“All I wanted to do was cross-country ski!” says my husband of 27 years, after my best friend set us up on a blind date when I lived in the San Bernardino mountains in Southern California and had separated from my first husband. Little did Garry know what he was getting himself into!
Sharon had told him nothing about me except that I wanted to go cross-country skiing. Venturing up the mountain to pick me up, he had no idea I had a 7-month-old baby and a 5-year-old and that two teenagers lived with me.
Kristen babysat my baby, Chelsea, while we went shushing through the snow. I asked Garry to go downhill skiing the next day, so he showed up with his 12-year-old daughter, Christy, and I brought along Kristen while Corrie babysat. When we got home, he met my other daughter Ashleigh. He didn’t know what hit him!
After a day on the slopes, Kristen and I complained that Garry was too nice, and Corrie told us no one can be too nice – and I better give him another chance.
The next weekend was my birthday, and a friend invited me over for dinner, so I asked if I could bring Garry along. He showed up with a present – a shirt from the Limited, and the girls thought he at least knew where to shop. Plus my friend was very impressed by him, so I started dating him. I fell hard!
That spring break, we piled all the kids into his car and drove up the coast for a vacation. My divorce was final in May, and Garry and I got married Oct. 3. By Thanksgiving, I realized I was pregnant, and that July, our son Bryson was born. We moved down to Oceanside, and I remember going to a Valentine’s function at our church during which we won both the prize for having the most kids, plus the one for being married the shortest length of time.
We’ve lived in Morgan Hill 20 years now, and we love to bicycle everywhere and swim in our backyard. Mellow Garry is the perfect complement to my Type A personality, and I keep his life exciting as we travel across the country and down to Mexico. We are enjoying our retirement and our new role as grandparents to Ashleigh’s Shane. I’m so grateful I found the love of my life, and I relish every moment we have together.
