My Valentine- Summer 2007

I opened my car door and stepped out. Immediately I shielded my eyes. "Who would wear such a bright shirt?" I wondered.
I put on a smile and walked in the direction of a tall, limber guy wearing a bright yellow shirt with a cobra printed on the front. "Hey, I'm John." He said. He looked like a walking highlighter in plaid shorts. I gave him a friendly, christian hug and thanked him for deciding to help me out. Then I saw that Max was with him and hugged him too. "A familiar face!" I thought.

We made our way into the church to get set up. I was running on less than 4 hours sleep and had only been back in the country for 14 hours. It was the making for a long week. I had been asked to help put together a youth VBS service, and Petty (as everyone else called him) had agreed to help me out. We had never officially met, and I had no idea if the dude could even play an instrument much less sing. But here I was, desperate for any help I could get.

I showed Petty around the fellowship area.. aka, the gym. We plugged in all the usual: projector, speaker, mixer, mic... all you need for a make-shift one man show! And I was throwing in my little bit of knowledge here and there, not knowing that this guy was and still is a brilliant musician and audio tech engineer. Sometimes I think back and blush with embarrassment. (In case you didn't know... I'm married to the guy now). I frantically ran around for two hours trying to get everything in place before time to start. I barely said a word to him as I busied myself in the details and technicality of how everything was suppose to go.

It wasn't long until the kids began to arrive and the stressful part was over. All the preparation was done, and now I could just mingle and talk to teenagers. As I walked around, I noticed how Petty introduced himself to the youth and went out of his way to get to know them. He just seemed like an easy person to be around. I stood to the way side watching him, and then I chuckled to myself at how crazy and frazzled I must have appeared to him. "He must think I am a crazy woman with looks to match." I thought. The first night ended up going pretty well, and I told him that He was better than I had thought he'd be. It came out a little weird, and what was meant to be a compliment undoubtedly came out as an insult. I tried to explain what I meant, and I could tell he was getting a kick out of my rambling. He just smiled and said "thanks."

The next four days were great! Petty turned out to be a great musician and singer. We got to know each other pretty well over course of those days, and we continued to hang out even after VBS was over. I could totally tell he was starting to like me... and I must admit that I kinda liked him back.

This all happened coming on 4 years ago. Today is Valentines Day, and honestly, I've never been that big of a fan. But I can't help but reminisce on the first day I met Petty-- my boyfriend, my best friend, my fiance, my husband... my Valentine. I hate being sappy, but I do love this boy with all my heart... always.