Eight Years Ago

New Year's Eve has never been my favorite holiday, not since my first boyfriend dumped me my senior year on NYE. Instead of looking to the future, I always looked back on my various failings over the year.

So I told my friends I was staying home on Dec. 31 2000. A friend had managed to get a room on the Strip that year, another friend B had college buddies visiting from out of state. So my friend Anne insisted I go with her, and she personally promised she would not let me get too introspective. I had lived in Vegas for three years and hadn't spent New Years on the strip so I figured I might as well give it one more shot.

When we got to the room we were introduced to B college friends, Bud and his brother R. I had heard a lot of stories about the parties these guys had thrown back in the day. I thought "that Bud guy looks cute". As the evening progressed we got to talking, about baking, and different recipes we both liked. He told me the secret to moist banana bread was thin slices of apple in the mix. We are the only two people to flirt by exchanging recipes. I finally asked him the big three questions, margarine or butter, mayonnaise or miracle whip, and semi-sweet chocolate or milk chocolate chips? He had all the right answers (butter, mayo, and milk chocolate). We spent the rest of the night talking about everything, my family, his family, how he wanted to go back to school to be a teacher and coach. I kept telling him it was a shame he lived in a different state, and he just said "it's only an 8 hour drive". Yeah right buddy.

So I made a bit of an ass of my self falling all over him, there was a lot of drinking. Anyway I gave him my phone number when it was time to go and didn't figure I would hear from him. The next day my friend B called to see if I wanted to join them for a movie. I got to the theater late and took the only empty seat in the row, pretty soon I heard laughing and everybody got up so Bud could sit next to me. After the movie he asked if he could call me when he got home. Again I was "yeah sure you will".

Two days later I got a delivery of flowers at school, he had written a really sweet card and included his phone number. (seriously guys, send flowers to her work if you can) The kicker, the flowers were purple, which I had mentioned was my favorite color. Any girl near her thirties knows it is hard to find a man that listens. We talked on the phone for three and a half hours that night. Then talked every night until he came out a week and a half later to see me. He met my whole family, who loved him.

The morning he was leaving he brought a present for me. It was a bag of the valentine conversation hearts, but they were from the bin and there were only a few in the bottom of the bag. He told me there were thirty in the bag, and if I ate one everyday he would be back before they were gone. I know, he's so cute.

Anyway three months later he moved here. A year and a half after that we were married, and nine months after the wedding we had Owen. In the eight years since we met everything has been a whirlwind, but an awful lot of fun. The best part? We met on the Strip, but we both hate it. We spend NYE at home, with a bunch of snacky food and movies.

It has been eight great years, I owe my friend Anne big time.