This Is How We Met: Annie Wolfe's Story
02/29/2012
It is not an exaggeration to say my novel would not have been written apart from Annie's motivation and encouragement. We randomly connected on Twitter over all manner of subjects. Before I knew it, we'd decided to be writing accountability partners. And because I knew the weekly check-in would be coming, I pushed myself to keep writing. Annie is hilarious and a talented writer and I'm thrilled to share her TIHWM story with you all today!
This Is How We Met: Human Dissection, Disease, and a Home Run
I met Doc in Human Body class. That’s right. Human Anatomy Lab. He had a million Watt smile that I found impossible to ignore.
The whole scenario was terribly unromantic; diced up animals on trays, slimy dissection tools, jars of pickled parts floating on shelves around the room. And I can’t forget the dead bodies donated to science in the room.
I unapologetictally flirted, however, as we hunched over human cadavers and inhaled the toe curling scent of formaldehyde. At one point I felt as if I would faint. It was probably the pruning flesh under my nose combined with the fact I was ill.
I had mononucleosis that semester of college. Exhausted every day, I showed up to class in the clothes I slept in, a messy ponytail, and not a stitch of makeup. Meeting my future husband was the last thing I expected.
Doc barely seemed to notice my flirtatious ways, and I couldn’t blame him. I looked like the ugly truck had backed up over me.
As winter gave way to spring and the fog of mono began to lift, I pulled myself back together and Doc took notice.
Our courtship was incredibly short.
We had our first date on St. Patrick’s Day. By June we were discussing marriage and how many children we wanted.
On the Fourth of July, Doc took me to a small baseball diamond at sunrise and got down on one knee. The last time I had stood at home plate I was five-years-old and had just been clocked in the head with a softball, ending my rather short career.
While my baseball memories were not so great, Doc loved the sport. Heck, he loves all sports. It was fitting for him to find the closest athletic venue and take me there for what was the biggest moment of his life - at that time. (We went on to have four children and every delivery trumps the engagement as the biggest moment of our lives.)
We stood at home plate as the sun began to peer over the wooden bleachers. He slipped the diamond on my finger, and with boyish energy sprinted around the bases.
We had no idea what life would bring us, including the four kids, but we were ready to take it on together.
This May we will celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary.
Knee deep in Legos, Annie channels her inner Jedi and survives the mind melting powers of her four children daily. She is married to an incredibly understanding Doc, who may just be the most patient man on the planet. He never remembers where he puts anything, but fortunately Annie is The Finder of All Things Lost. They are a perfect match. Together they live in the Heartland at the edge of a dirt road. Life should be simple, but with four children it rarely is.