Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The Story of How We Met

Awhile ago I asked for suggestions on what to blog about when I am stuck for ideas... and Sara asked for the story behind the classic car in my wedding pictures which she has seen on facebook. The story of that car, and the story of how my husband and I met are intertwined, so here we go!

Back in January of 2001, I was working at a gas station/ convenience store. My boss made me and another lady go to a day-long propane dispenser training course (can't you tell already that this is going to be a classy story??) The co-worker in question was not my favourite, so as soon as I got the the class, I looked for a way to distance myself from her (if any CRS'ers are reading this, the fact that I referred to her as a "lady" is a hint). I was into cars and really always had been. My first car was a lowered 1983 Buick Regal (back when G-bodies were cool) that I bought with my hard earned money when I was 16. I was still driving the Regal at the time of this propane training course.

Here she is (and please keep in mind, this is a horribly scanned photo, as the digital photography age had not yet dawned).


So notice on the picture that the Regal has a black rubber antenna? Well, when I got to this course, I parked beside another G-body with a black rubber antenna (these things are not common); it was a white Cutlass Supreme. When we had our break, I noticed that a cute boy was hanging out near the white Cutlass. In an effort to avoid the lady I had come with, I walked over to him and asked if it was his car and struck up a conversation with him about our matching antennas. We chatted on and off throughout the rest of the day, and when I was leaving, I decided to hand him my phone number and tell him to give me a call (I know, I know, how forward of me!).

So he did call, and we went out, and I quickly realized how much I liked him. We shared a love of cars and a quirky sense of humour, and really, he was just the most uncomplicated, easy-going, kind and wonderful guy I had ever met.

Some time later that year, I decided to sell the Regal and move on to bigger and better things. Adam was with me when I bought "the big green baby"; my 1965 Cadillac Coupe DeVille that still is parked in my driveway to this day.



It would certainly not have been Adam's choice... he was into muscle cars, and owned a 1970 Chevelle that he eventually sold to buy us a Honda family car. But he helped me fix it up and we spent weekends driving for hours to find obscure parts, and even helping me part out another Caddy that I bought for parts and then abandoned in my parent's backyard.

Here is the parts car in my parent's backyard, and when it was in the driveway to be parted out, parked beside the green baby.



We drove it to our wedding....



We still own it. But I no longer drive it. It would be nice to use the space it takes up for something else, but I have a hard time letting it go. When you become a wife and a mother, you give up so much of yourself...to your husband, and to your kids... of course I am happy to do that because I love them so much. But the Caddy is the last little piece of who I was... and the minivan-driving momma in me likes to keep it close by.

2 comments:

  1. What a great story Julie! I love it!
    And don't worry, all of us minivan driving momma's have a car in the driveway that reminds us of our carefree days. Mine (1973 VW Beetle) is in the garage being restored, the hope is to drive it this summer.
    Sara

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me happy!!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...