Happy Wednesday! It’s raining here. So I left school as soon as possible (I meant to leave at 3:00 right after PTT but, instead, I left at 4:00. Which is not right after, but it’s pretty darn good for me!), made some hot coffee, reunited with PJ, and sat down on the couch with a warm blanket. HAPPY SIGH.
In honor of Valentine’s Day (yes, I know that was yesterday and that some of you would like to forget about it, but just hold on), Chrissy at Buzzing with Ms. B. is having a linky party about How You Met Your Hunny. I LOVE this. I wanted to post it yesterday but that post was taken for Talk About It Tuesday. And I didn’t want anyone to get upset with me for delaying it. So here I go. I’m a little late to the party but I’m going!!!! And by the way, if you don’t follow Chrissy, get over there now and follow her. She cracks me up!!!!
SO!!! Clear throat. Cough. Is this thing on?
How I Met My Hunny:
I was 18 and a freshman at a community college. I worked at a telemarketing company because, back then, people were allowed to call you if they wanted to. It didn’t matter if you didn’t want them to. We called you anyway. And cell phones didn’t really exist for “regular people”. Maybe rich people, but not regular people so we called you at your home. Usually during dinner. I talked to some really nice people during the dinner hour. No one was ever rude to me or anything.
So, out of the blue one day, I saw this cute boy in a black truck drive into the parking lot. He was blasting the song “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers from his car stereo. (I actually just had to look that up. I don’t know who sings it. I just know it’s from the movie Ghost. Which was very popular back then.)
This cute guy had “Unchained Melody” playing. Not rap. Not heavy metal. Not even pop. He had a romantic tune playing. “Who is this guy?” I would ask myself from the driver’s seat of my Volkswagen Rabbit convertible (just like the girl’s car in Can’t Buy Me Love). I’m pretty sure that Skid Row was playing from my car stereo. Or Bon Jovi. Or Poison.
Once inside the building, I’d lose him. “Where did he go?” I would ask myself as I called people to tell them that they had been selected to receive a free trip to Las Vegas or Big Bear. I did all this while wearing Bongo jeans and a scrunchie in my hair. I looked great.
That went on for about a week. He would pull up in the parking lot, Unchained Melody playing, and then I’d never see him inside. It was really strange. A career in detective work was out of the question for me. Obviously.
Until one day.
ONE DAY.
(You really ought to play Unchained Melody while you read this next part. It would make it very dramatic.)
One day, I was between angry people phone calls, and I heard the most wonderful sound behind me.
A southern accent.
To back up just a bit, I moved from Oklahoma to California in the middle of my junior year. It was T.E.R.R.I.B.L.E. The only thing that really saved me was my twin. We ate lunch together. Otherwise, I would have been by myself. We were so homesick. As a matter of fact, Kerry moved back to Oklahoma when we were 20 and has never lived here since (please pause while I grab a kleenex and sob into it). I made a few friends in highschool here but not really (as in, I don’t talk to anyone from my California high school anymore). The boys were really friendly and the girls . . . notsomuch.
When I heard that southern accent behind me, I was momentarily transported back to Oklahoma and all of the really nice people there. It felt like home.
I wish you could HEAR this next part because I’m going to talk in my accent for a minute. Please just try to imagine.
I heard, “Hah. Ahm callin’ to let yooou know that yooou have bin select-ED to reCEive a trip . . . “
I waited until he was hung up on finished with his call and then I turned around.
Lo and behold, it was Unchained Melody boy.
CUTE CUTE CUTE Unchained Melody boy.
I said, “Ohmygosh, where are you from?!”
He replied, “TenneSSeeee.”
I swooned.
I said, “Really??!! Ohmygosh! I’m from Oklahoma!!!”
He replied, “You know wot? When we drove out here, we stopped in Oklahoma City and we stayed at a Holiday Een. And you know wot? It had a putt-putt golf course on the een-side!”
That was it. Hook, line, and sinker. He had me at TenneSSeeee.
I wish I could say we fell in love immediately and we’ve been together ever since, but that’s not the case. It took a little bit of timing. I sort of touched on this topic before. Let me be rot quick (sorry – still in accent mode) and tell you all about it.
1. I had a long distance boyfriend in Oklahoma (the one with the last name of Little).
2. He had a long distance girlfriend in Tennessee (and SHE was named after a toothpaste. Really. Try to guess which one).
3. We became good friends. We flirted. A LOT. We spent a lot of time together. He paid for everything. But we were just friends.
4. I broke up with my long distance boyfriend (well, I didn’t do it. He didn’t do it, either. We just decided to break up since we weren’t living in the same state and we were 19.)
5. He broke up with his long distance girlfriend.
6. He dated my one and only friend from my California high school. Even though she knew I liked him. She KNEW it.
7. About 8 months later, they broke up.
8. We stayed friends (much to her dismay).
9. About a year and a half after our initial meeting, we were watching Against All Odds (at my house. On VHS) and there’s this part in the movie where the main actress won’t let the main actor kiss her. And I said, “Oh, come on. She’s going to let him. She’s just fighting it for now, but she’ll give in.”
AND WHAM! Hubby just pounced on me! Seriously! He came from out of nowhere. It’s possible I was sitting up and he just picked me up and threw me down, and planted a big one on me. All I know is that I pushed and shoved him away. I knew my one and only high school friend would hate me if I dated him AFTER her. (Girl code and all that. But we won’t mention that she dated him even though she knew I liked him. My lips are sealed. No mention.) So I fought him off (and he let me. He’s much bigger than me so I imagine he could have had his way with me, but he was a gentleman).
About a minute later, he pounced on me AGAIN!!!!
At that point, it was kind of late. And I was kind of tired. And I didn’t have a lot of energy. And I liked him. I’d never not liked him.
So I let him.
And the chords of Unchained Melody swoop in and rise to a crescendo!!!!!!
And we lived happily ever after! 🙂 🙂 🙂
The End
Epilogue: High school friend was quite upset with me. I didn’t tell her for a whole month. I kept it a secret. And then I told her.
She wrote me a 13 page letter (FRONT AND BACK!) and delivered it to my house. When I opened the front door, she threw the letter at me (it hit my face!!! really!!!!) and walked away. Never seen her since. I wish I had kept that letter! I would put a couple of snippets in here for your reading pleasure. But I didn’t. I read it and then I threw it away. Let’s just say, she was very very very very mad at me. And she put it in writing. And she repeated it for 13 pages (FRONT AND BACK!).
It’s been a long time now.
Are you thinking of me differently? Do you think I broke Girl Code? Do you think I’m a boyfriend stealer? I sure hope not. Because let’s all remember that she went out with him when she knew I liked him. Did I already tell you that?
And I won’t go into the whole story of why my hubby asked her out in the first place.
Okay, I will.
I didn’t want him to know I liked him so I acted like I didn’t. Meanwhile, my “friend” acted like she liked him ALL THE DANG TIME. So . . . being the 17 year old that he was, he went for the sure thing. He claims he never really liked her. I tend to believe him. Unless we’re fighting. And then I yell, “You asked so-and-so on a date before you asked me!!!!” Sob, sob, sob and then he apologizes and I win whatever it is we were arguing about. 🙂
How’d you meet your hunny??? Link up with Chrissy and tell me all about it. And don’t leave out any details! I love details! 🙂
Oh, my gosh. That is an AWESOME story. The details (scrunchie, Righteous Brothers, hit you in the face) are really where the story takes life. I laughed my tail off, and I can so hear the accent. No girl rules were broken cause the gloves had already come off when she went out with him anyway. And that's street fighting. And what's the number one rule of Fight Club? You do not talk about fight club.
Thanks so much for linking up because this story was T.E.R.R.I.F.I.C. which is an acronym that stands for hilarious.
Buzzing with Ms. B
You are just too much! 😉 I want to know when you start school because we can't leave until 4:00. When I saw you said you could leave at 3:00 I knew you had to start pretty early!! It is yucky misty weather here too and my hair is totally not a fan! Have a good rest of your week.
Love it! I like people with accents. I don't know why, but I do lol. I had a crush on one of my dad's younger co-workers because he is from Tennessee and there is just something about that drawl *sigh* but now he's married lol.
Journey of a Substitute Teacher
I LOVED your story! You are tooooo funny. I am from NC and I love a boy with a Southern accent. (hence my GA boy!)
You sooo did not break girl code. She dated him when she knew you liked him. Girl code out the window!
Adventures of a Third Gradwe Teacher
lol! That story sure put me on the edge of my seat! The only thing that could make it better is if you somehow turn it into a musical. lol. Great story. Thanks for sharing! 😉
Oh my gosh! AWESOME!!!! I didn't want it to end. So darn cute. Southern accents ARE quite charming.
Thank you for sharing your story! Precious.
Lyndsey
A Year of Many Firsts
that was so adorable! Okay, #1 i was so doing the voices in my head! #2 he was yours from the momement he said TenneSSeeee! #3 code number 127 is if you break code 1, all other codes are null and void! so, your good! I could not figure out which toothpaste but I know it will come to my at 4 in the am, then I will have to come back and comment! Thanks for the story : )
M. Wainwright
thediaryofanotsowimpyteacher
I loved this!
13 pages front and page is ridic. I just recently threw out a nasty letter like that which I received in high school. Every time I read it, it made me so mad! So finally I parted with it, haha.
I wish I would have gone more into detail with my story! It sounds so lame compared to everyone else's. 🙂
Marvelous Multiagers!
What a great story!! I love to read your blog, it's like I'm having a conversation with one of my friends. Only I'm reading words on a computer screen, lol. And you didn't break any codes, the other girl did!!! 🙂
❤Teri
A Cupcake for the Teacher
Kristin,
I would so NOT give your friend a rose. I would so vote her off the island. Oh wait, this was real life, not reality tv. But really, she was not a good friend. Friends support friends when true love comes their way.
I love, love, love "Unchained Melody". Did you play that at your wedding in Las Vegas? You will share the engagement story and the wedding story with us someday, won't you? P.L.E.A.S.E. What color was your rabbit? I wanted yellow, but got "Mountain Green". It was a pukey green, but I loved it. It was the one and only time that I bought a new car.
Camille
An Open Door
I love your accent! Hey at least you had one good thing about being short, you could wear Bongo jeans. Us tall girls couldn't wear them because they looked like highwaters on us!
This was like walking down memory lane…. Bongo jeans, Skid Row, Bon Jovi (uhm… I have their autographs from BEFORE they were famous, TYVM), and Poison.
Your sweet hubbie had me at …"it had a putt-putt golf course on the een-side!" Just like a little love-story movie.. WAY TOO CUTE!!!!!
As for your letter throwin' "friend"… oh brother. She obviously had other issues if she was able to come up with 13 pages (front and back) worth of ways to tell you she was mad. 😀 SHE broke the code. Duh.
Loved it!
❤ Dragonflies in First ❤
Kristin, I don't even know where to start!! You seriously need to write a book! You are the only person in blogland that can write such a long post and keep me hooked the entire time. Shh…usually, I skim….but not with you! I just LOVE yours posts…seriously! Keep em coming and I will keep reading. In some strange way, your posts are like therapy to a tired mommy who doesn't get much reading time in:) Thank you for making my night!!
Ummmmm. We're talking about her first name?
Crest
Colgate
Aim
UltraBrite
Tom's
Rembrandt
Sensodyn
Arm & Hammer
Pepsodent
AquaFresh
Mentadent
???
I'm glad Hubby picked you over Colgate. Or Crest. Or whatever her whiter-than-white-freshest-breath-ever name could have been!
(And, for her sake, I truly hope her parents did not name her Sensodyn or Mentadent)
Thanks for the chuckle. You make my heart happy. (And my sides hurt!)
Kim
Finding JOY in 6th Grade
LOVE your story and your humor!! Mine wasn't as detailed or funny but I did share it anyways. 🙂 I was having my own flashbacks with the Bongo jeans and 80s hair band music…POISON was one of my faves! As for accents, I'm a sucker for a Boston accent…sigh!
Oh my gosh! What an awesome story! You HAVE to write a book!
For the record, I think that SHE broke the code first.
Where in TN is your husband from? I live in Virginia, but on the border of NC and TN.
-Megan
First Grade Magic
What a great story. I remember you telling us about the high school best friend before and you totally did not break the "girl code!" She did!!!! And…you won anyways 🙂
Jodi
Fun In First
haha! Well, I hope ONE day you run into her with your hubby so you can throw THAT in her face! lol
♥ Jen
The Teachers' Cauldron
Thanks for sharing your story. I really think it sheds so much light about each blogger. I shared mine too.
First in Maine
I loved this post, how fun.
My 'hunny' messed with my best friend for years before we got together. They were never dating, but were 'friends with benefits' (the sure thing you were talking about). But whats funny is he ALWAYS told her that he was going to make me his girl one day. And she would tell me, but I didn't like him at the time, so she would go back and say "she doesn't like you.. blah, blah" and that made him try harder.
Years later we got together and she ended up bringing PICTURES of her and I to throw in my face!!! The funny part was, she cut HER face out of all the pictures and gave me the pictures with her face cut out! LOL (well not really, but kind of)
Happy Thursday!
I love your story! There should def. be something in girl code that says if he's The One, friends have to suck up any hurt a bit.
Oh I just knew when I saw the title of this post it was going to be hilarious even if the meeting story was totally lame (which is wasn't) but I knew you'd tell it great! Oh LORD you're just too funny!!
True love wins…you didn't break any codes, girlfriend! You just won the prize! 🙂
Melly<><
Stapler’s Strategies for Sizzlin' Second Graders!
Love it!!! Great story 🙂 You crack me up!! I love your blog!!
Thanks for some more FABULOUS story telling! Loved every part of it! I am going with Crest as her name…hugs!
Becca
Teaching First
What a great story! And Kim, you crack me up with your toothpaste list! I'm going with Arm & Hammer…
Stepping Into First Grade
What a GReAt story. Who cares about the girl code. That boy was yours right from the start :))
Barbara
Grade ONEderful
I am new to blogging and don't know how to do the linky party thing but after reading your how you met your husband I thought I's share how I met mine. I'll send it to your e-mail so I don't take a lot of time with it on your comments.
By the way, thanks for your wonderful blog, I am having a tough year and your always take my mind of the class and it's challenges and make me laugh, money can't buy the few minutes of no stress your blog gives me. Thank you so much. Jill
This is how I met my honey: I prayed for my honey! I asked God (didn't tell anyone else) to let him bring me three roses and on Valentine's Day 11 years ago on a blind date he stood there at my door with three roses in a vase. I also mentioned in my prayer that the card read: "For the past that doesn't matter, the present that I am interested in and the future I want to be a part of". Guess what, that is exactly what the card said but I didn't read it until after we had gone to dinner and had a wonderful time. When I read the card and realized there were three roses I about passed out. When I read the card I was speechless. The rest is history!!!
So, I have a confession…I love you and your blog, but I skipped the posts, from everyone, who were part of this linky. Being single was/is so not on my life plan (the one I try to be in control of)and so I didn't think I could read everyone's story. But I clicked the "click here" from your currently post and read the whole thing. You, and your story are adorable! Also, people with accents are cool…here in Oregon everyone says everything properly:-)
Laurie
Chickadee Jubilee
Oh this was great! Thanks for sharing. I am dying to know toothpaste girl's name. And is it weird but I have been reading your blog for a few months and I just did NOT expect you to be married to a Southern gentleman. Don't know why but now I know and it. changes. everything. JK it really changes nothing.
Kinda want to share my hubby story now but this linky party is from over two years ago so maybe I will save that for another day. Enjoy the rest of your vacay!!
Love the "Friends" reference! And I am trying to figure the name of his ex-girlfriend – Crest or Colgate would both be beautiful names for a baby – ha!
Love to Learn