Friday, November 19, 2010

First Gifts Blog Hop

When I met my husband for the first time, I was sixteen. I had narrowed down my college choices and decided to attend a summer music workshop at my favorite one. On my first day there, as I sat in the cafeteria with my roommate, a guy walked up to the table. “Hi, I’m John. Can I sit with you guys?” he asked. He was a music and French major at the college and was helping out with the workshop that summer.

We remained friends, and I was excited to have know someone on campus when I arrived there for my freshman year. But John had gone to spend the year going to school in France. At the time, neither of us had email, so we sent letters back and forth across the Atlantic – hundreds of letters! I ran to my mailbox every day looking for an airmail envelope from him. While we’d been friends before, we became much closer that year; we talked about absolutely everything in our letters. Near the end of the school year, we both knew that things had changed between us, and I counted the days until he returned to the States.

John lived in the Boston area and I lived near Philadelphia, so we didn’t get to see each other the moment he returned home. So at the beginning of that summer, I planned a trip to Cape Cod. Yes, it was a vacation, but more importantly, it was my first chance to see John face to face in more than a year. I ran out of the rental cottage, hugged him, and he asked “do I get to kiss you now?” (I hear all of you out there saying “awww” right now!)

He gave his first gift to me then, his high school class ring. I wore it on a chain around my neck until we got engaged a little more than a year later. We were married the summer after I graduated from college, and we just celebrated our fifteenth wedding anniversary this August. Our children are our three cats, ranging in age from 14 to 3. He still brings me gifts for no reason – like the roses he brought home for me earlier this week! 

17 comments:

  1. You have a keeper, Jen. Great story!
    Bobbye

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  2. Aww, I got shivers reading that story! And I miss writing and receiving letters--it's such a lovely way to fall in love. :)

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  3. "Do I get to kiss you now?" Okay, that makes me cry. What a sweet guy! And you'll always have those letters. Great, great story!

    Thanks so much for sharing, Jennifer, and for being part of the Blog Hop! xo

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  4. "Do I get to kiss you now?" gets me too. Loving these stories : )

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  5. Aw, that is so sweet. Wonderful story!

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  6. Adoptive Mother, this story is so sweet and just so typical of you with the whole, "Do I get to kiss you now" moment. But it's incredibly touching. You and John demonstrate to me every day what I hope to get some day, and I love you both so much. You are a fantastic writer! And you wonder why Magick Charm is my favorite book now

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  7. I completely agree that John is a keeper! And I still have everyone one of those letters.

    @Adoptive Daughter, don't make me cry!

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  8. So sweet. I love love letters. Best friends turned lovers are the greatest kind.

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  9. Do you still ask each other, "Do I get to kiss you now?"

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  10. AWWWWW!! I loved this. And ditto what Rachel said - best friends turned lovers are by far the best!

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  11. @Rachel and Heather, yes, marrying my best friend was the smartest thing I ever did!

    @Traci - After John read this blog today, he came home and asked my that very question! He's such a romantic!

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  12. Congrats on fifteen years together! Yes, what a smart thing you did (and I'm betting he's kinda proud of himself too). Thanks for sharing your story!

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  13. Hi,

    That is such a lovely tale, and I'm gonna say it all over again, to you: you gotta fit this into a novel somewhere along the way. ;)

    best
    F

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  14. Great romance story--would make the basis for a good novel that I'd want to read!
    My boyfriend gave me his class ring, but I wore it on my finger with lots of tape instead of on a chain!

    Monti
    NotesAlongTheWay

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  15. Letters are so much more personal. Sometimes I write my husband notes to tell him how I am feeling. Sometimes the words just mean more on paper.
    Wonderful story. Thanks for sharing.

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