Our Story, Part Two...

"Smookie Wookie Love Story", continued...



Part One only covered the ten month span BEFORE we began dating! Now, I'll get into the fun, mushy stuff. :)


Our first date was on Homecoming Weekend my senior year. I was on homecoming court, so the weekend was filled to the brim with activities. By the time Saturday night rolled around, I was a bit sleepy...but still excited about the date I had that night! Mark picked me up and met my WHOLE family. I mean aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, parents...the works. Of course, it's no surprise that Mark did an amazing job of winning them all over instantly. :)

We went to dinner with the roommates and wives, who I loved already. There was easy conversation and lots of laughter throughout dinner at Cypress Street. Then, it was off to the musical. It was something about businessmen. That is all I remember. I literally dozed off a few different times from pure exhaustion! I'm sure Mark saw my sleepy state...I had no way to make myself wake up though!

After the musical, he asked me to coffee, at which point, my brain was mush. I tried so hard to make good conversation. But, I have no doubt that I was lacking the ability to make true coherent statements about anything, much less the bigger "first date" kinds of topics. Oh well. I guess he still liked me anyway.

He asked me to church and lunch the next day...to which I did half. My roommates and I had already planned to go to church together and have a "cooked" lunch at our own house. So, I invited him over for the lunch part of the day. It was a fun afternoon of talking more, and lounging around before he took off for Dallas.

Now, I need to stop giving every detail...because this blog will never finish. But, I will say that he called a couple of times over the next two weeks. We talked a while the first time he called. And, after that, I wasn't the best at calling him back. I was busy...and, really, I wasn't sure about "committing" to something. I really don't know why! He has told me since then that he had already decided that this was my test: I was coming to Dallas to visit my sweet friend, Alyssa two weeks after our first date. And, he already knew I was planning that trip. Since I hadn't called him in a few days, he said "If she doesn't even call me when she comes to town, then I know this isn't going anywhere." And, believe me, I went back and forth about what to do! But, long story short, I called, with great encouragement from Alyssa. We went to dinner with Alyssa, and then went out on another date the next day.

From then on, I was completely falling for him. He came to Abilene, I came to Dallas, and we dated long distance for six months. A few things I remember from that time:

*The first time he held my hand...on Kevin and Lacy's couch during the movie "American President". :)

*Our first kiss...on my parents couch, after he had spent the whole day with my family at the Christmas Parade in Ft. Worth...carrying my baby sister on his shoulders, and truly getting to know my sisters and parents.

*My trip to meet him in California at Christmas, three months after we began dating. I got to meet his entire family. His parents, his brother Chris (I already knew his roomie/sister Jodi!), Grandmother and Grandad, his Aunt Carol, Uncle Chuck, Kristen and George, and more! I also went to Disneyland for the first time, as well as a whole lot of other California touristy sites.

*He told me he loved me on that trip. We were sitting in the floor, and he pulled out his Bible, read I Corinthians 13 out loud, and told me that he wanted to be all of those things for me, and love me that way. SO sweet...and little did I know then how really good he would be at loving me.

*I remember many more dates that were romantic and planned, as well as many nights of just relaxing and talking. I loved our dating life, even though it consisted of weekends only. It made us really focus on our time when we did have it...and I actually cringe when I re-read our folder full of cheesy emails we wrote back and forth during the weeks we were apart. Oh, we were SO mushy!!

*Sometime during this span of time, we began making fun of our cute married friends Kevin and Lacy, who had MANY pet names for each other that made us all laugh. So, in their honor, we jokingly started referring to each other as Smookie Wookie...I am still not sure when that name "stuck". But, we've been each others' "smooks" ever since. I know, I know.

In May, I moved to Dallas to attend grad school. That was a rough month for us, as we transitioned into a different kind of relationship. What would I have done without Alyssa, who let me share her couchbed, set up my closet on wheels in her bedroom, and was patient enough to give me hours of her listening time, as I tried to figure out life. Alyssa, I will NEVER forget those summer months that year. That, my friends, could be its own blog entry!!

Back to Mark and me. After a rough couple of weeks, we broke up in early July for two days. Believe me, I remember every detail of those days too. But, I'll spare you the play-by-play. By the end of the two days, Mark was waiting at my house when I got home. He said the time apart was all he needed to know he would never lose me again. Very sweet and romantic. :) And, just what I needed to slip right back into my role as "smooks".

After spending practically every single day together from July to December, we were engaged in December of 1998, when Mark surprised me...there was dancing outside at the Fountain Place in downtown Dallas (my favorite business building in the area), gladiolas (my favorite flower at the time), followed by a FANCY dinner at the Fairmount Hotel. Once again, there is more to that story...which will be another time in another blog. But, it was very sweet and began our engagement months in a wonderful way.

We were married on July 24, 1999, and the rest is history! I feel like this is only the beginning of our story together---and there is never enough words to tell it all. There was so much we didn't know about each other in those early months...and yet, we knew enough to know that it was meant to be...forever. He was my smookie then, and always will be. :) I love you, Mark!! Happy Anniversary.