15 years ago I started dating the love of my life. We were 17, seniors, and on a high school trip -- an optional weekend beach trip dubbed the "gender retreat", where the focus was to discuss gender roles in society (I think? I don't really remember that part, ha ha!). It was on the Oregon Coast, a bunch of our friends were there too, and it was a lot of fun. And the start of something pretty awesome...
Lonnie and I knew each other from French class. He knew all these cuss words and inappropriate slang picked up from playing rugby and hanging out in bars with his dad in Benin, Africa. I struggled endlessly due to my challenges with doing anything that requires auditory learning and memorization. I am sure we were less than stellar students in this class! But also because our school was small, everyone knew everybody. We had mutual friends, but didn't hang out much together until that fateful weekend.
And now! 15 years! A lot has happened in the interim! A crazyfun senior year together. A really hard and sad goodbye as the school year ended and we separated to different continents. College apart for 4 years, keeping in touch sporadically (we'd see each other in Seattle on school breaks, and once he drove through MN on the way across country and stayed in my dorm room!). Then reconnecting and doing the I-5 commuter relationship thing for a year and a half while I went to grad school. Finally moving in together and eventually getting married, getting a dog, yada yada yada (Emma, Elsie, Delia), and here we are today!
I can't believe how lucky I am to be here now, with him beside me. And this amazing family we have created!
And now, a few pics to take us down memory lane:
Us at graduation (June '95)
Lonnie at our graduation party
Lonnie and me in Seattle ('96 or '97?). We were so young!!!
