Our 17th Green Anniversary

On March 11th, 1994 Rick and I first “officially” met each other in Rochester, New York during our final semester of college.  We actually figured out that we’d been in the same room once 3 1/2 years earlier but this was our “official” first meeting.  While many of my friends were meeting their future spouses at the local bar I met mine at church Friday night at a “Green Dance” which was held for the upcoming St. Patrick’s day and many of the local students gathered there for some fun.  Showing up late after working all evening I walked into the cultural hall to scan the dimly lit dance for one of my closest friends, and my eyes caught Rick’s through the crowd who’s eyes were locked on me.  He came right up to me, in his friendly manner, and introduced himself.  Pretty much after that we were inseparable.  He actually got my phone number out of me that very first night, which I’d never before given to someone I’d just met, but he just seemed friendly and … genuine.

Our first date was one week later on Friday March 18th and  I remember it well.  When he got to the front door my Dad thought he was just another guy trying to get a job shoveling the snow but then quickly realized his mistake and invited Rick in.  I guess Dad thought it was too early for a date to show up, although going early ought to be better than returning late certainly.  Rick had invited me over to dinner at his apartment and together we made chili, his own recipe since he didn’t realize until just a few years ago that all this time he’d been putting in “Tablespoons” of Chili Powder instead of teaspoons.  Good thing I like spicy food, huh?  On top of the chili he put shredded cheese, which I grated.  I’d never had cheese on chili before but I know shredding anything was never my favorite job growing up.  He kept telling me we needed “more” grated cheese which seemed silly because there were only two of us.  Now I know how much cheese Cincinnatians (is that a word?) like on their chili but at the time I was pretty clueless.  To go with the chili we tossed together a Jiffy blueberry muffin mix and stuck the tin in the oven and then Rick mixed up some cherry Kool-Aid.  What a meal!  It was filling and the company was fun.  But Rick says the clincher to our relationship was the Marble Cheesecake I made and brought over that night that we enjoyed after the movie we went to see.  We never looked beyond each other after that first date and in fact we were married less than five months later.  I don’t recommend that to everybody but somehow we made that choice work out.

So almost every year on March 18th we remember the first meal we shared together by recreating some form of it.  This year I made my own recipe of Tex-Mex Chili… with cheese of course!  I had leftover “squash” muffins (“leftover” because I was feeling lazy and also hadn’t gotten any blueberries and “squash” because I’m still unclear whether I’ve got a container of butternut or pumpkin coming out of my freezer), and milk to drink because my kids are weird and prefer skim milk or water above all other choices. 

Tonight after Rick puts younger kids to bed and I arrive home from an NJHS induction with our oldest child we will hope for a few quiet moments when we can enjoy a slice of marble cheesecake (I had help from my four year old making it this year while my one year old taste tested the batter on the spatula) together over a game at the table.  Simple then… simple now!  Note the cheesecake must be made each year in the same casserole dish that was used 17 years ago as at the time I owned nothing more suitable for baking cheesecake in.  It adds to the sentiment of it all, of course.

Going back 17 years once again, I had left the remainder of the cheesecake from that first date in this casserole dish with Rick, realizing that he’d have to return the dish to me.  He didn’t seem to mind the fact that he’d have to get it back to me either.  I remember that the guys I worked with at the time just prior to me meeting Rick kept asking me why I didn’t want to date any of them.  So I told them who I was looking for and my manager insisted that “that guy” didn’t exist.  I said I was fine with that but I was still going to wait for Mr. Impossible.  A few days after our date when Rick had finished off the cheesecake he showed up at my job to return my dish.  I was out of the store at the time but just as he rounded the corner with the casserole dish under his arm my manager saw him through the large storefront window and without knowing exactly who he was said, with his jaw on the floor, “There he is… he DOES exist” at which point Rick entered the store and asked for me.  And he was worth the wait.