Ten Years

A couple weeks ago Bill took me downtown under the intent of getting dinner...

I was flash mobbed and we were remarried instead.

A participant remarked to me how, "I guess you are always prepared for something like this when you're married to Bill Habicht."

and the short answer is, "yes."  

and the long answer is, "no."
Is it possible to be prepared for unimaginable love?

When I was 14 I spent the night at a friend's and she played Depeche Mode's Somebody while we drifted to sleep.

The deepest place of my heart moved and I had the idea that I would never share the song with anyone,

 save the one i married.

 a musical True Love Waits :)

Bill and I met during seminary orientation--Labor Day weekend 1999.

What i remember is we were both outside on a patio, waiting for an afternoon session to begin.  The average age of the incoming student was 36 & most everyone i had met was married.  These two things were odd  for me, having just left undergrad where my peers were all in a similar demographic.  In two days I had picked up the habit of looking at everyone's left hand.  Bill was wearing a ring.

What he remembers is meeting me later in the day while playing pool with some other guys.  My hair was really short--almost a buzz cut.  I was wearing cammo pants.  He thought it possible my sexual preference might not include him.

As it turns out, neither of us were entirely accurate in our initial assessments.

Our shared mutual interests and a common love for making others laugh made us fast friends.  By the time I went home for Thanksgiving break I was calling him "my best friend."
It was safe to be his friend.
Although there had been moments I thought "maybe...."
Like when i felt the flames of jealousy after he went on a date with another girl.
Like when he took a picture of us to send to his family--labeling it, "my fiance."
Like when he tried to kiss me.
Like one day in early November when Bill showed up to my dorm room, went over to my cd collection and told me to turn around.  I did, and then panic set in--right before the music started i started to yell "stop!" but it was too late.
The first notes of Somebody began to play.
:)
I threw him out of my room.
and then proceeded to tell God all the reasons why it wasn't true.
It couldn't be true.

Coming back from Thanksgiving, a wise friend* picked me up from the airport and we shared dinner.  She asked me, "Amy, when do you think you'll admit you're in love with Bill?"
I just stared at her,
laughed,
denied,
went home and cried the ENTIRE night.
i was overwhelmed with love.
i saw my life literally unfold before my eyes.
i saw my life with Bill.

The next day was Sunday. Coming back from church I saw his car in the parking lot.  I went inside my dorm building and across the large room there he was picking up his mail.  Our eyes met.
Everything had changed.
We made plans for later that night.
He kissed my cheek.
We had begun.
There was never a build up to the "I love you's." From those first moments when Bill and I saw each other for who we really were--
we chose to love.

Fast forward a couple of years.
It was my 25th birthday--August 4, 2001.
We set off on a road trip to West VA with the premise of meeting up with some of Bill's college friends.
We took back roads.  Stopped at small cafes in small towns.  Took black & white photos of flowers.
Just about every location had a tiny church that we would notice.
Finally, after a long day in the car we stopped at a lake and fed ducks,
crossed a covered bridge,
saw a field of horses,
followed by a field of sheep,
and then a sweet little white church in the middle of green.
Stop for a picture?
of course!
Just as I started to pose I heard music playing.
Somebody?
Here?
What?
Bill took my hand and we walked inside the chapel to find a room full of flowers, candles and our song.
Tears were shed.
A question asked.
The answer my heart had already given at 14--
yes.

Thank you to Stephanie Nuccitelli for the photos!

*Thank you Robin Hogle for the rest of my life.