Nothing Says I Love You Like a Little Black Magic

Posted On February 12, 2009

We Are THAT Family is hosting a little carnival the three days leading up to Valentine’s Day. (By the way, I had the honor of meeting the amazing woman behind the blog at Blissdom, and I was so impressed with her kindness, humility, and humor!) Besides challenging all wives to lock lips with their hubbies every day for the month of February, she’s also asking bloggers to write a post about their significant other. What a fabulous way to celebrate Valentine’s Day—much more meaningful than a signature at the bottom of an overpriced greeting card!

Husband and I have known each other since kindergarten, but we weren’t high school (or grade school) sweethearts. We liked each other at different times but were never quite on the same page. My first example of this is in the sixth grade, when Husband’s friend came to the door of my classroom before school and asked me if I would “go with” Husband. My heart a-flutter, I said yes, and had approximately seven minutes of bliss until Husband himself came to the door of the classroom and asked to speak with me. He informed me that his friend had asked me to go with him “as a joke” and that he did not wish to be my boyfriend. Crushed and embarrassed, I cried the whole day. (Although Husband claims that he was the hero of the story because he came to break the news to me himself.) Looking back, I can’t imagine WHY he didn’t like me, an awkward preteen with cowlicks in her hair, front teeth that were way too big for her mouth, and a habit of still bringing her Cabbage Patch Kid to school. I just don’t get it.

Fast-forward to junior high and high school. Husband and I hung around in the same “crowd” and were very good friends. And we each went through a time where we were smitten with the other. Mine was during wrestling season, when he was the star of the team and I was a cheerleader. I remember sitting behind him and another cheerleader, whom he was dating, in a suburban on the way home from meets and showing my mature side by flipping them off behind their seat and writing “I love [Husband]” in the frost on the windows.

Finally, the day after graduation, my friend and I decided to go camping at her grandparents’ house, and we invited Husband and another friend to go along. Normally a bit on the wild side, my friend and I opted for a night of sobriety and silliness, drinking Kool-Aid Koolers and playing games. One such game was the ever-popular Ouija Board. We were messing around, being funny with our questions and “answers,” until I asked the Board who Husband liked. Like magic, the board slowly spelled out my name. And Husband just blushed and looked down. This led to a first kiss later in the evening, and the beginning of our now nearly 19-year relationship (14 years married this summer).

When I think back to the kids we were when we started dating to the middle-aged very young adults we are now, it’s hard to believe we’re even the same people. We’ve both changed and grown in different ways. But the amazing thing is that I continue to love him more every new day we get to spend together. Because we started as friends, we have that strong foundation to build on, and we are comfortable just hanging out and visiting with each other. But Husband is so patient and accepting of who I am and who I want to become, and he supports me in anything I want to do. As our relationship with God grows stronger, I can feel our relationship as husband and wife also strengthening. It’s so amazing.

And I can still look at him and feel that same flutter of excitement that I felt when I realized that the Ouija Board was spelling “P-A-U-L-A.” (My apologies to God for the whole “sacrilegious” thing.)

Happy Valentine’s Day, Hubby! (Oh, and thanks for sticking with me even when I did clumsy and totally uncool things like shut my head in the car door. We’ll save this story for another time, Bloggyville.)