Our Love Story

How we almost met

It’s my Senior year in high school on Saturday, September 1st, 1989 and my girlfriend and I were heading to a party at another good friends home. We were stopped at a stop sign and I was about to go, when this Jeep Wagoneer out nowhere blazed right though the intersection. All I could see were multiple heads of the passengers. We just cussed a little under our breath about how rude that driver was and then went on to the party. 

Twenty minutes later that same Jeep pulls and all these younger guys are jumping out of the truck looking to have fun. I asked who the driver was and they told me it was some guy named Mead, a sophomore, and he had just turned 16 today. And that was that, for the rest of the night I never met Mead. But his name stuck in my memory. 

The next few weeks I kept running into this Mead guy, but never realized it. We had a lot of the same friends and hung out in the same circles. I never really thought much more about it. During this same time I had bought a Rolling Stone Steel Wheels ticket from my friend Jennifer. She had bout about 8 tickets and was putting together a fun group to all go to the concert.

Steel Wheels Rolling Stones 1989 Tour in Birmingham, AL

The big day was here, October 5th, 1989. We met at her house and that is when she said that Mead was driving us. Well, I hope he doesn’t run through anymore stop signs I thought to myself! He pulled up to the house in the Wagoneer and got out and introduced himself to me. He was pretty polite and seemed really nice and fun. I sat in the back middle seat while he drove. Little did I know he was not really focused on the road, but more so on me. You see he had moved the rear view mirror so he could see me while he drove us all down town.

We parked the truck in Southside, and he said he had to go run and meet someone real fast so he disappeared for about 15 minutes. I didn’t really think anything of it, but when he came back I asked who he met. He told me he had to go break up with his girlfriend. Well OK then…

We took the shuttle bus to the concert and we hit it off, and talked the whole way there, during and back. He was pretty cute too. Even though I was 2 years above him in school we just connected. The next day he was waiting for me at my locker and we started spending time together after school everyday. We were becoming inseparable. Meanwhile my girlfriends kept saying that this would never last. Well we have been together since then, through high school, college and graduate school.

I never thought of him being my boyfriend, but a week into “hanging out” his friend was driving us around and called me his girlfriend. Did I hear that right? Girlfriend? That was that! The rest of my senior year was fun. I was ready to move on with live, but really was falling in love with Mead, and he with me. 

Then Came College

Then next year was really hard. I was going to college in Virginia and I had made all new friends from all over the state. Friends that did not know Mead at the time. They didn’t get us. So they all got to see photos of him or listen to me babble about things we had done together. Mead and I would talk on the phone almost daily. But I was getting really depressed and missed him terribly. The phone calls would sometimes end up in a stupid argument because we missed each other so much and got jealous of what we were missing out on that the other was doing. I decided the next year, I would come home and take classes in Birmingham, just for 1 year. 

That next year in Birmingham while I was at UAB was so fun!!! We didn’t miss a beat. By now this was his senior year in high school and he and I spent as much time together as possible. The day he graduated was awesome! He had gotten into a school in Virginia and we would be able to be up there together! 

Mead was 2 hours away from me and I was so excited to have him up there. I made a promise to myself to never skip class, so I only visited him on the weekends and he would usually come see me in the middle of the week. We would definitely put some miles on the car, but it was worth it. 

The Propoasal

It was the beginning of Mead’s senior year in college when he proposed to me. We had been together a few years and his family was like mine and mine like his, by now. He had driven us to the lookout over Birmingham in Redmont. It was a beautiful night and we were talking, then the next thing I knew he was on the ground on one knee holding a ring and asked if I would marry him. I started laughing and said yes!!!

I never thought this day would happen, but it did! We drove to our friends to share the news and I had asked him what my father had said. There was silence, he had not asked him. He called my dad up from our friends and told him he had asked me to marry him and my father said, “What did Laura say?” I love that! Anyway, he was excited for us and I told him not to tell mom yet. 

By the time he dropped us off at home, it as pretty late. My mom was up waiting when we walked in. She was annoyed we were so late, but she saw of faces and I held up my hand for her to see the ring. Next thing you know she’s opening up a bottle of champagne. 

Wedding Bells

In 1996, a few days after I finished graduate school we got married and officially started our life together as husband and wife. We had a huge, fantastic wedding. We had it at Birmingham Country Club, and had all of our college friends and high school friends, plus so many others. It was a total blur and the entire evening seemed like it had lasted for only 15 minutes. The next thing I knew we were in a limo going to a surprise destination, which was Cabo San Lucas, by way of Atlanta. We probably had the most fun in that limo eating and drinking our entire way to Atlanta.

The Honeymoon

The next morning we left so early to go to Mexico, once we got there we realized this was the first time we had ever spent so much time alone. We were always with friends or family. It was so nice. During the day we vegged out at the beach or the pool and ate and drank and relaxed. We were so exhausted from the wedding.

Well as luck would have it we were in a bar on the beach watching the American version of the weather station and they guy was saying the the eye of some hurricane was going to hit Cabo San Lucas in a 1 ½ days. Wow! We decided to stay and just deal with it. The rest of the trip wasn’t near as relaxing or romantic as the first part. We lost power and hot water and had to sit in the hotel lobby with all the other guests for about 8 hours until the storm had passed.

One good thing was we got free cocktails and food from the resort. We ended up having a fun time regardless and made friends with other couples from the states on their honeymoon. It was definitely memorable. 

The Move to Park City, UT

Three weeks later we left hour home in Alabama and moved to Park City, Utah after deciding we wanted to spend our first year of married life in the mountain close to a ski resort, since this was the only time in our life we could do this. We rented a condo, sight unseen from the local newspaper.

It took us 3 days to drive out west to Park City, our new home. We got “real” jobs, but always seemed broke, however we loved every moment of it. We had each other and we were starting our life together! During the year, we had so many people come and visit us, we skied, we ate in 5 star local restaurants and we hiked and camped and were in the most beautiful surroundings. Best of all we were together.

Before we could blink a year had come and gone and we ended up buying a home at the base of the mountain. Two years became 6 years pretty fast. We moved there for the winters, but stayed because of the summers. During our 2nd winter we became parents to our first puppy, a German Shepherd named Lisa. During the summer, we would travel to other ski resorts, camp and hike. We made lifelong friends, had fantastic real estate jobs and lived an incredible lifestyle.

The Move Home

In 2001, Mead’s brother got sick and it was life threatening, so Mead had to fly back and forth many times to AL. Finally we decided that we needed to move back home and be with the family. The next thing I knew I bought a house, while I was home for a wedding and Mead hadn’t even seen it yet (he was still in Park City). Two weeks later, Mead came home for a wedding and saw the house we bought and went on some job interviews. The next thing I knew he had a job and he was moving home. I still had job commitments and I couldn’t move for another few months. In June 2001, I moved back home. 

When I got to Birmingham I drove to my new house, which Mead had already moved into and unpacked. He was so excited to show me things he had done the the house, like plants he planted and photos he had put out. It was so exciting and scary that we were back here at home. We had the marriage thing dialed in, but we were never married where we lived in the same town as our families. Thank goodness Mead and I have a very loving, stable relationship. We are so lucky that we are each others best friend, in addition to being married.

Forever and ever

Both of us are social people and love to entertain at our home. Cooking helps both of us unwind from work and we enjoy spending the time together catching up. Even now, after the kids go to sleep, we pop open a bottle of wine and sit outside to have fun and talk about our future, dreams, our goals and future children. We have fun spending time with each other at the lake and beach! 

Mead and I we so young when we got married and have grown up with each other and have experienced many things together. I guess the main thing we had to adjust to when we got married was being around each other so much. But it was really nice, because we also had to completely depend on each other because we were alone Park City and so far from home. 

Now we have been together for over half of our lives and he is my part of my heart and soul. When Mead walks by me, he always smiles my way, which still melts my heart.  He is so supportive, caring and giving with the people he loves. He is a warm and genuine person and is always conscious of my feelings. I can’t even count the times he has brought flowers home to surprise me.

We have been through a lots of rough patches since we moved home. I struggled with infertility, our twin passed away due to premature birth, my father passed away and his brother passed away. Just some really crappy cards. but he is my rock. I look at him and still crush on Mead.  I can’t envision life without him and am still in love with him and am looking forward to continue to growing old together!

Cheers to another 30 years together!!! Not to shabby for 2 kids in love as high school sweethearts! Time flies when your having fun!!! Love you babe!

xox, Laura