A night to remember

It's a prom theme!

No! It's a happy husband *and* a happy birthday! Yay! Woooooo! Go Pack (to the Super Bowl), GO!

However, were you all also aware that this birthday has other special significance? That this day holds stories of sports and romance?

Ten years ago tonight, Kurt took me out to dinner for my birthday. At my request. Little did he know, I was about to tell him we should start going out. Little did I know, he was currently dating someone else.

For nearly two years leading up to that night, Kurt had been asking me to date him. When he first told me that he liked me, with sympathy and a happy-go-lucky smile I told him that "That happened to me before. You'll get over it." But we proceeded to hang out consistently. Then constantly. Then almost exclusively. All the while, not dating. See, I really like hanging out with Kurt. He's smart. And funny. And he thinks I'm all sorts of hot. That's a killer combination.

So why weren't you dating?

'Cause six months before we hung out for the first time, I had drawn a line in the sand. I had then broken up with yet another of many boys and God convicted me of my boy-wheeling ways. Then and there I vowed to myself,"The next guy I kiss is going to be my husband."

Now, this was a necessary and good thing in the life of a "all my self-worth is wrapped up in boys" sort of girl. But it left things very black and white in my brain. It translated, "The next guy I date is going to be my husband."

You could say Kurt was working at a disadvantage.

Fast forward a year and a half. Kurt and I both determined on the same night at our respective student ministries that we couldn't keep hanging out. It wasn't fair to either of us. So we "broke up".

Fairly quickly, a boy at my student ministry asked me if he could date me. I said no - I wasn't attracted to this guy. But he was a good guy and a buddy of one of my most respected friends. So when he said, "Tara, it's just coffee. Let me take you out for coffee," I said okay. And it continued that way for 2-3 months. He would call. Ask if I wanted to do something or go somewhere. I said sure. And then one January night after we had hung out, I came home and my roommate Nicole asked, "So Tara, have you kissed so-and-so yet?" to which I made a face and said, "No!" To which she said, seeing my strong reaction, "Um, Tara, did you hear yourself? You might want to do something about that."

So I called so-and-so and said the telltale words - "We need to talk." We did. He brought me home. As I was exiting the car he said, "Can I just tell you one thing?" I said, "Yes?" He said, "My biggest frustration in trying to date you has been your relationship with Kurt."

What? I closed the car door and walked up the sidewalk to our building door, the whole while my head racing with many thoughts with single theme: "I have to get over Kurt. I will never have another relationship if I can't get over Kurt. How do I get over Kurt? I have to get over Kurt." And I had no idea how that would be possible.

I got up to our apartment and recounted to the girls what had happened. I posed them my impossible situation. And Nicole says the immortal words: "Why don't you date Kurt?"

And a light bulb came on.

Date Kurt! Of course! I was swimming in epiphany and elation.

This was the girl he called the next night to wish her a happy birthday.

I giddily took the phone from Nicole. I grinned from ear to ear. I gushed at his every word. I asked him if he would take me out for dinner the next night for my birthday. He agreed.

We met at his building on campus after class. I was all smiles. Gratuitous hand touching punctuated every exchange. Did he sense a change? You'd have to ask the man.

At the 2000-era Ames restaurant, Hickory Park, I sat across from him and laid everything out on the table. How I realized I could date someone and not marry them! How I realized that I liked him. How I realized that we should date! I told him I knew it was a lot of information and that he didn't have to say anything right now. He didn't.

He went home and talked to his roommate. He told him it wasn't fair. Eighteen months of pursuing me, then we stop seeing each other, he starts dating someone else (from his student ministry) and now I want to date?! It wasn't fair. After a week or so, Kurt decided he was going to tell me.

He came over to the girls apartment and I wasn't yet home from student teaching. He chilled in the living room - my roommates were his friends too - and waited for me to get home.

I opened the door. I looked down at the answering machine (to see if he had called regarding my, um, proposition) and looked up to see Kurt and broke into an unending smile.

And he changed his mind.

He changed his mind!!

And the rest is history.

Ten years later, we're eight months out from our tenth anniversary. He's still funny and smart. He still thinks I'm all sorts of hot. He is still the person I want to talk to at the end of the day. And on this birthday night, we're together with our three baby girls.

One who happily and proudly donned her Packers jersey, per mama's birthday wish.
One who wore her fanciest dress despite mama's request because, "Mom, it's your birthday - I want to wear something special."
And one who in this shot looks like a white baby version of the Pack's plausible game MVP, B.J. Raji.

I love my man. I love our baby girls. I love all of us loving his team. And I love that God knew it all would be, all along.