a whole lotta gratitude

Today marks two years from the day that Todd and I got engaged. I can't believe it has been two years since that day, nearly four years since our first date, and Sunday will mark one year since our wedding day.

Like all relationships, we've had our good days and our not-so-good days. We're about to welcome our first child into the world together and I'm looking forward to many more "together" moments.

engagement day, April 28, 2007

One of the things about our relationship that I'm most proud of is that the instant I met him, I knew I was going to marry him. I knew my parents would love him. I just knew. This was it. I don't know how I knew, but it was obvious to me very early on that he was the one for me.

My parents instantly loved him and they tell me on a regular basis how wonderful he is and how lucky I am to have him. They're exactly right. It had been a long time since my parents really liked a boyfriend and I was so happy to be able to enjoy spending time with all of them together.

The other night, Todd and I were at dinner with my dad at Mr. Friendly's and one of my exboyfriends walked in. In the four years that Todd and I have been together, this has never happened. We've never run into an exboyfriend or exgirlfriend. He came over to the table with his girlfriend and introduced her. Then he hugged me, shook Todd's hand, and hugged my dad. We talked about my large belly, talked about what they had done that night, said how nice it was to see each other, and then they went to their table and we continued to enjoy our dinner at our table.

When they walked away, my dad said, "Who was that?"

He honestly did not remember who he was. I know that Todd got a ton of satisfaction out of his question, but it really showed me how much my family loves Todd and how they truly thought that all of my other relationships before him were insignificant. It was my Garth Brooks "Unanswered Prayers" moment. It wasn't completely uncomfortable for me (maybe a little for Todd), but we all realized just how lucky we are when the moment was over. God picked out the perfect person for me and brought us both to the same place at the same time when there were so many other places we could have ended up.

I told Todd later that night how lucky I feel to not have to run the risk of seeing any of his exgirlfriends from college or law school. None of them live in town and it's just something that has never been an issue. I know a lot of girls have to exchange pleasantries with their husband's or boyfriend's exes and I feel so fortunate that I've never had to even think about that.

Happy engagement anniversary, TC! I love you!

Anyone else have any awkward encounters with your own ex or your significant other's ex?