the house of some of my friends.  I love surprises, so I was pretty psyched.  We went out for a special dinner at the restaurant we’d visited on the first night we met, during that summer conference in my hometown, and then we wandered around the city.  We ended up in a little garden near the office where I was serving my summer internship and hubby dropped down on one knee.  You can probably imagine my shock.  We had only been dating eight months, but we both knew we had found what we were looking for.  I said yes.

I went back to school that fall excited to tell my friends about our engagement.  In November of 2002, hubby drove the three hours to campus, picked me up and drove us both to New York City, where we bought an engagement ring.  Back at school, I announced my engagement to my sorority in a special ceremony and got busy showing off my newly-sparkly left hand.  Meanwhile, I was studying for the LSAT and preparing law school applications.  Hubby and I decided that I would move to Washington, D.C., and he would follow me as soon as he could.  I graduated from Cornell and started a new life at GW Law, and hubby arrived in town a year later.  The two years of long-distance engagement were brutal, but we never second-guessed our commitment.  Once hubby was officially in the D.C. area, we started planning our wedding.

The wedding was one area where I insisted on taking my time.  I wanted the perfect day, a day that would reflect our personalities, and I was willing to wait for it.  We were engaged for over a year before we set the date: August 13, 2005.  By the time our wedding day arrived, we had been engaged for three years.  I still remember our wedding day like it was yesterday.  Giggling with my bridesmaids while we did our makeup, hubby and I repeating hybrid wedding vows that we had customized to reflect our different denominations, riding to the reception site with the entire wedding party, dancing to Norah Jones and congratulating my grandparents on celebrating their 57th anniversary that day… so many moments.  I loved every second.

After the wedding and honeymoon in the Bahamas, it was back to reality for me.  I finished law school and hubby proudly stood up when spouses were recognized at my graduation.  I started working for the government, and then eventually moved on to my dream job in private practice.  Hubby and I bought a condo, then we sold the condo and bought a house.  We traveled all over the world – to California, Mexico, Canada, England, Scotland, and France – and took some trips closer to home to keep life interesting between adventures.  We celebrated six years of marriage.

Before I met hubby, I didn’t think there was any way I could put up with someone for ten years.  But it didn’t take long for me to realize that this was a guy who would never bore me.  I knew we would never run out of things to talk or laugh about.  I knew there would always be another adventure right around the corner with him.  On our first date, we discussed Altoids and our siblings.  I have no idea how many dates there have been since then, but we’re still not hurting for conversation topics.  Ten years later, he still cracks me up.  Ten years later, I still sneak glances out of the corner of my eye when he’s driving because he’s so handsome at that angle.  Ten years later, he’s still my best friend.

Those first months in 2001 and 2002 were great.  I wouldn’t trade that getting-to-know-you time for anything.  But I can honestly say that it’s better on this side.  Ten years in is such a fun place to be.  We have memories now.  We have inside jokes, too.  But we also have plans – another trip to England, for one.  And after that, who knows?  The only thing I can say for sure is that on September 1, 2021, when we mark 20 years together, we’ll still be going strong.

Happy ten years, friend of my heart.