During an ice skating trip in our Nation’s capitol, just before my nineteenth birthday he caught my attention. Sean and I had been friends for about five months, but we lived over an hour away from each other. The times we did hang out were always in a large groups and at parties, so I didn’t really know him that well, but I was definitely interested in getting to know him more. He was witty, funny and he made me laugh. That’s a big plus in my book. My high school friends had gone off to college. My closest friends that I saw every day were about five years older than me. I was mainly interested in photography so I took a few classes at the local community college, and worked a couple jobs. One was at a photo lab and the other a jewelry store. I still lived at home.
I only knew loving parents that stayed together through thick and thin and watched them find their way, raise a family and make it work. They were a shining example and I wanted the same thing for my life. Meeting the right guy at a young age was important to me.
The little detail I didn’t know about Sean, was his girlfriend of several years. The night I learned about her existence, was the night that he had received a phone call from a childhood friend that was now her fiancĂ©. Your read that right. She still lived in Michigan and Sean had moved to Virginia. They had continued a long distance relationship after his move, but this was well before email and phone calls were expensive. Maintaining that relationship was difficult. His reply to the call was gracious as he told them their friendship and her happiness were most important to him. Seeing that he was now available, I said a prayer that night.
Over the next couple months we started hanging out more, but now,not in large groups and we got to know each other better. Although he had plans to return to Michigan and join a band. A month before he moved we discussed dating and he said his last long distance relationship did not turn out too well. But we decided to give it a shot.
Two months later I made a road trip to visit him. We went to a music festival and camped with some friends. We were eating boxed macaroni and cheese by a citronella candle as we were swatting away mosquitos, when he told me that if he could afford to propose to me he would. I replied if he did, I would say yes. We now knew each other’s intentions. Two more months passed, and he came to visit me in Virginia. We spent the day hiking in the Shenandoah mountains. At one point during our hike, he got down on one knee held out a ring and asked me to marry him. Obviously, I said yes.
We continued a nine month engagement, 500 miles apart and wrote letters to each other nearly every day. We have a huge box in storage that contains our entire courtship and engagement. A few years ago, we were going through a rough time in our lives and marriage, Sean pulled out that box. Our young love and passion was rekindled as we read those letters together.
We had only been on a couple dates overall. But we both knew it was right for us. A few months before our chosen date, he moved back to Virginia, but it was still an hour away (three hours with traffic). We decided to start our new life in Virginia Beach, about four hours south of my hometown. A month before our wedding he moved there got an apartment and started working. I moved in after our honeymoon.
Today is our twenty-fifth anniversary. I have plenty of stories of our struggles and events that have made us stronger, but today I just wanted to share the story from the beginning. I am happy that I married my best friend. I love you Sean McNally! Here’s to the next twenty-five! Oh, and the ex-girlfriend and her husband came to our wedding!