How We Met

Our anniversary reminded me that it would be nice to tell the story of how we met.

Shawn and I actually met on a blind date. Back in 2002, we were set up by his brother, Paul (a photo of our matchmaker (with his wife, Mary) is below).

Paul and I worked together at a local department store at the time and he asked if I might like to go out with his younger brother. After he exhaustively listed all of Shawn’s good qualities to me, Paul gave him a call and then handed the phone over to me. Shawn sounded sweet and quirky, so we agreed to meet for dinner on the evening of February 5th. I was 21 and still in college at the time and Shawn was five years older with a steady job and his own house, so I may have been a bit intimidated when I first met this handsome older man. We met at a restaurant by my college that is now (sadly) closed. We ended up having a lot in common (including our birthdays which were only four days apart). Needless to say, we had a great time talking and eating and made plans to go out again.

Our second date we ordered Chinese food and watched a movie at Shawn’s house (where I remember thinking that his décor did not look horrible). Our third date was on Valentine’s Day, which would have been a lot of pressure for anyone but Shawn. He bought me a sweet little gift (flowers and balloons) and then planned a romantic dinner at a very nice restaurant that overlooked a local river.

This may sound strange, but by our fourth date, after knowing each other for only two weeks, Shawn and I decided we were in love and wanted to get married. God was speaking to our hearts, and who were we to contradict God? We got engaged a few months later in June and were married the following June (in the same week as our birthdays). When he asked me to marry him, Shawn took me on a weekend trip to Amish country and rented a suite at a charming little bed and breakfast. There he pulled out a gorgeous diamond ring and told me I was his best friend and asked me to be his wife. I can’t say that I was surprised (like I said, we had been talking about marriage since our fourth date), but that didn’t stop me from being overwhelmed with joy.

Sigh. Remembering all of this is making me feel all giddy. And incredibly sappy!

-- Lisa