Back in the day, Thanksgiving Eve was one of the biggest party nights of the year. All of us twenty-somethings arrived back at our parent's house, just in time for the festivities the next day. Leaving all the big meal preparation to more responsible family members, we met our old crew at a favorite bar. It was an easy celebration - reconnecting with friends, having too much to drink and sleeping in the next morning only to wake up to an amazing meal.
29 years ago tonight was a very special Thanksgiving Eve. I wasn't at my parent's house, but John's. We had been dating since August - long distance. He was working in the burbs and I was three quarters of the way through my last semester at Purdue.
When we left the house that evening, the console television was set to MTV and the song One Thing Leads to Another by The Fixx was playing. I remember it because it was the first song video I had ever seen - back when MTV had the little guy planting the flag on the moon and they actually played music videos.
We met up with friends at Butch McGuires. The evening progressed just as you would think it would. We consumed lots of beer and greasy food.
When we returned to the house, we greeted John's mom, who was watching TV, and went down to John's lair (the basement). It was there, on the sleeper sofa, that he presented me with a solitaire diamond ring and asked me to marry him.
Obviously, I said yes.
We went back upstairs to give Dorathy the good news, and she was very happy about it. She suggested that we celebrate the occasion by having a slice of pie.
I should remember what kind of pie it was, because I saw it twice - one time going down and another coming back up.
Booze, bad bar food, the excitement of getting engaged and dessert were more than my stomach could handle in a 5 hour time frame.
He married me, regardless of my sensitive stomach. At the wedding, a lot of those same friends we met that Thanksgiving Eve were making bets that we wouldn't last. We hadn't even known each other a year when we got married, so I guess that's fair. But a lot of them are divorced and we're still plugging along.
When it comes to choosing your significant other, if your gut tells you it's right - it's right.
Even if it makes you puke.
I loved this so much, it made me cry. Sniffle. :)
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