How Joe and I Met

So... I know a lot of people do know this story, but more people do not. It's kinda fun so let's get started. When I was a freshman in college it was my last day living in the dorms and I was getting all packed up to go home for the summer.  In order to get to my car which was parked in a lot very far away, I had to take the cambus to get there. I remember walking up to the bus stop with my suitcase in hand and ipod in my ears and while I was there I was scoping out the other people who were also waiting for the bus. Then I saw Joe. He caught my eye because he was wearing a black shirt, black dress pants, a Hurley belt, and Converse shoes. I thought the combination was pretty unique. When I got on the bus he was sitting pretty much across from me. I caught him looking in my direction a couple of times, but thought nothing of it. I reached my stop and went on my merry little way. I drove back home to Des Moines, got settled in, and popped on the computer to check my facebook. (Facebook was new the year I went to college and it was still a novelty to me, but 7 years later I'm still just as addicted to it as I was then.) I had a message waiting for me when I got on. A message... from the boy I saw at the bus stop. WHAT THE HECK?! HOW DID HE KNOW WHO I WAS?! well .. the message is long since gone but I do remember the gist of what it said...

"Hi, my name is Joe. I've been seeing you around campus and I think you're really cute. I hope you don't think I'm a stalker or weird. I just wanted to say hi and I was wondering if I could take you out on a date sometime."

Now... as I look back on it I should have been more like "Um, that doesn't explain how you know my name. You are weird. Thanks but no thanks."

But there was just something about him. After doing some picture stalking of my own, I decided "why not?!" and I told him yes, I would go out with him. Well he lived in Iowa City still so he drove ALL the way to Des Moines to meet me one afternoon. It didn't last long. I met him in a parking lot. We drove around... went to Sonic. That was it. Nothing special. No sparks. Haha. I tried it out a couple more times but I was just young and didn't know what a good guy was. So eventually Joe and I just became friends. Sort of. We didn't really talk much. Soon after he died his hair black, pierced his lip, wore Blink182 shirts, and dated my roommate. So... no, we weren't friends at all.

(4 years later)

Joe and I hadn't talked or even seen eachother for a really long time. For some reason, one day he passed through my mind. I decided to hop back on facebook (afterall, isn't that how you keep in touch these days?) and see what he was up to. I saw someone I didn't recognize. Someone with a military hair cut, muscles, and fatigues for the US Air Force. He was practically unrecognizable. Now, Joe has always been good looking, but the past 4 years had been good to him!

So I re-added him, and literally minutes later he messaged me. Now the story gets EVEN BETTER from there. After about a week or two of talking every day... he told me that he was going to be home for a week before he got deployed in a month. He asked me to go on a date. This time I drove to Iowa City and met up with him. This time we met in the Ped Mall... had sushi.. and stayed out having drinks and talking nonstop. Now here is the REALLY amazing part. Joe was wearing both a necklace and a watch that I really didn't like. (I'm not particular on guys clothing but I'm not fond of their jewelry usually) Well while we were sitting and talking... his necklace just broke and fell to the floor. A little while later, the button on his watch popped off. Then I realized. THIS IS A SIGN. I joke and say that God was really working in Joe's favor trying to get me to like him. Haha. Well all that didn't need to happen for me to take a liking to him. He looked different, but he was the same nice, funny guy I remembered.

Before he left for Georgia he invited me to come to a wedding with him so we could spend a little more time together. I did and it was so much fun. We danced and had such a great time. Such a great time, in fact, that when he asked me to come visit him in Georgia literally days before he deployed to Bahrain, I did. That is totally not like me. I would never fly all the way to Georgia to spend a weekend with someone who a) I only went on 2 dates with in the past 4 years and b) was being deployed for 6 months.

To my parent's surprise, and my own, I flew down. Had a great weekend, and from there we have been together. Although we had really only been talking for about 6 weeks before he was deployed, we stuck together the 6 months he was gone. I have a box FULL of letters and cards. We skyped frequently and he called me when he could. That is how we truly got to know eachother. And this time, I knew he was a keeper.

So here we are, 2 years later and I'm living in Albuquerque with him. Every day he makes me laugh and I couldn't be more thankful. I know that was a long story, but wasn't it a good one?!

(ps... I later found out that he knew my name because he lived in the same dorm as me and he found out which floor I was on. I was on 12 and he was on 11... and he knew where I was because when we would happen to be in the elevator together I would stay on when he got off. He "searched" 12th floor Slater" on FB.. saw a picture with me tagged in it and VOILA.. found out my name. Very interesting and kind of creepy how the internet works. I then asked him why he never said anything to me on the bus.. his perfect opportunity. His response? "You were listening to your ipod! I wasn't about to interrupt you!")

THROWBACK! This picture was taken a couple months after we met (2006)

 

 A picture I took from Skype when he was in Bahrain (2010)

 

In January when he came back (2011)

Fall of 2011.. our first Iowa game

 

 



Us now! 2012