Last week I tweeted this thing that went viral:
For my second date with my husband we met in NYC and went to a party and ended up at a McDonald's at 3:00 AM where he reached across the table, grabbed my hands, looked at me adoringly, and said "I hate this. I wanted to go to bed at 9:00. Do not expect this of me again."
— Eli McCann (@EliMcCann) August 2, 2020
I still don't really understand how the internet works. Sometimes I'll write a joke and I'll be like "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA THIS IS AMAZING THIS IS THE BEST THING THAT HAS EVER BEEN WRITTEN PEOPLE WILL LITERALLY DIIIIEEE FROM READING THIS" and then like 4 of you actually read it and someone comments about a typo.
Then other times I'll write something without giving it much thought and I almost don't post it because it seems lame and the next thing I know the entire planet is sharing it. That is honestly what happened with Snuggie Texts, by the way. I amused myself a bit with that exchange and thought I should type it out to share with my friends and family, thinking they might find it mildly amusing. A decade later I still get daily emails of people wearing Snuggies.
The point is this whole stupid website was just a massive mistake.
Anyway, the above tweet and the attention it has received has been incredibly entertaining. Thousands of people have left comments sharing small anecdotes about how they met their spouse or some mishap on their first date with their partner. These have been so lovely to read, and frankly, it feels nice to just soak in the relatively inconsequential stories of people loving each other in these unprecedented times©.
So, I want to hear your anecdotes now. Tell the class how you knew your partner was a good match or something that went wrong when you first started dating but that somehow didn't derail you.
~It Just Gets Stranger
On our first date (which was basically a blind date), my husband was telling me about how he'd been an EFY counselor over the summer. I asked if he'd had any difficult kids and he admitted that one of his kids was cutting himself. For reasons I can never explain, I burst out laughing at this (I know, I'm a horrible person. You don't need to tell me.) but then he started laughing, too, and we spent the whole evening talking and laughing, mostly about terribly inappropriate things.
ReplyDeleteWe always quote Arrested Development about that night: "We had some really good laughs about some really sad things."
And whenever I'm being a jerk, I like to point out that he knew what I was from date #1.
My husband and I met in January 1991, when he and his brother moved into my ward. The first Sunday they came to church I was in the foyer when they walked in and zing! went the strings of my heart! That guy was a hottie! I'm referring, of course, to my now brother-in-law, whom I dated for about two months (we were seniors in high school). Fast forward almost 20 years and Facebook reunited me with my ex-boyfriend's little brother. We were married less than a year after that.
ReplyDeleteI had recently returned home from a mission, and was living at home with my parents. I met my husband when he sold me supplemental insurance at the place I worked. After some persistence on his part, I looked up his number in our computer system and agreed to go out with him. He picked me up on his motorcycle and took me to dinner. We hit it off and talked at the restaurant until we noticed all the employees staring at us because we were the only customers left and it was passed closing time. We decided to go to Denny's for a milkshake and continue our conversation. I left my purse and phone in the saddle bags on the motorcycle. After more delightful conversation, he went to use the bathroom and came back, talking on the phone. When he got to our table he handed me the phone and said "it's your father." It was 4:30 in the morning and my parents were worried I was dead somewhere. My dad called my boss, woke him up, and had him go to the office to get my now husband's phone number. It was awkward walking into work a few hours later.
ReplyDeleteI joke that my husband and I got together because he actually answered his phone and was available. I'd just moved back to the US from China and was living in a friend's place. He was out of town and had yet to get internet or cable, so I spent a lot of time on my phone or walking to the library. Another friend lent me his truck, and I was so excited to go out and do something. I called all of my friends, but they were all busy or out of town. I was about to give up when I called this guy in my teaching certification program. He was literally my last resort call. He said yes and we just kept hanging out. At one point, we went out to the French Quarter, got drinks, went to a few night art markets, and just wandered around. At one point that night, I comforted a crying drunk girl in the bathroom and learned that I was actually on a date. I hadn't realized...
ReplyDeleteWe've now been married 4 years and are buying our second home together. At least now I generally know if we're on a date, though...
I have shared my first date story with you before.
ReplyDeleteBack when the internet was new and online dating was still very sketchy, there was a site called LOVE@AOL. I saw this ad that said "NO DRAMA QUEENS" I contacted the guy. He contacted me back. We exchanged phone #'s. Now he wasn't the only guy I was talking to. So when he called I actually thought he was a different guy. So anyways, he asks me if I want to go to Heber to look at a demolition derby car. I say sure, gave him my address.
Nobody knew that I was going with him. My parents were out of town and my brother didn't care. So here I am getting into a car with some rando that I literally have talked to 1 time. We decided to drive the Provo way to Heber. He stopped at a 7-11 and got a big gulp for us to share. We got lost. He did a rolling stop through a stop sign. We got pulled over. The police officer kept asking me if I was there of my own volition. I said yes. He asked like 3 time, each time I said yes. So we make our way to Heber - this is when I found out his real name. He used his middle name, but I said "you know what I mean Vern" and he said how did you know my name. Showed me his drivers license.
By the time we got to Heber it was pitch black out. We were driving down a lonely dirt road. No one about for miles. He slammed on the brakes, went to his trunk and got something out, was doing something in a ditch next to the car. He came back and threw a knife and an axe in the back seat, and handed me some poppies. He said he thought they were beautiful like me.
We had our first kiss overlooking Jordanelle.
He drove me back home. That was early Sunday morning. He moved in on Monday. We were engaged on Wednesday. We were married 4 months later.
Almost 19 years now. He still says thank you to me every year around Memorial day (when we met) that he is greatful that I played "serial killer or future husband".
No regrets!
2002: I’m sporting my siiick brown corduroy bomber jacket (with a fleece lining). Stroll into my sisters thanksgiving gathering with my boyfriend. The first person I see is my future husband. In a very very ugly sweater. He was also wearing a pukka shell necklace. You know when they say time stopped? That image is frozen in my mind. By the following week I broke up with the boyfriend, and planned another visit “to see my sister”. On a hot hot date at the local craft fair he asked me If I had any money so he could buy Finnish nissu bread...a staple from his home town in MI. I swooned over his nostalgia and lack of pride (seriously, I liked that vulnerability and child like excitement over bread). Within 9 months of distance dating I quit my job, and moved into a BARN with him in NH, Leaving my teachers union job, insurance, and stability...to become a waitress in a tiny dive breakfast place that still had a smoking section. I knew the moment I saw that sweet face and that ugly sweater.
ReplyDeleteBeing from Michigan I have to know - what town?
DeleteHoughton (UP!) you??
Delete1. We met at an institute dance at SLCC. He and his friend were the only 2 people out of the 200 or so there that were actually dancing. Like, crazy embarrassing dancing. Which I guess caught the eye of me and my friends that I had dragged along. He won my heart with his George McFly and Jurassic Park velociraptor impressions.
ReplyDelete2. We met up as friends for a couple weeks and chatted online regularly. He asked me if he thought my friend would say yes if he asked her out. 🤦♀️
3. We finally got together. He pretended to be interested in watching baseball with me and drove all the way out to the west side way past state street to do so. Our first kiss was on Halloween at the aforementioned friend’s house while watching some ridiculous movie.
3. His aunt loves to write poems for celebrations, and felt obliged to do so for our wedding luncheon. I’m guessing she got the information about our relationship from my mother in law who didn’t know too much about the subject because 3/4 of the poem was about him trying to ask out my friend first.
4. We’ll be celebrating our 20th anniversary in November. I’m typing this while he’s gone with our 2 boys at a family cabin for a couple days and thinking that even though we’ve been together so long I still miss him terribly when he’s away.
20 years of marriage here and I still can't sleep when he's out of town.
DeleteWe were at a mutual friends birthday party at a bar. He was talking with another mutual friend and she looked uncomfortable talking to him, so in an effort to draw attention away from her I started talking with him. (Turns our she was fine- their banter was just the way they interacted with each other.) We got along and he bought me two Long Island ice teas, which I measured by using my hands to show how much I had drank. (Two hands finger to thumb by the way.) We ended up singing some bad karaoke and dancing, and I would have kissed him had he not already had a girlfriend. We exchanged numbers and kept in touch and got together a few months later.
ReplyDeleteMy roommate brought me to her ward so I could be her wingman while she talked to this guy she liked. The night before that, a guy friend gave my phone number to one of his friends, thinking we could hit it off. Show up to my friend's ward, turns out mu roommate's guy and my friend's guy are one in the same. By the end of that night he and I were dating, and my roommate kicked me out a week later. Still married, 12 years 😊
ReplyDeleteI met my husband because he has been friends with my uncle since they were both 3. Plus my mom dated my husband’s older brother for a while in high school. Don’t think too hard about it. My husband is 8 1/2 years older than me and we got married when I was 17. I had to have my mom sign for my marriage license and when I moved to a new state as a newlywed, my husband had to sign for my drivers license as my legal guardian. I also couldn’t be on our apartment lease or use the gym without my husband’s supervision. It was wild, but we’ve been married for almost 14 years so it’s all good 😍
ReplyDeleteI met my hubby at a Star Wars party. I literally did a double take when he walked in. We spent the whole evening talking. That was 10 years ago. He's the peanut butter to my jelly. And we qre always finishing each other's 'sandwiches '.
ReplyDeleteNo dating or partner stories. I’m 35, female, single, and have a terrible personality, which in the LDS Church means I’m dying this way. But. I do have a Snuggie that I wear to church every week because my building is always approximately 20°, year round. That thing sits in my church bag and I never head to the chapel without it (and my gloves and scarf in the same bag). Why didn’t I know sending you Snuggie photos was a thing? As soon as I go back to church ...
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I had hung out in a friend groups for a few months before he asked me on a date. When he showed up, he had a root beer in the cup holder waiting for me. Didn't make a big deal, just said "That's yours". Apparently at some point during the time we all hung out, I had mentioned that was my favorite soda and he remembered. It was the smallest thing ever but it made me realize he was really paying attention to every little thing about me. Been together 15 years now :)
ReplyDeleteIf it hadn't worked out that would be pretty stalkerish but since it did it's incredibly sweet!
DeleteI first met my husband in high school and we reconnected a few years after at a mutual friend's party. He messaged me a couple days later to ask if I wanted to go for dinner. It was early enough in the day that I thought he may mean that very night but I wasn't sure so I responded that I would love to, just name the time and place. I didn't hear from him for 3 days after that first message. He told me he was having some technical issues with his messenger so we exchanged numbers and texted for another few days. One day I was in his city having lunch with a friend and I invited him to join us. He replied that he’d be there. I was really excited to see him again but as we waited for him it got later and later and he hadn’t responded to my text so we decided to order and see if he turned up. About 45 minutes later he showed up with a damn good reason for his lateness. His neighbour’s house had been broken into the day before and his neighbour was nervous to be there alone as her husband worked away. The neighbour asked my husband if he would mind staying over for one night to help his wife feel more secure. He agreed to stay, which I thought was nice of him. When he went home the next morning, he found his door kicked in and his suite a mess. While he slept next door, he had been robbed. He was late to lunch because he had been dealing with the police and cleaning up the mess that had been left behind. But he still showed up. I knew from the start he was someone to hang onto.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I met at church during college. That is, I was in college. He was finishing up his senior year of high school. :) Fast forward 4 years of running in the same circles, being great friends, and then realizing we wanted to date. He had met my parents and I decided to take him home for their 30th anniversary party to meet the rest of the family. On the five hour trip to my parents' house I warned him specifically about two family members. One Aunt, who cussed like a sailor, and loved nothing more than loudly embarrassing people. And my grumpy Catholic Grandpa who loved talking about how his children/grandchildren have disappointed him, how Martin Luther lived in sin with a nun, and other fun subjects.
ReplyDeleteWe got to my folks' house, and after introducing him around the room he ignored many open seats and went and took a seat DIRECTLY BETWEEN The Aunt and The Grandpa. Several family members gave me a panicked look, as if I just thrown my plump pink baby into the lion enclosure at the zoo. But I stood there in disbelief as he charmed the socks off of BOTH of them. That was the exact moment that I, and my whole family, knew my husband was THE One.
I met my husband online through Yahoo Personals. I has just had a really bad fight with the guy I was on and off dating and I wanted to find people more pathetic than me. I was reading the ads out loud to my roommate saying "This is what is says . . . . and this is what it means . . ."
ReplyDeleteMy husband's ad was titled "Where Do Nice Guys Finish?" I hate that saying vehemently so I responded as said "Nice guys finish the same place nice girls finish - maybe if you dated a nice girl you wouldn't end up there." Yes - I know this is hypocritical - I was a nice girl but I wasn't dating a nice guy . . .
Anywho - - - he liked my attitude and replied and we talked for a month via email. In that time I found out my on and off boyfriend was sleeping with his ex so that was definitely "off". I told my future husband about it. He emailed about his first love.
He said "She turned into a beautiful woman and I turned into a hard-headed mule and beautiful women and hard headed mules don't mix."
I replied with my story about my first love and said "I turned into a beautiful woman and he turned into a hard headed mule - you're right - they don't mix."
He responded with, "Well, would you ever consider dating another hard headed mule and if so would you like to go out with this one?"
This COMPLETELY caught me off guard. I didn't think I was actually going to meet this man. I said yes and we decided on a date but that we should talk on the phone first because what if I didn't like his voice!?!?!? I gave him my number - he called - we talked for hours. The next day he sent me flowers. My roommate brought them to my office because she wanted to know who was sending me flowers. This is when people at work found out about it and started telling me I couldn't go out with him because he might be an ax murder! This was the late 90s and people you met online were rarely safe back then. The next day he sent me more flowers.
The next day (the day before the date) I went to a concert with my roommate who was bemoaning that I was dating all these guys (I had started dating again and had been on a few dates) and she couldn't find anyone. I said, "Well I haven't met this Paul guy yet - you can have him!" Little did I know . . . .
The next day was THE date. He picked me up - I made my roommate and best friend be at the apartment when he arrived so they could identify him in case he was an ax murderer. Our date lasted 8 hours walking around a nearby waterfront town window shopping and having dinner.
I knew he was the one when we came out of a dark store onto the bright sidewalk and I said "Bright lights" and he said "Big city!" Whenever I say or think Bright Lights I always think Big City (it's the title of an 80s movie with Michael J Fox if you're unaware). That was it. I knew he was the one.
When he dropped me off that night I told my roommate, "you can't have him, I want him."
My husband and I met, dated, were engaged, and spent the first three months of our marriage living in different states and traveling back and forth to see each other when we could. I was suspicious when our first phone call lasted 5 hours, but I knew for sure we would end up together when he came to Arizona for the first time and had brought toys for my dog. Max was instantly his buddy and I was smitten at his thoughtfulness.
ReplyDeleteI have no ‘ah-ha’ moment but maybe a word of encouragement for the Desperate and Dateless. I met my hubs after two days of being on POF. He had been there 16 years. Hang in there.
ReplyDeletePlease write a post with all the funny stories. Single lady over here in the midst of a pandemic...I need something to live for.
ReplyDeleteBack before the turn of the century, I was a young college gal who volunteered to be McGruff the Crime Dog for a children’s event. I was told I needed to go to the police station and meet the Crime Prevention Officer and he would get me what I needed. So the first time I met my now-husband-of-almost-26-years, he dressed me in the McGruff the Crime Dog costume.
ReplyDeleteI met my husband at my parents’ house while eating tacos. He met my entire family (5 younger siblings included) before he met me...and wasn’t dissuaded. Haha! I was taking a semester off of college, working and saving money, my husband was doing an internship in the area and rooming with my Mom’s friend’s son. So my Mom invited her friend’s son and his roommates over for dinner. And I was late to dinner that night. It’s confusing and kind of annoying to have to explain every single time I’m asked how we met, hahahaha.
ReplyDeleteBack to the dinner. I left to use the bathroom at some point and when I returned I overheard him helping my Mom in the kitchen and asking if I was dating anyone. Who does that?! But also....kind of endearing?? I was actually dating someone....but my husband was so persistent and intriguing that I ended the previous relationship (in a very very awkward way...) and started dating my husband instead. Never regretted it!