Seven Years

(16 year old Mike)
I'm reminiscing today about my very first date with Mike. He was a sophomore and I was a senior in high school. He had asked me out about a dozen times but given our age difference I always just said no. I finally relented one day and said I would go see a movie with him.

We made it a double date because I was too chicken to go alone. So we took his friend Kelly and my friend Haannah. He picked us up at her house in his hot little black GTI (I totally have a thing for VW's) and he had hand picked flowers tied with a ribbon for me. They were stolen out of someones yard but that just made me laugh so he still scored points. They were red tulips and daffodils, which are my favorite. I still have them in a memory box I keep on our bedroom wall.

I still remember thinking that this 16 year old was crazy for thinking we were actually going to be an item and when we got to the movie theater I tried to make a point by sitting with my friend instead of sitting by him. I don't know why but about 30 minutes into the movie I changed my mind. I moved over to the chair next to him and we were so engulfed in conversation that I couldn't even tell you what the rest of the movie was about. I remember thinking he was kind and funny and more mature than any of the guys my age. Then he drove me home and I gave him a kiss on the cheek and he was incredibly happy with just that.

The more we dated and the more I learned about him, the more I loved. He was and still is the only boy who was romantic enough to ask me out on a proper date with flowers and everything. Now it's 7 years later and we're planning our wedding. We own a home, have a family of dogs together and he is still kind, makes me laugh and is still more mature than any guy I know.