Happy Birthday Don!

Today is Don's birthday so I thought I would share some background on us...for those of you who knew us then and for those of you who didn't...this is my version of how Don and I met. I'm sure this will bring back a lot of memories, Sweet.

Fall 1990: It's funny how so many people you meet can influence your life in so many ways. Well, I met some great friends my freshman year at Bradley University and they in turn knew some guys at the Pi Kappa Phi house. So, we used to go over to the fraternity house and hang out with the guys from time to time. The first time I remember meeting Don was in Steve Nenonen's room. I was there with Jen DeBlasio and I don't really remember who else. Anyways, at some point Don dropped in. I don't know why but I can still remember him wearing camouflage pants and a grey tank top. Maybe I remember that because it was not typical of the fraternity boys, at that time anyways. And, this also happened to be the time that Don had shingles. So, he had two red raw patches under his eyes. Not really the kind of lasting impression you'd want to make on someone. Anyways, that was just the first time I remember meeting Don. Just a brief encounter and I didn't think twice about him.

Fall 1991: Then my sophomore year at BU I met Don again. I was at a Pi Kapp party with my friends and Don asked me to dance (which was kind of odd for me because usually I was just out dancing with my friends). So, we got to talking and he told me he was ROTC and I know he recalls me telling him that my brothers were all involved with the Army in some capacity. Anyways, at least he had justification for wearing those camouflage pants.

1993: So, those were the first couple of times I remember meeting Don but it wasn't until our junior year that we really "dated". And I put that in quotes because I usually felt like Don fell short of a boyfriend in a lot of ways. I felt like I was doing all the chasing and then I got tired of that. But once he found out I was dating someone he was all about winning me over. I remember at the end of my junior year (his senior year). We were talking and he told me that he was going to marry me someday. jesh, right. I was more worried about getting through my finals at that point. But we stayed together for awhile and then he was off to start his career in the Army.

1996: We went our separate ways for awhile and then he returned to the states after 2 years in Korea. I was just getting out of a relationship and not looking to start a new one and there he was calling me and writing me. Then he had a friend from college getting married in Illinois so he invited me to go with him. He came to town and that really kicked off our new relationship. Before I knew it I was making reservations to fly out and spend a week with him in the D.C. area. It was great. We clicked.

Then he found out he was going to Bosnia for something like 6 months (seems like nothing now!). We really kept up with each other even though distance put us farther apart. I flew to Germany when he had his mid tour R&R and we spent 11 days together traveling all over Germany. It was awesome. Shortly after he returned to the states we were engaged and married in November of 1999. We had not spent more than 11 consecutive days together until we were married. That was a bit of an adjustment. We learned a lot about each other those first couple years of married life.

Somedays it seems like I have known Don my entire life. We have really grown together in so many ways. We have built an incredible life together and we both thank God for all that he has provided for us...our love for one another, our children, our home, our families, and so much more.

When I think back on our lives that seemed like a rather quick synopsis of our courtship but I don't want to bore you all forever. This is Don's 37th birthday. We met when he was 21 and I was only 19. Time sure does fly when you're having fun!

Today is not only Don's birthday but also a busy day for him as well. I'm not sure when he'll be able to check the blog again but I thought it would be nice for him to have a ton of birthday wishes from everyone when he did. So, if you have not made a comment to any of our posts to date this is what you do:
Click on the word "comment" at the bottom of this post (it should be in blue). Then you can "leave your comment" in the box provided. You can then click "Chose your identity" as "anonymous" and then click "publish your comment".

I'm sure Don would love to hear from each and every one of you. And if you think he doesn't know who you are because you know me better...believe me, he has probably heard a story about you at one point or another so just leave a birthday message. Feel free to tell a story that you remember about Don or just send him wishes. All comments will be appreciated!!! Thanks for helping us celebrate Don's birthday even though distance keeps us apart.

Happy Birthday to my true companion. On your birthday and always, I love you Don Chapman!!!