Past meets present

We all have a past. Sometimes it is hard to see why things happen the way they do in the moment but then you can look back and (hopefully) see that things do happen for a reason and they are all stepping stones to get you to where you are. 

Scott and I have an interesting past "together". I am not sure if I ever posted the story of how we met on the blog so I will give a rundown without all the mushy details (this got long but I needed it for Noah's baby book so I went with it):

Background on Steph: I was supposed to do the Vineman Half Ironman on July 20, 2008 in Guerneville, CA. I was engaged at the time I signed up and trained my tail off to get ready. By race day I had ended my relationship but my parents had already arranged to fly out to watch me race and I had my ticket to SF as well. We decided to still make a weekend out of it and all met in SF for a weekend of fun (I was living in Boulder, CO. at the time). I opted out of the race as my ex was still racing and his entire family would be there and it was just a bit too awkward for my liking. We ended up spending some quality time with Chrissie and Kyle (Kyle is my Dad's cousin) while in SF.

Lola & me in Colorado.

Background on Scott: Scott was living in San Francisco in 2008. A few years prior he lived about one block away from Chrissie and Kyle with his wife. When Scott's marriage ended, Chrissie and Kyle were beyond supportive and they kind of had a standing "date" with Scott each Friday night at their house for dinner.

Scott & Kristina cheering on the Giants

July 18, 2008: I flew into San Jose Airport and my parents picked me up and we were off to San Francisco. We had arranged to have dinner at Crick & Kyle's and so we set out for their house. En route, my parents mentioned that Scott would be there for dinner as well. You see, my parents had met Scott the previous year on a visit and my mom rambled on about how nice and what a great guy he was. Not in an, "I want to set you up" kind of way, just a, "We'll enjoy his company" way. I got all settled in on the floor playing with Kayla and a few minutes later the doorbell rang and Scott walked up the stairs. Love at first sight might be a bit strong but something in the universe came together in that moment. I was immediately attracted, but didn't want to let on to that so we just went on about our night.

July 19: We went out to dinner and Kyle made reservations for 5 just in case Scott decided to join us. He didn't. I must have asked Kyle 4 times if he was coming, but alas the chair was left empty and I was disappointed. Scott was interested but had previous obligations.

July 20: Dinner at Crick & Kyle's again. This time, Scott did come...after a little pre-dinner pep talk from his niece, Kristina. They decided that he had to make his "move" knowing that I would be returning to Colorado the next day. As I noted at the outset, I flew into San Jose for some odd reason (read:fate). My parents had planned to drive me down to SJ in rush hour traffic for my flight and then head back to SF to catch their flight. A-HA moment...Scott works in San Jose and so kindly offered to drive me to the airport so my parents didn't have to make the trek. I jumped at this opportunity and it was set...Scott would chauffeur me to the airport the next day. Of course, I was officially into Scott at this point and thought the world knew it so I didn't even give him a hug goodbye that night for fear I might be "found out". Scott was then completely confused because I was giving some serious mixed signals. 

July 21: Scott arrives to take me to the airport. I remember looking down from Crick & Kyle's condo and seeing him there looking as handsome as ever with a huge smile on his face (I was shoveling cereal in my mouth...hot, Steph). Crick made a comment about him wearing a new shirt (not having a clue about the crazy fireworks flying around in our heads) and Scott was ready to kick her for calling him out. Needless to say, we both had some crazy nervous/excited energy going on.

We played it cool all the way to the airport...chatting about our past relationships a bit, "joking" about a trip to Colorado for Scott, and just getting to know each other a little better. Once we arrived, Scott made his second move and gave me his card and said, "If you ever want to talk, call me". I gave him a hug goodbye this time. :-)

I made it through security and to the bar (yes, it was morning, but I hate to fly) before I sent off an email to Scott. I told him thanks for taking me to the airport and told him that he should, in all seriousness, come visit me in Colorado. And so it began...

Our very first picture together three weeks after that fateful drive to the airport.

Six months of flying back and forth between states...by December I had quit my job and we moved me & Lola to San Francisco after Christmas in 2008. The rest is well documented on this blog! 

Phew...back to the actual purpose of this post. Pasts. Scott and I have a funny past "together" but not actually together. There were about 3 or 4 occasions where we should have met but didn't. It wasn't the right time for us. 

One such time was at Kyle & Chrissie's wedding in 2004. Scott was newly engaged, I was 20. While we never actually talked at the wedding, I have no doubt we had to "bump" into each other. I also have pictures from the same day with multiple people that were in our wedding party. Amazing how things come around.

Just for fun...Kyle and I at the big event. Look at those moves!

Exhibit A. If this picture got cut off, just click on it.

Exhibit B.

It is amazing the way things happen. If we had met at any other juncture other than that fateful July day, our story might be different. But here we are, on a Sunday morning, enjoying our home, dogs, and wonderful little boy. We are truly blessed.

The happy result of our crazy story.

And so that concludes my random boy-meets-girl post. Hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane with us!