Category: Life

Many years ago when Mandy was 6, and Katie was 4, my ex-husband and I took the girls to a pizza place for kids called, “Chuck E Cheeses“. They had this play area for the kids, pizza and beer for the adults. While my ex and I were finishing up the pizza, the girls went off to play on the equipment. A while later they came back to the table and had a little blonde girl with them. Her name was Jessica and she was 4 1/2. But Jessica was very grown up and quite precocious! She wanted to exchange phone numbers so the kids could have play dates. We knew where she lived, as her parents had a local apple orchard where we’d actually gone to pick apples and get cider. (They had the best cider!) I went over and met Jessica’s mother, we exchanged phone numbers and as promised, a few days later Jessica came to our house to play.
The kids had a few more play dates. Mostly it was Mandy that went to Jessica’s. Jess, really was older for her age and got along better with Mandy. But when they were all with me, the three played very well.
One snowy day, shortly after that, I got a call. Jessica’s father was taking her to The Boston Museum of Science and could Mandy go? It was snowing and I was a little nervous about that. I asked to speak to Jess’s father. He assured me that the snow was due to stop and he was fine to drive the kids. I decided that it was okay.
A while later a car drove up to our place and Jessica and a very tall man ( 6 feet 4 inches!) got out and came to our door. He was blonde too and it wasn’t difficult to see who Jessica looked like. She was the spitting image of her Dad. He smiled and I guess I must have smiled too. He seemed very nice. Mandy got her coat on and I watched from the door as they drove off in the snow.
Hubby recalls, that I was tall, (I’m 5 feet 8 inches) and thin, (at 24 I weighed about 115! Man those days are long gone!) and my waist length hair was a pretty, natural light brown. He said I looked like a hippy, which back when I was 24 was probably true.
So, we were both married to other people. Had no interest in each other, except our kids, and from that we grew to know each other as friends.
It’s funny how when you look back and think about the very first time you met someone, the one person that you will eventually find is your soul mate, you can have absolutely no idea. Hubby and I didn’t “fall in love” for many years after that. But, that is another story.