Seventeen

Seventeen years ago, on October the 17th, my eyes landed on the one who would steal my heart away. The father of my children, the holder of my dreams . . . my Bear.

It was a Wednesday night, and I had just come home from a strenuous afternoon of ballet. I used to drive all the way to 13th Street in San Jose for lessons. That was approximately 40 miles away. It was well worth the drive, being part of the San Jose Dance Theatre was like a dream!

The Nutcracker was due to roll in soon, so I'm pretty sure that we were practicing for that. Hours upon hours of rehearsal led up to the show. This particular Wednesday, I remember feeling pretty tired after I made it home. The phone call that butted in at about 9pm was met with a sigh.

My friend Gloria and her sisters wanted to take me out. Now back in the day, this meant out to a club - and Wednesday nights happened to be Sandrinos night. My first response was, "no way" as I just wanted to shower and slip into bed, forgetting that I was alive. In this particular season, I was moving through a terrible patch of heartbreak, grieving the death of a loved one.

After more coercing, fun finally won - and I hurried myself over to their house. Three sisters, Gloria, Juanita and Raquel worked to get me ready. Their mother used to call me her white daughter, and I felt very much like a part of the family. They were taking me out for a night on the town. Little did I know, my whole life was about to change forever.

As we sat in Sandrinos, the same heartbreaking music pounded . . . some of the same people were walking around. The smell of dry ice and the glare of the lights was more than this heart bear. Then, I saw him. I will never forget the first time I layed eyes on Mark. Something inside of me leaped, and suddenly I was a little bit more into the club scene.

He waltzed into the place with one of his friends. I could see nobody else. I was curious about this suave looking guy. Who was he, and where had he been all my life? It turned out that Mark knew some of the people I was with.

"Introduce me", I remember whispering to Raquel.

After a few dances, and a night of getting to know each other a bit . . . we headed out to the car. Coincidentally, his buddy ditched him - leaving Mark without a ride home. So being the sap that I am, I told him to climb in, and I proceeded to take him home.

I remember every detail of that night. What I was wearing, what it felt like to step into his parent's house for the very first time. I remember the T-shirt he lend me . . . and I remember hoping that he would be "the one".

I fall more and more in love with that man every day. He has been my constant - my comfort and the love of my life. He gives so selflessly, he is really funny, easy to be around, a good listener and a wonderful father. Mark loves me for me. I could not ask for a better partner. God has far exceeded all of my dreams.

Bear and Bee . . . we celebrate this special day together - forever.