The Story of how we came together 💘

I thought Valentine's Day would be a good time to share the "how we met" story.

Short answer: in a bar - it was Wisconsin 2002, I think that's how most people met.

But then there's The Story....

It was summer and I was home for the weekend from my internship in Duluth to visit a few friends in Green Bay.

My friends wanted to go out. I did not because I was dressed and mentally prepared for hang-out-at-the-girlfriends-all-day not its-saturday-night-lets-hit-up-the-big-city-bars (I tended to stay at my little country bars).

So to make things more enticing for me and my preference for little bars where everyone knows your name, these friends of mine (Carrie & Angela!) decided on a little dive bar I had never been to (T.A. Verns) so I said fine but I only had $20 and when that was gone, I was gone.

Okay, let's go.

Well, turns out this place is the dive bar of dive bars - the first thing you notice is the smell (this was back when you could still smoke everywhere). The second thing you noticed is the shag carpeting on the walls and everywhere (probably explains the smell). And the 3rd thing that gets noticed is a stranger walking in.

👋🏼 Don't mind me. I don't really want to be here. Just spending my $20 and leaving.

So, I spent my $20.

But, in the meantime, had met this Andy fella.

So once the money was gone I told him "sorry but I gotta go". He said I should stay and that he'd just pay for me (boy has he ever 😂), I said "No thanks - I'm not like that." 😇

He says "well, what if I loan you the money?"

Me: "okay, that could work but I promise I will pay you back. In fact, here's my name and address in case you need to track me down to get your money back because I swear I'm not trying to steal from you." and I proceeded to give him my address (not my phone number though).

And then we closed the bar together and had a super wonderful night (no, not like that - I'm not that kind of girl, remember 😇). Did get a kiss though!

And then I did give him my number - never got his though.

Funny side note: the girl that was hitting on Andy when I walked in had left him an angry note on his truck - but it was written on the back of a free drink card so it all worked out. And I got to see what his truck looked like.

So then I go back up to Duluth and tell the guys I work with what a wonderful amazing guy I met and how we totally clicked and I just KNOW he's going to call and I can't wait to talk to him again. 🤩

Day 2 goes by. 😒

Then week 1. 😡

Hmmm, maybe I read the entire situation wrong?

Maybe the angry free drink girl convinced him that long distance relationships don't work, maybe there was a new stranger that walked in but she was physically, mentally and financially prepared for going out...thinking, thinking, thinking....

Then, once the summer internship was done, I was back in Green Bay and I asked those girlfriends of mine if they would go back to his little dive bar with me because I'd like an explanation.

They say no. Thanks ladies.

But this bar is right on main street and is impossible for me to not drive by when I'm in town (or when I'm being kind of stalker-y) so I do and of course I notice his very obvious truck sitting there - so I pull in.

What to do? What to do?

I very clearly remember sitting in the parking lot and thinking through how this could go, there's really only two ways and neither are particularly flattering for me:

I walk in, he's sitting there with the 3 other bar patrons with whom he is good friends, they all look at me like I'm an idiot and ask me what I'm doing there and tell me I should leave with my head hung in shame

or

I walk in and find out what the heck happened and use the excuse that I'm there to give him back his $20.

I was terrified but also dying to know what happened - how could I have read this so wrong? So I say "F* It" and walk in albeit scared and nervous.

Andy sees me and immediately starts cheering! 🥳

Says he tried calling me a million times but some old lady always answered.

So to back up a little.....I had just gotten a new phone the day we met and so when I wrote down my number I accidentally switched two numbers around.

I GAVE HIM THE WRONG NUMBER! 😲

After the millionth time of calling this other woman he decided that maybe I purposely gave him the wrong number.

But then I walked back in!

He did say he almost drove out to my house but I guess meeting my dad for the first time that way was not a situation he could talk himself into.

And here we are. 20 years later.

They tore the bar down many years ago but Andy was able to get the sign so he could hang it in his workshop as a memento to the place where he met the love of his life! Awww.

Morals of the story:

• don't get dolled up to go out because then if you meet your significant other, you've set the bar too high, mine is nice and low.
• Completely unbeknownst to me, I have probably been the root cause of most of our problems. oops.
• While 99% of the stories that start with "F* it" do not end well and you should avoid them, a few are worth doing, the trick is knowing which is which.
• Don't believe anything people tell you in a bar, no matter their sincerity, I still haven't paid him back that $20.
• People don't change: I am still always unprepared physically, mentally and financially for every situation and pretty nervous every time Andy takes too long to call or text me back.
• And if you ever hear me angrily whisper to myself "should've just kept driving through that parking lot!" now you know what it means.

Happy Valentine's Day!! ❤