Remember Me?

Wow- what a nice and loving response from so many of our extended circle! There is no easy way to deliver news like that, and it's never easy to hear. But I think we're all doing well on both sides. I hope you all feel that way, too.

One of my favorite movies is "Jerry McGuire". There is a scene where Jerry takes Dorothy (it took me 15 minutes to remember Rene Zelweger's name in that movie) to dinner and they start discussing past loves and heartbreaks- the "woe is me" exchange. And then Dorothy interrupts Jerry with the line "Jerry, let's not tell our sad stories."

It would be easy for me to go down that path right now- being sad and angered. But I need to remember our life right now before cancer became our third wheel. I am all for grieving, but not just yet.

So I thought it would be good to write about us as we are in real life. To remember and remind us we are just normal people despite such abnormal circumstances. So I borrowed the Facebook game of listing 25 Things About Me. So here is a joint post from Dan & I...

1. Dan has had 4 dogs- Snickers, Scooter, Shadow & Honey. I only had a guinea pig named Willy who, um, starved to death (it wasn’t really our fault- something was obstructing his throat).

2. Dan went to college at Western Maryland (McDaniel) & grad school at Wagner. I went to Miami (OH) and grad school at some no-name university in Cambridge. We are both extremely close to both our high school and college friends.

3. The first time we went golfing together, I hit it off the tee and right onto the green. Dan was so excited, he planted a little one on me. I think it was the first kiss. Later that day, I holed out from the bunker. My golf game has not reached those heights since.

4. Dan is the youngest of 5, and I am the youngest of 2. The rest of Dan’s siblings all own dogs and so does his dad (they all love dogs!) His immediate family is bigger, but my extended family trumps his.

5. When he was little, Dan wanted to be a taxi driver, and then a greenskeeper. I wanted to be a doctor or scientist. I even asked for & received a microscope for Christmas one year. My career in medicine didn’t make it past college chemistry.

6. Dan has a weakness for golf shirts. I have a weakness for sweaters.

7. Dan would rather be a Superbowl-winning quarterback than win the Master’s. I’d rather hit a grand slam home run in the bottom of the 9th, game seven of the World Series with the bases loaded.

8. Dan doesn’t drink coffee. I drink coffee every day, but have never made it myself. Preferred brew: hands down Dunkin Donuts.

9. Dan’s favorite meal is Grannie’s No Peak Chicken and his favorite candy is peanut butter M&M’s. But he doesn’t really like sweets. My favorite meal is just mashed potatoes and my favorite candy is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I inherited a bad sugar tooth from my mom.

10. When Dan went to my parents house to ask for permission to ask me to marry him, he described that it was completely silent after he broke the news. Until my sister-in-law said “See, I told you he wasn’t coming to ask for money”. My dad followed with “Ok Dan, let me show you where the lawnmower is.” I would have like to seen that!

11. Our go-to favorite take-out is Guapo’s (Mexican) in Bethesda. It helps that it’s right across the street. We have no problem ordering from there 3 times a week.

12. I am more reckless on a jet ski than Dan. He is a better driver- I even failed my driver's license test when I was 16.

13. For two people don’t live in Boston, we’ve been to Fenway twice together. Dan hated the Fenway Franks.

14. Our favorite TV show is “The Biggest Loser”. Dan is also very accepting of Bravo’s reality TV lineup. His favorite housewife is NeNe from Atlanta. I can’t pick a favorite. Dan also claims his favorite TV show growing up was ALF. I can’t top that one.

15. Last summer we played hooky from work and went to the waterpark all afternoon. Not only were we the oldest ones there by 10-15 years, but we were the last ones to leave at dusk.

16. We’ve both been on championship teams in the past year as part of Social Sports of Bethesda leagues. Dan- softball. Me- football. I definitely take it more seriously than Dan.

17. Dan’s worst habit is picking his fingernails. Mine is never screwing the lids on tightly. Habitually losing my keys/wallet/parking pass is a close second.

18. We both agree that if we would have any super power, it would be to be invisible. If he were to be a super hero, Dan would be Batman. I'd want to be part of the Wonder Twins.

19. Dan has a torn ACL that has never been repaired. The worst injury I ever suffered was a dislocated finger last year.

20. Dan has to have the toilet paper roll dispense from the top. I wasn’t aware of this until now.

21. We both had Pound Puppies when we were little, though Dan was obsessed with them. He even insisted on taking them in a carrier on a plane ride for a family vacation and has pictures of it.

22. We’ve rarely faught. Mostly because Dan doesn’t get angry and can't be baited. The only time I’ve ever been really mad at him was when he convinced me to jump in the river with him after we went white water rafting in Colorado. I’ve never felt anything so cold, and I braved Chicago and Boston winters.

23. We were both very good soccer players in our primes, and we both played defense.

24. The first night we had dinner, neither one of us wanted to go home after we finished. So we went to a park to play Frisbee. Dan sent me back to that same park the day we got engaged along a 5 hour scavenger hunt.

25. We both prefer dive bars to wine bars, dueling pianos & karoake to jazz, Miller Lite to anything else, Christmas over any other holiday... we don't mind dressing up in costumes or silly hats, spending lazy afternoons on the couch playing boardgames or never getting around to hanging pictures on the wall... we like to think of ourselves as two peas in a pod.