7 Years Ago Today

Today marks the 7th anniversary of my first date with Heidi. We had met two days earlier at a concert at the old Paradox where I asked her out. It was a very beautiful day for the middle of Febuary and I was wanting to do something outside. I was still new to Seattle so I asked my boss for ideas. He suggested a walk in one of the local parks. I told him that I really liked walking through graveyards to which he replied that would be a horrible idea to suggest for a first date.

We planned on meeting around 4 o’clock at a coffee shop near the UW right after she got out of class. We got our coffee, walked outside and I asked her if she was up for a walk in a park or something and if she had an idea of a good one to go to. She pointed in a few directions and said there were parks all around. “Or,” she then said, “there’s a neat graveyard right over there.”

BAM! That was it.

As we walked through the graveyard looking at all the stones of people long gone we talked about our families and our desires for what we wanted in life. In a semi-nonchalant tone I asked her if she wanted to get married, not really indicating if it was a general question or specific to me. She giggled, not sure how to respond, and said that she was ready to start going that direction, but wasn’t too sure. That’s when I decided that this was definantly the right lady and that I would work my hardest to make this work.

We finished our walk, with a quick bathroom break for her at a grocery store and I bought her some tulips, which turned out to be her favorite flower. From that moment on we spent almost every day together and got married a year and a half later. It hasn’t been all as perfect as that first date, but it has been much better than every day preceeding that date and continues to get better as we learn to lean into Jesus and grow together towards Him.