~12 YEARS AGO TODAY~

Tom and I met 12 years ago today. I was home from Utah (in Castle Rock) and he was home from Grand Junction (in Elizabeth). Angela and I were in my mom's big tub (in our swim suits, Sheesh) and we had been there for about 2 hours. Just chatting and laughing and such. We were quite the raisins when we got out...
In the mean time my brother Chad was working at the Castle Rock wal-mart and Tom was working there too. My brother needed a ride home and he said he was going to call his mom. Tom offered to give him a ride and Chad said sure. Chad went on to tell him that his sister was in town. Tom asked if I was tall like him and he said yeah and so Tom decided to keep going with that and ask if I was cute. This is always my favorite part of the story. Chad said in his low gruffy voice " I don't know, she's my sister." Hahaha. I have always got a good laugh out of that!
So we had just gotten out of the tub when they got to the house. I was in my bathrobe with my hair in a towel and no makeup. Chad called me downstairs and said he had someone for me to meet. But when he saw me he said (in the same gruff voice) "you might want to go comb your hair." (ok I love that part too) Tom was in the bathroom at this time so I took his advice and ran upstairs and brushed my hair. Not that it made a big difference, I was in a bathrobe and no makeup for heaven sakes! So I came down the stairs at the same time he came around the corner and he took my breath away. He was SO TALL and cute! What a smile and those eyes! I couldn't believe it. His massive height was definitely the first thing I noticed about him!!! He was so cute and TALL and funny and TALL. Did I say tall? Angela and I spent hours chatting with him and he kept winking at me from across the room. We stood to say our goodbyes (once again I was in aw) and he asked me for my #. We saw each other a few more times over Christmas break and went to a New Years Eve Party then we went back to Utah and Grand Junction and saw each other only 2 times before Tom proposed. He must have liked something he saw or heard because he proposed in March after only a few real dates. Met in December 1996, engaged in March, married on June 21, 1997 and the rest, as they say, is history.
As I sit and remember this, how can I not think about Chad. If Tom hadn't brought him home that night who knows how or if we would have met. Chad introduced me to my future husband and he loved to remind us of that. I miss him terrible at this holiday season and I have thought of him a lot. Our family will never be whole again here on this earth without him, and the few times we have all been together since his death, we all feel it. I miss the rest of my family and all my friends that have moved away this year too and I think that has made it even harder this Christmas season. I am feeling a lot of loss but trying to keep my spirits up. Sometimes ya just want to give in and not try so hard to be brave and just let the emotions come. Christmas and being with my family at my parents house has always meant the world to me, and it is hard to let it go now, but we will have Christmas together again I am sure, it's just this one is hard. It really isn't all this sad, it's just a hard night to write this because I am thinking of and missing Chad. Thankyou so much Chad, for bringing the wonderful man I now call my husband into my life!! I will always be grateful! I love you with all my heart and miss you!!! PS- This turned out sadder than it was supposed to be. It really is a wonderful memory, but sad too...so...what will be, will be.