How we met

Today is the day that Garyn & I celebrate when we met. Thinking about this day 5 years ago always brings a smile to my face. I think it's a great story & I realized I don't think many people know how we met. So I decided to write a blog about it & share the details for those who don't know.

I was in the Army & stationed at Fort Irwin in CA. Myself & my coworker, Jennifer were offered to go to Fort Lewis, WA for a month for scrub tech training. Fort Irwin had a tiny hospital so we only did minor surgeries so this was a great opportunity to learn more about different surgeries that we didn't do at Irwin. I was super excited to go because I did my Phase 2 training there so I was already familiar with the base & the barracks (as was Jennifer). Plus I could go home on the weekends & spend time with my little brother, Dad & stepmom. Fort Lewis had a beautiful hospital that I really enjoyed working at & everyone was so helpful & really took to teaching us everything they could during our month there.

Since I'd lived in WA for the past 12 years, I still had many friends in the Tacoma area. It was our 2nd weekend at Madigan & a good friend of mine, Megan was talking to me about going out that Friday night. Jennifer had friends on base so she had plans & I was excited to hang out with my BF in WA. She wanted to take me to this club in Shoreline that she & her sister go to alot. They knew all the security guys there so I thought it'd be a good place to go & have a good time.

I got off work at 3pm & met  Megan at her work to pick her up. We went to her place to get ready, picked up her sister & headed off to The Drift on Inn & Casino. It's a great club/bar & downstairs is a restaurant & card room. We had a blast drinking, dancing & just enjoying a wonderful girl's night out. The bar was closing & we were heading downstairs for a 2am breakfast & some gambling. Megan was talking to one of the bouncers named Jim. He was very friendly & protective & was in great shape. I ran to the bathroom & when I came out, Jim handed me his cell phone & said "Here, talk to my son". I still remember thinking 'Jim looks like he's about 35 years old. Why would I want to talk to his 10 year old son?'. I answered the phone & heard a deep voice say "What up, girl?".

Garyn & I talked for a few hours that night. He lived in OR so we decided that he'd come up the following weekend so we could meet in person. We kept talking through the week. The day of 8/18/06 I got off work, met Megan & we went shopping. I bought a gorgeous new shirt at White House Black Market & we went back to her place to get ready. Then off to pick up her sister & then to meet Garyn. We arrived at the club about 45min after we were supposed to be there but we're women so we have to be fashionably late. We met outside & went in to enjoy a fun evening. In between dancing & having a few drinks we chatted & got to know each other. A few months prior, he had gotten out of a long relationship & I hadn't been in one for awhile due to bootcamp, AIT & work. We didn't really think anything would happen after that night so we just enjoyed getting to know each other. It was really nice just to get out & hang out with friends & meet new people.

I was really impressed with Garyn because he was so polite all night. He paid for my drinks, paid for breakfast & comforted me when I got upset because I had to go back to CA & was going to miss Megan. We ended up meeting a few days later at an Applebee's near Fort Lewis. We wanted to talk some more without the noise & distractions of a club. We just sat at the bar & he drank water while I had 2 strawberry margarita's. I was again impressed with him when he offered to pay for my margaritas even though he only drank water. We made sure to exchange numbers & continued talking. Of course there's more to the story but this is just about how we met on 8/18/06. We will always remember the day we met & cherish it.

I can't believe it's been 5 years since that fun night in Shoreline! I wish we still lived in WA for many reasons but 1 is because I'd love to return to The Drift every 8/18. I will always remember something Garyn told me right before we got engaged. "They say you can spend your entire life looking for that one person who will bring a world of happiness to you. I've found mine in 22 years." I still feel very blessed to be married to such a loving, thoughtful, generous & handsome man. I have everything I've always wanted ~ love, a happy marriage & 2 beautiful babies. I never imagined that a fun night out of drinking & dancing with my friends would bring me everything I've wanted. :)