How I met The Designer (a history lesson)

The Designer and I met when we were very young. We were 16 years old, to be exact. In fact, The Designer had JUST turned 16 about 2 weeks previous to our first encounter. I can honestly say that it was definitely NOT love at first sight. Let me tell you what I recall...

My family didn't attend church while I was growing up. I did, however! My neighbors went to a tiny little Baptist church a few miles away and every Sunday morning they would pick me up and take me along. I would also go on Wednesday nights. The couple that did this twice a week year after year after year were saints. They were the ones who shaped my walk with Christ and I can never thank them enough.

The Designer went to church for special occasions (like Christmas, weddings, etc.) only. His family was not the "religious" type. He was not the religious type.

I had a couple of great male friends at my church. They were my best friends, really. One of those friends went to the same high school The Designer attended. Our church was having a ski retreat weekend and my friend knew that The Designer was a skier, so he invited him to come along. I had NEVER skied before, but wanted to go anyway.

I remember the day The Designer and I first met clear as day! We first met over 14 years ago, but in so many ways, it feels like it was just last week. I walked in to the church where everyone was gathering, getting ready to take off for the weekend. He was already there. My friend briefly introduced me to him. I said hi and moved on to talk with my friends. He didn't really stand out to me except his dimples. Oh my goodness...his dimples were huge and SO cute! I thought he was adorable. Not gorgeous, but adorable. That was it. There is one odd detail that I have yet to mention. When I first met him, he was standing down one step from the landing I was standing on. So, who cares? Why is that important. At that moment I didn't think it was important, but in a minute you will see how it made a difference.

The church van pulled up, we all piled in and we left for our great weekend adventure. We were in the van for a couple of hours. I was talking to everyone. The Designer was focusing all of his attention on me. I didn't notice. Well, I might have noticed a little bit, but I guess I really didn't care. We arrived at our destination and we all piled out.

Whoa! The Designer is TALL. I mean, very VERY tall! Why didn't I notice that before? Because he was standing down a step at the church. Ahh, I guess I was paying more attention to him than I thought. Anyway, his dimples and his height were what caught my attention. At that time he was about 6' 6" tall, dark blond hair, athletically tone but very skinny and very, very cocky! Oh yea, and did I mention, COCKY?!?!?!

Oh, I hated cocky! I mean, I really, really HATED egotistical cockiness (I still do!). To me, it is a huge turnoff. When someone has to be so cocky and egotistical, it really just tells me that person is trying anything to make themselves feel better. To stand out. I decided The Designer was no different.

The weekend went by. I was annoyed. We got home. I figured that was the end of things with The Designer. Little did I know that that was actually just the beginning...

He called me every day. Sometimes he would call me many times a day. Ugh, how annoying! I wasn't interested. How could he not see that? He started attending my church so that he could see me. Are you serious? I mean, I am glad he went to church, but come on...for a girl? Wow! He called for a month or so and my mom was really fed up with his focused attention. She suggested I go on a date with him so that he could see we were not compatible and he could move on. I knew his type too. He was the type that liked the challenge. He thought I was playing hard to get. He wanted me to be his conquest. I just knew it! I wasn't about to give in to that. But, I heeded my moms suggestion and did go on a date with him. Just to prove that I was more than he could handle. We were not meant to be together. I would NOT be his conquest.

He picked me up and we went to one of my high school's basketball games. I felt that was pretty safe. We would be on my territory, surrounded by my friends. I flirted with all of the guys we were around (all of my friends) in front of him. At one point I even left him alone for a long period of time to go chat with other guys. He patiently waited. What was up with the guy? Why didn't he get the picture? I couldn't understand him at all. He brought me home.

That wasn't the end. He continued to go to MY church. He continued to call. Slowly I was starting to see something in this guy. He was very determined. I was not sure if he was still trying to make me one of his conquests or if he was genuinely interested in me, but I found myself thinking about him more and more. I was angry at myself. When he would call, I began to actually enjoy spending time talking to him. I started looking forward to the phone calls. I was making the biggest mistake of my life, or was I? My walls of protection were coming down and I was scared to let anyone in.

I figured he had put up with my tactics for this long, there must be something very special about him. After a few more months I agreed to go on another date with him. I was really falling for him. He was by my side when my parents divorced later that summer. He was always my biggest fan and supporter. I began going to all of his games. I loved seeing him. I hated being away from him. I fell in love with him. The rest is history.