Photobooth Friday #6: Us

Oh, how I love this man. It's pretty hard to believe that it was fourteen years ago that we took these photos. So much life we've lived since then!

It was my Senior year at Scripps College, in Claremont, California. I'd just returned from my study-abroad in York, England and getting back to London was just about all that was on my mind. I was serving coffee in The Motley (our campus fueling spot) when he ambled in. We chatted over the counter about music, The Gypsy Kings, and I was smitten. I remember stocking the coolers with soda and lemonade, all the while watching the reflection in the glass of him, sitting outside laughing with his friends. They were Grad Students. I loved his face, his glasses, such a smile, an easygoing manner, his laugh. We met again at an art party where he made me laugh and laugh. And when the evening was ending and it was Southern California cold, he offered me his shirt to keep me warm. I had to laugh again, and happily accept his asking permission for a kiss with such sweet Midwestern manners. We've been together ever since. I knew then that I wanted to marry him. I knew then that he'd be a fantastic dad. And he surpasses my expectations as a husband and a father with each and every day. I've loved him from that very first moment.

This photo was taken in the Photobooth on Balboa Island. It was the only place outside of Claremont that I knew how to get to, and even then I recall getting very, very lost. The 10 freeway, to the 210, freeway , to the 5 freeway? We got a lot better about getting around in the 10 years we spent in Los Angeles after we were finished with school. But nonetheless I think this may have been our first outside-of-Claremont date. Dinner at BJ's Pizza, a walk on the pier, photos in the booth, video games, and a ride on the Ferris Wheel. I was giddy with happiness, excited for our future, both arms around his waist as we tried to walk along. And I still am. Although now my arms have so many sweet little hands to hold, and I have to smile remembering our awkward hugging hobble of being just two. Only in my most glittery imagination could I envison all that our love would create, shining in that one brief flash-bulb moment when we stepped into the booth for our photo.