Twenty

Twenty years seems like an amount of time worth noting, doesn't it? Normally Jeff and I say to one another on this day something about the first time he asked me out, just kind of an a recognition between the two of us. Somehow it seemed noteworthy to me to document this in a more formal way today, as it was twenty years ago that "we" began.

Twenty years ago we were sophmores in high school. He was a thin basketball player and I had big hair. Though we had mutual friends and were in the same academic track in English, this was the first time we really had any extended contact with one another. My smarts ended at math and science while his extended to all subject areas. He played basketball... did I mention I had big hair? I'm not sure we were all that compatible.

When I met him, I thought he had to be one of the nicest guys on the planet, and as I got to know him really enjoyed conversations with him. As time went on, I heard rumors that he wanted to ask me out. I didn't think I was interested until an acquaintance mentioned that she was. I believe my competitiveness kicked in or something, and when my good friend Radha told me she had it on good authority that Jeff Rozelle wanted to ask me out, I casually mentioned I would tell him "yes." She apparently relayed this information to him, and at our wedding reminded us that this marriage was made possible by her matchmaking.

Who knows why some people grow together and some apart. Obviously Jeff and I aren't the same people we were as teenagers, yet with the exception of a big break up in the summer of 1992, we somehow grew in the same direction: together. In the early days, when things are about the ride and not the long term, I remember thinking, "For some reason, no matter what happens with this relationship, I have a feeling I'll be great friends with this guy for a really long time." I wasn't right about much when I was a teenager, but twenty years later, "this guy" is my best friend.