10 years ago today... I was a nervous wreck standing in front of my closet not knowing what to wear. Our Humanities class was taking a field trip to a museum and we were told to wear dressy clothes; I finally decided on a purple 3/4 length v-neck shirt that I had bought in Paris and a black knee length skirt with a slit on the lower thigh. I was so nervous that you wouldn't be there, I didn't even know if you were going to go or not. We had only begun talking for about a month or so prior but I knew this day would change everything, little did I know just how much this day would change my life, our lives. I was 15, you were 18. I had mentioned you to my parents around Thanksgiving break and then again in December. Somehow my Mom knew this was going to be different then any other relationship I had been in, or hoped at that time to be in. I remember she was so excited that I might be dating a Senior during my Sophomore year, I think she had already begun to dream about prom... I got on the bus and waited with some of the worst butterflies I had ever felt. I got to Mrs. Shannon's class where everyone was waiting, it was almost time for the bell to ring and you still weren't there. At this point my heart sank, you were late to school and we were fixing to leave in ten minutes when you finally walked in the door. I can still remember the way you looked when you walked in, tan slacks and a blue polo shirt with a squarish pattern on it. You came and sat down next to me with your best friends behind us. I couldn't believe you finally made it. It was time to go to the bus, I remember walking behind you wondering where I was going to sit. I wanted so badly to sit with you but I was to scared to ask you. Finally you asked me if I was sitting anywhere and when I answered no, you asked me to sit with you. So there we were on the bus. Nathan was sitting across from us and Howie was behind him. I don't really remember what all we were talking about but at one point we began to hold hands, I remember Nathan looking at you and then teasing you. You didn't even care. You had to hold one of your hands over your eyes to talk to me because the sun was coming in right through my window. We talked and laughed the entire way to the museum. After arriving at the museum we took in the sights, including the Mona Lisa, and just enjoyed each others company. Eventually you left my side to hang out with your friends. I remember my heart sank, that was it I thought. "What would he see in some boring 15 year old anyway" I remember walking around alone not really paying any attention in particular to what I was seeing, what seemed like hours passed by as minutes and you found my side again. We resumed our conversation, picking back up right where we left off. Soon it was time to load back up into the bus and head to lunch at Ci Ci's Pizza. We got a table to ourselves and started to get our pizza from the buffet. I remember being so nervous the entire time, I don't think my heart ever took a break from racing the entire day. Lunch was wonderful and interesting. I was so nervous and having never been to Ci Ci's before I just picked up some pizza that looked harmless enough. Cheese and sausage, or so I thought. It was the most disgusting pizza I had ever tasted, all I remember was that it was nasty and had some sort of bacon and ranch on it. I was so scared you would think badly of me if I didn't eat what I had got I managed to finish it, I still don't know how I ate it. It was that bad. After we ate we went into the arcade portion and watched your friends play the games and then just like it started we were getting on the bus to go, hand in hand once again. When we arrived back at school you didn't grab my hand and I was too afraid to grab yours, I was too afraid to mess up a good thing. The bell rang for dismissal just a few short minutes after we arrived back at school. We had just enough time for you to write you cell phone number down on a ripped piece of paper. (Oh how I wish I still had it...) Our first day together had ended, and I had no idea the journey we would go on together or how just a simple field trip had the ability to make our two worlds collide in such a way that we would never let go of one another.
KS and I never "officially" went out, he never asked me to be his girlfriend. We just were, it was an unspoken thing between us. We didn't need the high school will you "go out" with me stuff. We were what we were; a couple. A month after the field trip we had our first kiss, which was completely unheard of at the time. To wait a month before kissing, everyone thought it was crazy, but you see I was KS's first and only girlfriend and he wanted to make sure I was the right one. Shortly after our first kiss we told each other that we loved one another and then by three months into our relationship we were talking about marriage. That is right, I was barely a month or so into being 16 and we were already talking about getting married. We knew we were it for each other. There was no one else out there for us, we had met our soul-mates.
Eight years ago today we went on a date that would once again change our lives. It started off at a steak house and a romantic dinner for two. I was a nervous wreck once again, but that is because I knew what was coming I just had no idea when or where. After dinner, which I barely ate, we were on the road. KS was trying to take me back to the place where our lives changed forever, the museum, but it wasn't meant to be. He couldn't find it and finally in frustration broke down and asked me if I could remember where it was. Needless to say I could not, so we ended up pulling over into the parking lot of the city paper. It was right on the river and although it wasn't the beautiful gardens of the museum it was still beautiful to look at, and will forever hold a special place in my heart. I could tell KS was nervous, and he isn't the nervous type. Finally he walked over to me, looked down into my eyes and said "Charity, will you marry me?" of course I said yes. That was a given but it was wonderfully sweet. When we got back into the car we drove three more blocks and there it was, the museum. So you see, this was the first thing KS ever asked me. It was never "will you go out" with me, but "Will you marry me?" Really it says a lot about our relationship, we always knew that we would marry. It was never a question of yes or no, but of when.
