Day 222

I'd like to share this little modern love story:

Girl walks into a bar. In Queens. ("Elvis" is performing, collecting money for the children. In a year or so, it will be revealed that there were no children. The philanthropic Elvis is a fake and a scam.)

Girl hits on Boy. 

Flirting and beer-drinking ensue. Numbers are exchanged. 

A strange courtship begins. Girl and Boy go for runs through Forest Hills, meet up at the bar and the bowling alley. Their contact is sporadic. Boy continually insists he is moving to Spain. To build bridges.

After a few months, girl moves across a bridge, to Manhattan. 

Shortly thereafter, Boy shows up at Girl's door, insisting that they do dinner. (Note: In their three-month, sporadic "relationship," Girl and Boy have never shared a meal.) Girl, now working at a ridiculously crazy start-up that has her toiling away 19 hours a day in a 3 square-foot space, obliges. They dine outside at a laid-back upper Upper East Side establishment. She is wearing stained khakis.

A more traditional dating relationship ensues. There are dinners, movies and museum visits. There are many trips across the bridge. Life is good. 

Fast forward 2 years. Boy invites Girl to move to Colorado with him. Girl says likes her life in NYC publishing. 

Boy moves to California to live on the beach with Boy's younger friend. Girl is pissed. 

~To protect the innocent, the next part of this story will be summarized to this: For awhile they break up. But still visit and talk. It's all very dysfunctional. However, to deal with this drama, Girl trains for a Marathon with Team in Training, at the encouragement of Gabby Studenmund. She raises more than $5,000 for leukemia and lymphoma research and runs 26.2 miles in London. During this adventure, she meets amazing people, including Eliana Agudelo. ~

Boy decides to move back East to be with Girl (and near his family). They agree that Vermont sounds like a nice place to live.

Girl lands a fellowship in the nutrition department at UVM. Girl moves to Vermont with her cat Charlie  (may he RIP...)

Boy gets an engineering gig in Vermont.

Girl flies out West. Girl, Boy and all of Boy's belongings, including an awkwardly shaped chair procured in South Africa, spend 6 days driving across Canada in a Subaru Impreza. 

One year later, Girl and Boy buy their first home.

Then, Girl and Boy adopt Dempsey.

The next summer, Boy's BFF proposes to his girlfriend. Then Boy's other BFF proposes to his girlfriend. Weeks later, Boy proposes to Girl. (Sorry, Boy, Girl is a Journalist. Journalists state the facts.)

They plan a big wedding for October 9, 2004 (Happy Birthday, Deb Baer!). They send out Save the Dates, then ditch this plan and reschedule a teeny tiny ceremony atop Mt. Philo for July 17, 2004. Girl's mom says that sounds just fine to her - whatever makes Girl happy - but don't be surprised if people think that Girl is pregnant.

Girl is not pregnant. 

This happens:

Lots of excellent things occur: new nephews and another niece, parties round the fire pit, dancing in cabarets, another marathon, trips, hikes, house dormers, exciting new jobs, softball games, etc. (And some bad ones too: Chuck dies.)

Girl and Boy adopt two kitty sisters.

Girl gets pregnant for real. Thirty-five-and-a-half weeks later, this guy is born.

Life really gets fun. 

And then girl gets knocked up again... and 40 weeks later, this guy is born. Life really gets crazy, which is as it remains today, exactly eight years to the day that this photo was snapped by HT. 

Which - really - is just how the Girl likes it.