It was 1999 and I had been living back at home for about a year.  I liked to describe my life as being sunny after being dark for so long.  I was happy and secure and since I was back living at home, I was surrounded by love for the first time in a while.

I had a great job and I really enjoyed going to work every morning.  My co workers were a lot of fun and my boss was totally awesome.  His name was Shane and we became instant friends.  We started taking our breaks together and going for walks to get a soda.  Shane was too cool for the small town I was living in.  He had done so many more things in life then I could ever imagine doing.  He was smart and funny and kinda cute.

And he was married. 

They always are, right? 

I started hanging out with Shane and his wife Jen.  They were just cool.  Jen had lived in something like 8 different countries and was from the East Coast.  Plus she had this awesome gap in her front teeth.  I would go and hear Shane play in his band on the weekends and Jen would met Shane and I for lunch during the week. 

Eventually I got brave and asked Shane if he had any friends he could hook me up with.  I didn’t want to sound too lame and desperate.  But I sort of was.  The second I asked Shane he got all excited and told me that he had been dying to set me up for a long time.  He said that Jen had told him the correct procedure was to wait until I asked to be set up.  And now I was asking.

The good news was that Shane had the perfect friend for me.

The bad news was that he lived far away in Seattle.  What made the bad news even worse was that his friend had just been in town the weekend before for the Sundance Film Festival.  He didn’t know when he would be in town again.

Oh well, so do you have any other friends?

But Shane didn’t want to hook me up with anybody else.  Shane had spent a lot of time with this friend back in Germany and then again in college.  He just knew that he was perfect for me.  He just knew it. 

Shane fessed up and told me that he had given his friend my e-mail address and that he would be writing me shortly.  I wasn’t going to hold my breath or anything.  But low and behold, he e-mailed me a few days later.  He seemed cool and collective.  His name was The King and his e-mails seemed to pull me in. 

And thus began our correspondence over e-mail.  After a while I included my phone number in an e-mail to him.  I was sneaky like that.  So then we started talking on the phone.  Things were really light and funny.  We weren’t talking like we were in love or anything.  We were just friends.  Plus we were both dating other people.

One day at work Shane asked me when I was going to fly to Seattle to visit The King.  I told him I would as soon as The King invited me out there.  Shane must have immediately told The King that, because in the next e-mail from him he asked me when I was coming out to visit him.

I bought my plane ticket that night.

Before this trip I had only flown on a plane once.  And only to California.  I wasn’t a very brave person, but this was a very brave move for me.  Even The King admitted I was being very brave.

I had an Uncle who lived in Seattle.  So I figured if things didn’t go well, I could always call him to save the day.

I flew out a few weeks later.  Since we hadn’t seen pictures of each other, I told The King I would be wearing jeans and a dark blue shirt.  He would be wearing a gray v-neck sweater.  I made him swear that he’d be there waiting for me when I got off the plane (remember, this was pre 9-11).  My biggest fear was that I’d get off the plane and be stuck alone in Seattle.

I spent way too much time packing for my trip.  I borrowed clothes from my friends.  I even had to borrow luggage (really, I never had gone anywhere before).  My friends dropped me off at the airport and wished me luck.

I had butterflies in my stomach the entire two hour plane ride.  I didn’t know if there would be a love connection with The King and I.  But I knew he was hilarious and that I trusted Shane. 

I remember checking my make up right before we landed in Seattle.  The lighting was horrible, so I was afraid I had too much lipstick on.  Since I was a novice at flying, I didn’t dare get up even to use the bathroom.

I got off the plane and walked down the gate carrying my little pink carry on bag.  I was looking around trying to decide which one of the guys waiting could be The King.  I didn’t see anyone in a gray v-neck sweater.  After standing there a little longer, I didn’t see anyone. 

It was just me.

I was afraid my worst fear had come true and I had been ditched in Seattle.  I started trying to remember where I had put my Uncle’s phone number so I could call him to come and pick me up. 

That’s when I saw this skinny dreamy guy literally running down the walkway in the airport, waving at me.  I didn’t think it was The King, because he didn’t know what I looked like, so how could he be so sure it was me.  Later he told me he knew it was me because I was the only person standing there.  Oh, right.

We packed up my luggage, loaded his car and headed to his apartment.  I sat there in his car looking at my feet and thinking to myself, I am lucky that he’s so dreamy.  I mean, things really could have gone bad in this situation.  But he was cute and funny and had a clean car and apartment.

We got back to his tiny studio apartment, and since it was late he made his bed on the floor and gave me his bed.  It was like summer camp and we stayed up most of the night talking and laughing.  I truly felt like I had known him my entire life.  We got up the next morning and headed to Canada for the next couple of days.  I couldn’t take my eyes off him during the entire three hour ride to the border.  He was more then I could have ever imagined.  I just kept telling myself how lucky I was.  I mean, I can’t imagine that situations like this usually turn out this good.

As lame as it sounds, we had a magical weekend.  When I got back home I remember feeling like it wasn’t “home” anymore.  I immediately felt like I needed to be back in Seattle.

The King flew out to visit me and meet my family a few weeks later.  A few weeks after that I flew back to Seattle.  A few weeks after that he drove all night to surprise me with a ring.  A few weeks after that I quit my job and moved to Seattle to start planning our wedding.

Six year, two houses, a few jobs, tons more plane trips, one cat, and one precious little guy later and here we are. 

Baby, I love you more then ever and more than I imagined I ever could.  Thanks for taking me all the places I only ever dreamed of going and being by my side the entire time.  Happy Anniversary and thanks for rocking my world.