When Lotus asked me to guest post, I immediately had a panic attack, worried that I would never be able to think of anything to write on her blog that wouldn’t make people rush to that Unsubscribe button. And sure enough, my panic forced me to put writing this off to the end of the month. (Well, that and an extremely busy schedule and sick child. I suppose those had some impact, too.)

But then it occurred to me: since She of the Awesome Rack lets it all hang loose here in this space, I should take this opportunity to write something that I would never write on my own blog. Something that is too embarrassing or personal to leave in that permanent record for my daughters to stumble upon when they’re a little older. Hell, no – they’re going to have to work harder to find this post!

So let me tell you how my husband and I first got together.

It was 1998, and I was working at the Ohio Renaissance Festival. I had been interested in this guy we’ll call Justin…because that was his name. He was a bit of a playboy, but my 22 year old heart nether-regions found him irresistible. To my surprise, he began showing interest in me, too.

At this moment in the story, I should add that my husband is named Aaron.

Anyway, one day during rehearsals lunch break, in a more secluded area of the festival grounds, Justin and I suddenly hit it off and he kissed me. To my surprise, Justin tried to turn that kissing into more, and I refused. There were people not far away, and I didn’t feel comfortable taking things further since I didn’t really know him all that well yet. He whined that leaving him “unsatisfied” would leave him in pain, and I told him if he wanted more he’d have to wait.

He didn’t call me that week, and at rehearsals the next week he completely ignored me. I walked up to him at one point and asked, “Are you ignoring me?”

Justin huffed back at me, “No. If I was blowing you off, you’d know it.”

“Oh, so you’re ignoring me then. Fine.”

I was furious. Because I refused to put out right away, I was no longer interesting to him? I spent the rest of the day in a foul mood. At the end of the day, in the parking lot, one of my friends found me and told me she and some others were going out to eat, and invited me to join them to blow off steam.

Driving to the restaurant, I had a car full of people. One of those people was Aaron. I knew him a little from rehearsals, but didn’t really know much about him other than he was a newbie at the renaissance festival, and he had a girlfriend. In the car, I vented about Justin, and everyone began adding in their own frustrations about their significant others or those they liked at the moment. Aaron complained about his girlfriend – a girl who he saw rarely because she was off at school – and stated that as a result they decided to have an open relationship.

The conversation continued through dinner. After dinner I was invited back to the campground that several people were staying at that night. We stopped at the grocery on the way back and bought alcohol. (Because you know this story has to involve alcohol at some point.) I was still planning to go home later that night, so I reminded everyone that I wasn’t going to drink much, since I still had a 30 minute drive ahead of me.

Around the campfire, six of us told stories, sang songs, laughed and had a great time. Aaron had a cushioned mattress, so I made him share it with me because I didn’t want to sit on the hard ground. I had more to drink than I had planned on, and as the hours flew by, I quickly realized I was spending the night and phoned my mom to tell her not to expect me home.

I really don’t know when the attraction between Aaron and I started. It could have been at dinner. Or in the car. Or around the campfire. But by late in the night, as I sat close by him, sharing a blanket, I found my hand close to his, and then holding his hand. The air grew cold, and I snuggled closer for warmth. Sometime around midnight, most of the group fell asleep, and the two of us continued to talk. That talking led to kissing, and that kissing led to a lot of hand wandering.

Before the night was over with, we had sex. Crazy, right? Yeah, I know, especially considering I had scolded Justin for suggesting the same thing a week before. But unlike Justin, Aaron wasn’t pressuring me in any way, and I felt some insane connection with him. It’s like some little voice in my head knew we’d end up together.

(At this point in the story I always must add that I had NEVER done anything like that before. I wasn’t a virgin, but I also had only had one other partner – and that was during a long-term relationship.)

Aaron’s long-distance girlfriend eventually disappeared, although for some time he was dating both of us at the same time. Exactly three years after our night at the campground, he proposed. We’ve been together now for over ten years, and while we’ve had the normal stresses every relationship goes through, we love each other and we love our family.

Oh, and we invited Justin to our wedding. I made a point of thanking him for blowing me off that day in 1998. After all, if it wasn’t for Justin being an asshole, I’d have never married Aaron. (Thanks again, Justin!)

Now the only problem I have is trying to think of how I will EVER tell our daughters when they inevitably ask how mommy and daddy met and fell in love. I think we’re going to have to craft a new version of the story, where mommy is a virginal princess and daddy is a knight in shining armor saving her from an evil villian. Although when we hit the teen years, I’m completely screwed, because at that point there’s no way they’ll buy that.
_______________________________________________________________________________
When she’s not seeing Cupid’s wings on An Asshole (*snicker*), Christina leads a very full life. She is mother, wife, student, writer, reviewer, and woman. How she does it all and balances it with such grace, the world can only wonder. It’s definitely A Mommy Story.