Moe and I met while we both lived in Sarasota. He had just moved to Florida from New York and I had been here about 2 years. We met while we worked at Old Navy, slaving away for a penny. He said he mentioned to his friend that I was someone that he would like to get to know. Knowing that he was new in town and he and his friend had NOTHING in their house, I asked my friend if we could donate some dinner plates to their cause! Haha!! She and I were getting an apartment together and we had too many sets of dishes :) When she met Moe, they instantly got along and talked about me, at length. Moe asked me for my phone number, so that he could let me know when he would be home to drop off the dishes (SURE). He called me one night, out of the blue, and asked me out. Sadly, I declined. I had an orchestra concert to go to that day and suggested that he come. It was my birthday weekend.
He came to our concert and said he fell in love. A few days later, he asked me to dinner again. This time I accepted. When our date night finally came, I went to his house to find that he had cooked, ALL DAY, for me. He made chicken Parmesan and hand dipped chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. It was sooooo good :) We laughed and talked all night. I knew then it was something that I wanted to pursue, wanted to see grow into something more than being friends.
Just as quickly as we met and began dating we moved in together. It was only about 2 months into our relationship, but it was right for us. So, he moved is "things" into our apartment in Bradenton. I say "things" because he literally came with only a foot locker and a backpack full of his belongings. That was it. It is comical now since he has become a pack rat and keeps EVERYTHING, but then he had little to carry around. We celebrated our friends getting engaged and moving in together (in Texas!), found that our lease was up and moved back to Sarasota.
About a year later he surprised me. He showed interest in marriage. We had both never really talked about it since we were both so skeptical to allow ourselves to get hurt again, but something had changed in both of our hearts and minds. Laying in bed one chilly November night, just about to fall asleep, we said goodnight to each other. Said I love you, like every night. He said "I love you more", to which I replied "No, I love YOU more" (of course). He asked me to prove it...he said "Marry me!" It was perfect. We had picked out a ring but not seriously. Now it was time to finalize it, so we made the first huge purchase of our lives together.
Our wedding was on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Outside, like I had always wanted. February...it was freezing cold the week prior, but Friday night it started to warm up, just for us. Our friends and family joined us to celebrate the first day of our lives as husband and wife, to share in the celebration of our lives joining and to party :) It was a truly wonderful day that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I could not have asked for a more perfect day!
Now, as I think back to that sunny afternoon, the images are just as vivid in my head as they were in person. Thank you, honey, for standing by me all of these years. For being my better half, my support and my true love. I cannot show you enough how grateful that I am for being my rock when I needed you most and telling me that I can do anything when I started back to school. Thank you for always helping me find my way and realize that my dreams can become our reality. I love you more than ever and always will. Happy anniversary. 5 years is a milestone. One of our first..........
