By the time you read these, I may be a bit old to remember the details of how your mother and I came to be. My memory is not bad, although your mom would argue this fact to the death, and I still have a vivid picture of how things went.

I am going to do these posts in order, and will span them out to cover different monumental moments. This is the first in the series…how we met.

How We Met

First, let’s get this out of the way, your mom was 15 when I met her and I was 18. This is not a practice that I encourage, so don’t ever use this as justification. It was December of 2002 in Tucson, and your mom was visiting with her best friend who happened to be Cousin Elizabeth. There were the same age, and went to school together in Sun Valley. It was just a few days before the new year, maybe the 29th, and they were staying through the 3rd or so.

I had graduated high school in May of that year, and was back in Tucson after attending Eastern Arizona University for a semester to play baseball. I was burnt out on playing and would be attending Pima Community College in the spring in preparation for UA. This was during winter break.

Elizabeth had already been down for a little while and mom was flying in just for a few days. She almost never made it actually. Mom and Mia were driving to Boise for the flight in winter conditions when their car spun out on the road and they hit a snow embankment. Luckily they were not hurt, but had to be towed out and mom missed her flight. They almost turned around, which possibly would have changed both our lives forever, but she was able to jump on another flight.

Now, this is going to sound really corny but I swear it is the truth. I was working at a restaurant at the time, Old Pueblo Grill, as a bus boy. Part of the job was also doing security in the parking lot once a week or so. That night, I came home as I had recently moved back and was staying with Boppie while looking for a place, and your mom was there. I swear, no joke, the minute I saw your mom I knew I was in trouble.

She was there in jeans and a cute shirt, I has been patrolling a parking lot and was in a grey sweater and jeans and looked like a bum. I met your mom at the kitchen table and knew instantly that we had a connection. She did not have the same strong feeling, although she definitely had an interest me, but we instantly hit it off. Your mom was reserved and smiled a lot, she was just perfect.

Here was the problem, I had a girlfriend. I was still dating who ended up being my high school sweetheart, her name was Annie. We had been together, on and off, for about 3 years and since I had moved back we had been together and moving pretty quickly in terms of plans. Annie was a year younger than me, still a high school senior, and was really my first love. We had been through a lot together and really couldn’t imagine our lives without each other.

When I met your mom, she changed all that overnight…

I know it sounds ridiculous, but there was a shift in my feelings immediately. All I could think about is your mom, all I could dream about was finding a way to get her, and being the person I am that doesn’t give up on something they want I began to court her.

How Things Progressed

The days leading up to New Year’s Eve we talked, but she was really consumed with doing stuff with my sister and Elizabeth. I did get to see her here and there. I actually blew off a date with Annie one of those nights, saying that I was going to a movie with my dad, and got caught as she saw him at the movie. I blew it off because I knew your mom would be coming home while I was gone, and I didn’t want to miss her.

Annie was a very intuitive person, and one of the few people in the world that could see through my bullshit. Perhaps this was because she had so much practice, but regardless she was never someone that it was easy to lie to. Annie knew from the moment she met Caroline that there was something up. She even told me that she knew I liked you mom the very first time she met her and saw me with her. Annie was not really the jealous type at this point in our relationship either, so this comment really took me by surprise. But she was right and I knew it.

The day before the new year I took the girls, not including Annie, up to Phoenix to go shopping. This was the first time I really got any decent amount of time with mom. On the ride back, everyone fell asleep. After a little while your mom woke up and we got to talk the rest of the way home. She told me about her family, where she was from,  school and her ex-boyfriend. I was falling for you mom fast. That’s when new year’s eve came…

New Year’s Eve

On New Year’s Eve my best friend Mike was having a part that we were all going to. Now Mike is an awesome guy, was single at the time and a desirable dude. All week Elizabeth and my sister were working on fixing mom and him up as they were both single. Mom and Mike has a lot in common. Both came from wealthy families, both their dad’s were successful business men, both intelligent and shared a number of other similarities. On paper they were a great fit. That being said, their personalities could not be more different and they could not possibly disagree more on pretty much every social issue out there. Regardless, Mike is a smooth talker and mom was a beautiful girl.

Not mom’s best picture, but she was a little tipsy 🙂

Annie and I headed to the party a littler earlier than mom and the other girls. When they arrived, I remember this specifically, I was sitting on the counter with Annie standing between my legs and we were, well, flirting and such. Then I saw your mom. This is where any doubt about my feelings towards your mom in Annie’s eyes were put to rest, as I jumped down from the counter and went and gave your mom a big hug. This came to be known as the “prolonged hug” as Annie put it, and sent Annie into full defensive mode.

Meanwhile, Mike was working his angle on mom. Mom, and you can ask her about this as this is not just my opinion, was not really all about Mike and honestly I don’t think he was really all about her either. That being said, it was New Year’s Eve and decisions are not always thought through.

The night continued on, and midnight was approaching quickly. I had a pissed of girlfriend on my hands and couldn’t help but not care as I was focusing on mom too much to care. So when there was about a minute before midnight, and Annie and I were preparing to ring in the new year, all I could think about was your mom.

The moment came and went. I kissed my girlfriend, and your mom kissed my best friend. Oddly enough, rather than upsetting me or making me sad knowing that they kissed, it hardened my resolve. Annie was a a great girl and any guy would be lucky to have her, but it was at that moment I realized that things would never be the same between us. I thought over the previous days that perhaps this infatuation I had with your mom was just that, an infatuation, and that it would pass. After this night I knew that was not the case. After this night I knew that your mom and I had something, whether she knew it yet or not, and that I couldn’t rest until I either had her or gave it my best shot. My life literally changed that night, unknowing to me at the time, and things would be different from then on out.

Your mom was leaving in 2 days, and I had to see if what I thought was there actually existed…

2 Days To Go

Annie spent the night that night, and pretty much told me that she knew I had feelings for your mom. This was emphasized when I got up and went out in to the kitchen and found your mom there and talked to her for 30 minutes just to have Annie come out mad and call me back to bed.

Really didn’t get a lot of time with mom over the next couple days, until the night before she was supposed to leave. Everyone had fallen asleep and we stayed up talking, and flirting a bit. At this point I think we both knew something was going on, but with her in Sun Valley, me in Tucson, with a girlfriend and her in high school it seemed not just improbable but impossible.

That night though, and I never recommend cheating because it is bad, but your mom and I kissed for the first time. It was January 2, 2003, and it is was confirmed, for at least me, that I couldn’t just let this go. I had to pursue your mom no matter what that meant. Elizabeth wouldn’t like it, Annie wouldn’t like it, our parents wouldn’t like it and likely nor would any of our friends; but I could care less.

This is what sparked our relationship, and out of this a tremendous amount of effort, love, sadness, anger and a number of other emotions and actions would result. Your mom left the next morning without me knowing my next move, and left me thinking about if this was really feasible. I felt like I was in love with your mom then and there, a feeling I had never experienced before and definitely not this quickly. I pondered for days about what to do, and in the next post we will go into it.

Hope this gives you some insight into just how it all started. Can’t wait to tell you more.

Love, Dad