The year was 1999.
His hair was blonde. Glasses thick and black rimmed. I believe he was channeling Buddy Holly.
I was set up on a blind date, by a good friend of mine and his girlfriend. We met at his parents house (we were all in college... ) and went from there. We ended up at a beach in Wells, Maine. Ringing in a time of uncertainty. For all we knew the world was going to end with the year 2000, and if we were going to be anywhere, it was to be a peaceful spot with crisp salt air. My friend and his girlfriend are now engaged. Me and Buddy Holly? We didn't click. Not even on a chilled romantic New Years Eve beach setting.
As my mother in law said over Christmas "Thank goodness that didn't work out!"
Less than a mile away, unbeknown to me, sat my future husband with his family. I kid you not.
Ten years later I sit in the same condo he sat with his family. My family is currently getting tucked into bed. I'm sitting, waiting for my husband to emerge from the kids room so we can have our own quiet, intimate, new years celebration.
This past decade... the thought of it all brings me to tears. There was so much. There was heartache, pain, memories that shall never be brought back to the surface. But there was love. Lots of love. Falling, and diving, and swimming in love. Marriage, and pregnancy, and babies. Friendships dove, and then resurfaced. Bonds of motherhood. Bonds of womanhood. Bonds of marriage. Bonds of family. This past decade held so much. So much of who I am, and who I strive to be. It's the decade that I remember most vividly, painfully, joyfully.
As we sit tonight, glasses in hand, views of the beach both of us knew before we knew each other, we remember. And rejoice in the now. And what is meant to be, and has been, and is presently.
Once again, Happy New Year. Here's to a breathtaking 2010, filled with joy, laughter, and an abundance of hope.