We Tied the Knot!

HOW DID DADDY AND MEGGY MEET? You walked over to each other. And Meggy said, "Who are you?" And he said, "I'm Daddy." "Okay, I'm how old are you? I mean, how um, how far away is your house?" And he said, "um, eight, and I mean eight months. When you press the button on the ground it makes coffee. Do you want some coffee?" And Meggy said yes. And I said "Okay I'm not allowed to have coffee." And Daddy said, "Well, you, you have to come over here if you want some." And Meggy said, "Okay. I'll be there in two hours. The ground's lava." HOW DID DADDY AND MEGGY START DATING? Meggy was like so nice. Like so nice. And so pretty. Like POW! PUNCH! So pretty. And I love you Meggy. (stops to caress Meagan's cheek.) And she like POW! And then Daddy with his spider webs like POW! caught you! Thwip! And then happy ever after.

The summer after my freshman year of college, I started working at a local bakery. Pablo was already working there. I quickly chalked him up as a flirt and a bit too worldly for my tastes. "Tolerable, I suppose, but not enough to tempt ME. " We worked well together. The bakery expanded to a cafe, I became a barista, a waitress, a cake decorator. He was a prep cook, a line cook, a baker. We each left the job and came back - he went off with the National Guard, I went to Wilmington, then to Florida. I appreciated his dedication to his work and his honesty. But I couldn't take him seriously. "There goes Pablo being a flirt again." He told me he would marry me one day, and I rolled my eyes and went home and laughed with my sisters about it. "What does he think I am, some 15 year old who'll fall head over heels at a line like that?" Fast forward 6 years or so. I'd been sent home a year before from the convent I found so beautiful. Trying to discern God's will was like trying to choose between blank pieces of paper. Finally my spiritual director said to me - "I think it's clear that for now, at least, God intends you to be in the world. Be open to the here and now. And be open to dating." And that Wednesday, I received a friend request from Pablo. He had a 2 year old son - Ian. Between the convent and the military, we found we could relate to each other. He made no attempt to hide his interest in me, and with my spiritual director's advice echoing in my ears, I agreed to coffee on Saturday. 40 minutes became 3 hours. Was this the same person I'd worked with? When did he get so humble? When did he get so perceptive and considerate? Since when did he have this drive to be good? I was nervous about the relationship, so I'd bring questions and issues quietly to prayer. Pablo would unwittingly address each one the next time we talked. We went for long walks together down Laboratory Mill Road, I met Ian and his family, he met mine. I could not help loving a man who was so humble, so actively determined to please God and be a good father, and so in love with me. On September 8th, we went for another walk down Laboratory Mill Road and came back engaged.