He Said, She Said...

In honor of our upcoming anniversary I thought I would do something a little different. I asked my husband to write down his version of the first time we met. While he did that, I wrote down my version. So without further ado...

October 15, 1994

What he remembers...

I remember so long ago, a few days after Mother's funeral, Christy asked me if she could take James to the Knoxville Zoo.  I agreed and met her at my brother, Joe's apartment the morning of the trip.  I recall Christy knocking at the door and coming in as I was sitting on Joe's couch that faced the window.  The guys may have been playing video games.  Christy asked if I wanted to go and I decided that I would go at the last minute.  I do not remember if Shelley actually came up the stairs or if she waited in the car cause Lauryn was strapped in the car seat, but the first memory I have of seeing her was as I climbed into the backseat and sat behind her.  I commented on Shelley's Red Hair which came out differently than I had imagined it in my mind before it slipped out.  I remember the car ride to the zoo sitting back there with Lauryn and James.  When we got out, I picked Lauryn up and lifted her in the air since she was so small and light then asked if I could carry her.  I can't remember how long I got to carry her around the zoo, but since she was so small and light it did not bother me.  I remember the lunch we ate at the picnic table and the polar bear rubbing his back against the fence.

What she remembers...
A friend, Joe, at work had lost his mother. I was not able to attend the funeral since Lauryn was sick and I couldn't find a babysitter. Everyone was going to the funeral. On the weekend following a co-worker, Christy, had invited Lauryn and I to go to the zoo. She wanted to do something for the family and thought she would take Joe's nephew, James to the zoo. He was 4 1/2 so Christy thought Lauryn and I would enjoy the visit as well.

That morning we drove to Joe's apartment, where the family was staying, to pick up James. As I walked in the apartment three men sat on an old sofa watching TV and playing video games. Jay (and possibly another) were wearing sunglasses. The TV was in front of a large window and the sun was shining directly on to the sofa. I remember thinking that was odd. Christy talked. I didn't say much. I was rather quiet back then (hard to believe, I know). Plans were set and somehow they now included little James's dad, Jay. Somewhere on the way we stopped to get gas. I also bought gum...Big Red to be exact. Jay said he liked that kind so I offered him a piece. Then he sat behind me (I was driving) and said the now infamous, "Your hair...it's...so...RED!"

Strike one!

I remember driving and thinking "What jerk." Who knew that was to be a compliment? After we all arrived at the zoo we unloaded the kids. James was eager to get going and Lauryn, just over a year old, was content for this stranger to pick her up and hold her. At some point in the parking lot he asked what her name was again and I reminded him it was Lauryn. To this he replied, "Lauryn? What kind of name is that? Sounds like the Alpo dog food guy." That would be Lorne Green who did the old Alpo dog food commercials.

Strike two!

Throughout the day we wandered around the zoo. The five of us, paused for lunch and sat at a picnic table. The kids were quiet and the adults got to talk a bit more. He said he was going to visit an "old friend" I remember thinking that's code for a girl. I specifically remember the polar bears. We now have a Christmas ornament on the tree to remind us of that day. It is two polar bears. :-)

I think I later learned that Christy had purposefully tried to introduce us. She thought we would have a lot in common. Little did she know we would have a lifetime in common...