You Had Me At Grand Central

It happened more than twenty years ago.  I don't remember all the details very well...except for one.

He attended my high school, and it was hard not to notice him. He was captain of the basketball team, and he walked around with such arrogance, yet there was a side to him that seemed almost familiar and comforting to me. At first glance, I assumed we were from different worlds. He was American. He was already a part of the school, and he "fit in" while I was just trying to "figure out" this new culture, this new school after literally just moving to the states from Jamaica. We had swim class together and had really only exchanged a few words.

Then this.

It was 1990 either in the summer or fall.  I thought it was the summer at first, but now I remember wearing this obnoxious red coat I used to wear back then which leads me to think it was fall.  I'm not sure.  My sister and I had traveled from Connecticut to New York on a train to spend some time with our aunt and cousin. We were at Grand Central Station, the largest train station in the world, and it was busy as I guess it always is. And although some details are sketchy to me...this I remember as if it were yesterday.

I was on an escalator going down. More than 750,000 people pass through this station on a daily basis, but it so happened that I only had eyes for one. He was sitting on a suitcase at the bottom of the escalator, and it seemed as if time stood still and all the hundreds of thousands of people who were there...somehow didn't exist anymore.  Our eyes locked from my ride at the top of the escalator all the way down.  It probably only lasted 10 seconds, but those 10 seconds was all it took for me to know he was the one. We never spoke to each other that day.  As soon as I got off the escalator, I melted into the thousands of commuters who were scurrying to get to their next destination.  When we returned to school after our break, on a windy day after school, he asked me for my number. And the rest, they say, is history.

Looking back 20 years ago, we were so young and naive and had no idea what life would have in store for us. Today marks 12 years I've been married to The Hubs, and it has been an enlightening journey so far. One that's been unpredictable at times with raging storms that threatened to take away the human spirit when The Hubs faced a major health battle. One that's been celebratory, thrilling and challenging all at the same time with the birth of Buddy Roller and all that brings with raising a family and trying to balance it all.

And through it all, we know things don't always go as planned. We were supposed to be going out tonight for a romantic dinner, just the two of us, but last night Buddy Roller had a temperature and we had to adjust our plans. We'll do dinner another night, but today it's just us three together, and that's okay. I've enjoyed the ride so far and can't wait to see what the next 12 will bring.