a blind date...13 years ago

you might remember how i feel about valentines day.
it's not my favorite.
BUT, it does have a special meaning for pat and i.
we went on our very first date on valentine's day.
it's kind of amazing i have a picture since it was a BLIND DATE!

a double blind date actually.
with chari gargan and jeff marsh.
it was 1996.
the guys picked chari and i up and we drove to staunton (a city about 30 minutes away from Harrisonburg)
in the car, they had made a mix tape (!) of disney "love" songs - like from little mermaid and aladdin. you know the ones. "it's a whole new world"...
we went to dinner at a restaurant that is an old train station.
the Pullman restaurant.
super cool.
and i can't remember anything after that.
(i didn't drink anything - i was 19 years old - my memories just end there.)

this frame hangs in our house.
all our valentine's days in college.

after our blind date as freshman, we started "dating".
but then, in april, we broke up.
(we had both just come out of SERIOUS relationships and he was a baby Christian. it wasn't the right time for us.)

but we were already in the same circle of friends.
so we saw each other often.
and became friends.
GOOD friends.
with no expectations since we'd already been down that road.
before we knew it, we couldn't live without each other.
seriously. other people saw it before we did.
we got back together "officially" the fall of our sophomore year.
went back to the same restaurant for valentines day the next year:-)

got engaged the summer between our sophomore and junior years.

and we got married in july between our junior and senior years.

so, as cheesy as valentine's day is, the date itself holds a special place in my heart.
i'm sure glad i agreed to go on that blind date!
{this is your valentine's day card, pat. i love you. and i'm sure glad i grew my bangs out}