~Dana~
07-16-2006, 05:35 PM
Dan and I met on September 16, 2001, just five days after that fateful day. We met through a mutual friend while he was working in NJ and I was working in Brooklyn. I didn't even want to meet anyone at the time (I had had it with go-nowhere relationships), but I thought I'd give it a try anyhow... even when we met, I still wasn't sure. But, then I felt different about Dan than I had when I had met other guys...
We dated for nine months when Dan took a job in Madison, WI for a company he had interviewed with when he was a grad student at UW a few years back... he got the job, but I was stuck in NY as I still had another year to go of my own masters... I think we both figured that if it was meant to be it would be... so we tried at our hand at the long-distance thing... that first summer he was here, I decided to spend here in Madison with him... I fell in love with him and with Madison.
After I graduated, I ended up moving out here to be with him... it was a difficult decision as I was leaving all my friends and family behind on the East Coast, but I thought I'd give it a year... if he proposed in that timeframe, great... if not, I was going to move back.
On August 8, 2003, we were getting ready to go see a local band, Madisalsa, play on the Monona Terrace. To my surprise, Dan was getting dressed up for the event. Mind you, I'm into salsa, he's not. We got there, but we were hungry for something more than was offered on the terrace. So, we found a charming Italian restaurant off the capital square. I thought we were just going to get a gyro or something, so this was another red flag. Though, I still really didn't suspect anything. We walked back to the terrace after a scrumptious meal (complete with dessert!!)... I was enjoying the music but Dan really wasn't ... he seemed very pensive as we were looking out on Lake Monona... it was a beautiful evening. We started talking, and he got on the topic of "us." (Not too many men I know that do that!) We had received door prize coupons on the way in, and he asked me if I wanted my door prize? I was like, "huh?" So he pulls the coupon out of his pocket, and I just happened to catch a glimpse of something shiny and sparkly... he didn't get on his knee (he was too embarassed in front of all those people), but he asked me to be his wife... crying, I thought I had managed a yes... but just for good measure, on our way out of the parking garage, we saw a license plate that boasted the word YES... that was my answer!!!
We were married in an intimate ceremony at our home (which we bought in February 2004) on September 18, 2004... and we welcomed Evan Joseph into our lives on May 2, 2006! Life couldn't be more grand!!!
We dated for nine months when Dan took a job in Madison, WI for a company he had interviewed with when he was a grad student at UW a few years back... he got the job, but I was stuck in NY as I still had another year to go of my own masters... I think we both figured that if it was meant to be it would be... so we tried at our hand at the long-distance thing... that first summer he was here, I decided to spend here in Madison with him... I fell in love with him and with Madison.
After I graduated, I ended up moving out here to be with him... it was a difficult decision as I was leaving all my friends and family behind on the East Coast, but I thought I'd give it a year... if he proposed in that timeframe, great... if not, I was going to move back.
On August 8, 2003, we were getting ready to go see a local band, Madisalsa, play on the Monona Terrace. To my surprise, Dan was getting dressed up for the event. Mind you, I'm into salsa, he's not. We got there, but we were hungry for something more than was offered on the terrace. So, we found a charming Italian restaurant off the capital square. I thought we were just going to get a gyro or something, so this was another red flag. Though, I still really didn't suspect anything. We walked back to the terrace after a scrumptious meal (complete with dessert!!)... I was enjoying the music but Dan really wasn't ... he seemed very pensive as we were looking out on Lake Monona... it was a beautiful evening. We started talking, and he got on the topic of "us." (Not too many men I know that do that!) We had received door prize coupons on the way in, and he asked me if I wanted my door prize? I was like, "huh?" So he pulls the coupon out of his pocket, and I just happened to catch a glimpse of something shiny and sparkly... he didn't get on his knee (he was too embarassed in front of all those people), but he asked me to be his wife... crying, I thought I had managed a yes... but just for good measure, on our way out of the parking garage, we saw a license plate that boasted the word YES... that was my answer!!!
We were married in an intimate ceremony at our home (which we bought in February 2004) on September 18, 2004... and we welcomed Evan Joseph into our lives on May 2, 2006! Life couldn't be more grand!!!