It was a few days before graduate school started. I was getting my masters degree in Sociology and the department was having an orientation so all the graduate students could meet. I walked into the room and two older men were in there talking. I took a seat and quietly observed. The one guy had blond hair and looked a lot older than me. The two guys ended up being the only males in the program. I remember being a bit disappointed and thinking I wouldn't meeting any potential life mates in the program since the guys were so much older...

How wrong I was. I ended up marrying the blond guy who is 9 years older than me.

The blond man had a kind personality but he and I didn't interact much at first. To be honest I never really paid much attention to him because I only saw him in the office and had no classes with him. All 10 of us grad students shared an office.

Just because I didn't notice him didn't mean he didn't notice me.

The first time I noticed him was at a birthday party for one of the other female grad students at a bowling alley. I didn't have a car so she volunteered the blonde male to give me a ride. She knew he had a crush on me. I didn't know at that time. He spent a lot of time with me at the bowling alley. We talked and as he drove me home there was...what I can describe as a moment. It felt like we were on a date even though we weren't. It was the first time I really noticed him.

A month later, I randomly got a phone call from him asking me if I could get the online site where our grades were posted to work (It worked fine. He just wanted to talk to me). He somehow kept me on the phone three hours where he told me he loved sports and the Dukes of Hazzard. I lied and said I liked both just so we'd have something in common.

A week later I went into the office and was pulled aside by another girl grad student and she told me he had a crush on me. I let it slip that he kept me on the phone three hours and that I wondered if he did. That started a conspiracy between the other female grad students to help my husband who was shy.

When we were both in the office we would conveniently be left alone to talk. The other girls would set up situations where we would interact like getting me to pull an April Fools Day prank on him. I was intrigued and attracted to the guy. My husband-to-be was very shy and nervous. I got impatient. He's the first guy I've ever liked enough to pursue. I started hanging out at the office more and more to find moments alone to talk.

One night we stayed until 3 am talking but he still was too scared to ask me out or admit he liked me. I finally decided to ask him to hang out and watch a movie but he beat me to it. He invited me to his apartment and we watched Napoleon Dynamite. I sat on one couch and he sat on another. Neither was brave enough to make a move .

The next week he invited met to hang out at his apartment and we watched Into the Wild and he cooked tacos. I made sure to sit on the same couch during the movie. I was the one to make a move on him pretending I was sleepy so I could lean my head towards his shoulder. I closed my eyes and eventually I felt his hand push my head against his shoulder so I was resting on him. He lightly stroked my hair with his huge hands (he's 6 ft and I'm 4'11 so he's got attractively large hands). After a few minutes he moved to put his arm around my shoulders. I snuggled closer to him with my head near his chin. He got the hint and we kissed and admitted we liked each other.

That first kiss is probably the number one best moment of my life.

And the rest is history...8 years later we have a house, a baby, five cats, and a very happy life together.

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