Where and How We Met
One night my friend Carrie was due to meet up with a guy at a local bar so I tagged along. When we got to the place, a band was playing funk from the 70's and 80's. I could not get over the smile on the saxophone player; I thought he was just adorable! I said to my friend "Wow, look at that guy!" And she said "Who, the singer?" I said "No, the saxophone player."
Carrie wanted to leave, but I was trying to stall. She persisted, so I took a business card of mine and wrote "Sax player, email me" on on the back (in eyeliner, no less, we didn't have a pen), and I put it in the bands tip bowl.
How We Fell In Love
The next day I get an email from someone I didn't recognize and when I open it, it's him! He kept referring to himself in the third person as "The Jimmer" and I was a little put off by it, but figured I liked everything else he had to say enough to give him a chance. We emailed back and forth a few times that week, then he called me and we talked forever. I asked him what he thought of the business card stunt, and he said, "Well, it seemed a little nutty, and I wasn't gonna email you, then I saw your picture and decided to give it a chance. And I'm glad I did cause you're not crazy at all." I laughed and then told him that I thought his "The Jimmer" thing was a little crazy. And he said, "Well, two nuts belong together, don't they?" Then, he suggested that we meet at another bar where his band was playing that Saturday.
I was very nervous, so I asked some friends to join us. When I got there, I thought I was gonna puke I was so nervous. So, I ordered a boilermaker, and headed back to where the band was setting up. I rounded the corner, and saw that famous smile, and I just fell in love with the guy. I was pretty sure it was love at first sight anyway, because I got this absolute pit in my stomach the first time I even saw him. But seeing him again, and how he just looked at me, I knew. I'd never felt anything like it before in my life.
So, his band is setting up, and I go to talk to him, and we lean up against the staircase and just talk for the next 20 minutes while his band mates are working away. Finally I said "I feel bad, I'm keeping you from helping them set up." And he said "Nah, believe me, I get a pass, since I'm talking to a hot chick." I totally melted, of course.
When I left that night, I gave him a hug and he spilled beer all over my shoes. We agreed to meet at a local restaurant later in the week before parting ways.
I knew pretty much from the beginning that I was going to be with Jimmer for the rest of my life. I'd never been so carefree about giving my heart away, usually taking several months to even decide if I wanted to date someone. But things with him are so natural, and feel so right, that we've just moved along and done fine.
And where does the relationship stand, almost two years later? A few weeks ago, Jimmer took me back to the bar where we first met. he pulled out a ring, and asked me to marry him. I said no when he offered to spill beer on my shoes to recreate the first time we met, but yes to the ring.
Advice
- Get out there and meet people even if you aren't feeling fantastic after a break up; it'll help get you back into the swing of things and maybe even meet the man of your dreams!
- Know that sometimes even a polar opposite can be your One; Jimmer and I are, yet no matter how many times I try to make him pick up his towel, and no matter how many times he has to tell me to relax, we're always on the same track, fundamentally. That's what counts.
