According to the National Day Calendar, today is National Tell A Fairytale Day. So, I thought it would be a fun time to share another part of my fairytale that came true – how it all began.

I’ve shared bits and pieces of my love story with Teri and the journey of our life together over the last several years. The expression of my love for her really flows through a lot of the songs I’ve written over the course of this journey. One specifically appropriate for today is “Fairytales Come True” that first debuted on my “I’ve Got To Find Myself Album.”

It opens with the line:

“Once upon a time, on a day like any other day
Someone like no one else changed everything”

Nothing could be more true. Our first encounter was a comical one, but it changed our lives forever.

The Beginning of the Tale

Teri worked in a dress boutique in the local mall. My friend, who was also a friend of Teri’s, worked in the running shoe store next door. On nights that he and I were going to hang out, I’d often meet him at the store.

One of those nights, while I was at the store waiting for his shift to finish, this really cute girl walked in. She came around the sales counter and helped herself to change in the drawer, clearly feeling very at home in the store. In those first few minutes as I watched her, I was drawn in by her infectious personality and fantastic smile.

She was wearing this flesh colored crochet top that intrigued me (similar to the one she is wearing in the picture above). I had never seen anything made like this. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with this style garment, but it has an open weave, and gives the illusion that you can see through it. What I didn’t realize is that it had a liner underneath made of the same color.

I couldn’t help myself – as I watched her across the counter, I blurted out “nice top, babe.” Ok, I admit, this wasn’t the greatest pick up line ever. But it worked! She flashed me this big smile, walked back around the counter to leave and gigged me in the sides as she walked by.

The Next Night

The next night, I was hanging out with my buddy’s brother who was also friends with Teri. She had called and invited us over to hang out at her apartment. I thought sure, why not! We sat around for a bit just shooting the breeze. My friend had this annoying habit of falling asleep at 10 pm no matter where he was. The next thing I knew, he was asleep on the floor.

That left Teri and I to talk and really begin to get to know each other. She showed me her family photo album, we talked about where she was from, that she lived in Germany for a while during her life, we shared our likes, dislikes and passions until 2 am. It was just so easy to talk to her and they time flew by. I realized I had been at ease all night long. There hadn’t been any of that weird awkwardness that usually goes along with hanging out with someone new that you are interested in.

The next night, the three of us went out for pizza and headed back to my friend’s house. I had just finished the first demo recording of four of my songs. My friend was so excited, and he couldn’t wait to play them for Teri. I could tell by the look on her face that she loved them.

Lo and behold, at 10 pm that night, my friend fell asleep and I was left to take Teri home. This was a Thursday and she offered to cook me dinner the coming Saturday. I agreed, got her phone number (way before the days of cell phones) and said I would call her.

The First Real Date

Saturday rolled around and honestly, I was nervous. I could feel the attraction, but my experience with love thus far hadn’t been a great one. I’ve told you before that as a creative, I am a very much driven by my emotions. Sometimes that’s great and at others, it can almost make us miss some amazing opportunities in life.

I was discussing this with another friend of mine and he basically told me not to be an idiot and call the girl. So, I did (finally) and we decided to see “Return of the Jedi” which had just come out that weekend. I picked her up, we headed to the theater and stood in line for an hour and a half.

The conversation flowed so naturally. We loved the movie – she’s just as much a sci fi fan as I am. By the time I dropped her off at her apartment at the end of the evening, I was beginning to fall, hook, line and sinker.

The Rest Is History

And the rest is history. Literally three weeks later I asked her to marry me and three months after that we became man and wife, starting out on this amazing journey together.

My fairytale came true in living color. Has our life been a fairytale? Not every minute of every day. We’ve had our share of ups and downs, good times and bad, hard times and easy one. But we made a vow to love each other through all of those times and that has been the fuel for our marriage.

I’m grateful and feel so blessed. Was this all fate or happenstance? I don’t believe so. But rather, I believe God brought her to me specifically. I actually tell more of this story and why I believe this in my book.

Anyway – I hope you have found your fairytale. I’m a hopeless romantic and steadfastly believe if it can happen for me, it can happen for anyone.