February 14, 2021

Valentine's Day Challenge


I was working on a good post about running, but then I saw people posting a Valentine's Day Challenge on Facebook. Yes, it's cliché, and I am not a Valentine's-Day-Celebrating person, but I do love answering little questionnaires once in a while. So here goes...

How’d you meet:
*I was writing a story for the school newspaper about stereotypes of other schools in the county. My classmate and I drove to other schools and interviewed randomly selected students. Jerry happened to be one of the people that the office chose for me to interview. I told my classmate after we left that I thought "the boy with the spiky blond hair" was cute. About six months later, he happened to be at my good friend Mike's house--they went to the same school and apparently, they were friends! We exchanged phone numbers and went out the next day. 


First Date:
*May 14, 1999. We went for a walk at the Metropark and just got to know each other. We stopped on a bridge and Jerry was extremely corny by singing the song "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid (apparently, that was his "move" on me). We ended up kissing on the bridge. When we finally got back to his car, we were pulled over by the Metropark police for being there after the park closed.

How long have you been together:
*It will be 22 years in May! We've been together since that first date in 1999.

Married:
*We got married on August 16, 2003. It was memorable because it was the weekend of the huge blackout that happened from the midwest to the east coast. The power came back on the morning of my wedding. So, thankfully, we had air conditioning, food, and music :)


Age difference:
*Jerry is SO OLD. He's 40, while I am still in my 30's (for 345 more days). Although, the lady that works at the lab where Jerry had his blood drawn would beg to differ. When we walked in, she thought that Jerry was my SON. So I guess I look old enough to have a 40-year old son!

Who is older:
*Jerry. See above.

Who was interested first:
*I think we both were! I had told my classmate that I thought he was cute, and apparently, Jerry thought the same about me. He said he thought I was way out of his league, though ;)

Who is taller:
*Jerry is 5'9", but he'll tell you 5'10" until the day he dies. I'm 5'4".


Who said I love you first:
*Jerry did, but I felt it, too.

Most impatient:
*It depends on the situation. I used to be very impatient about pretty much everything until I was medicated for bipolar, and now I am able to be reasonable and calm (much of the time--not always!). Jerry is typically very chill and go-with-the-flow, but in certain situations (like driving), he's very impatient.

Most sensitive:
*Me--100%, without a doubt, I am the most sensitive. And I hate that word with a passion, because my family used to say that I was "too sensitive" when I was growing up. I can't help it!


Loudest:
*In a room full of people, I'm basically a wallflower and Jerry is a stereo system. When it's just the two of us, I can get pretty loud!

Most stubborn:
*ME. I'm one of the most stubborn people I know. I've gotten more open-minded as I've gotten older, but I'm still a mule.

Falls asleep first:
*Ohmygod, Jerry falls asleep the second his head hits the pillow. Meanwhile, at around 2:00 AM, my eyelids start to get a little heavy--but all the thoughts racing through my brain just keep me from sleeping. Having bipolar disorder pretty much guarantees sleep problems. I have major insomnia. And worse, I hate sleeping because I feel like it's such a waste of time!


Cooks better:
*Me, without a doubt. Jerry tries, and I give him credit for that. He just likes to get too ambitious by adding a little of this and that (when they don't go together at ALL). Most recently, he assumed that granulated garlic and garlic salt were the same--the recipe called for a teaspoon of garlic salt, and he used a teaspoon of granulated garlic. I love garlic, but it was inedible ;)

See? Cooking like a boss.

Better morning person:
*Depends on which state of bipolar I'm in! ;)  I would have to say that I am, though. Even with very little sleep, I can get up and moving in the mornings. Once I'm awake, regardless of the time, I am WIDE awake after 10 minutes or so.

Better driver:
*Me. I am a "rule follower" when it comes to driving, and as I've gotten older, I've gotten more patient. I don't think it's worth it to pull out a little too close in front of someone or to barely run a red light in order to get where you're going just a minute or so sooner. The people that give me road rage are the people that are the opposite--very impatient! I'll let you guess who drove the Dart into the snow bank ;)


Most Competitive:
*Again, me. I am basically Monica from Friends.

Funniest:
*Jerry--he was even "class clown" in high school. We have different senses of humor, though. I'm actually really funny when I'm around just him! I don't feel too shy to throw out some one liners or things like that. I. Other people probably think I'm too serious. I'm not though, honest! And I'm MUCH better with banter than he is.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
*We don't eat out very often (the older I get, the more grossed out I am about eating at a restaurant). When we were dating, it was always Red Lobster. Now, probably Anson's for pizza, but it's usually with a group of people. I can't remember the last time we ate out as a couple!

Who is more social?
*Jerry is absolutely more social. He's as extroverted as I am introverted.

Who is the neat freak?
*Jerry is good at keeping things tidy, but I'm the one that's very particular about the subtler things--dusting, vacuuming and wiping the floor trim, spot-cleaning the cupboards, vacuuming under the couch cushions, etc. You can only guess who organized our clothes...


Where was your first kiss?
*On the bridge at the Lake Erie Metropark

How long did it take to get serious?
*We were serious really quickly, even though we were only 17 and 18 at the time. Jerry went to basic training just a couple of months after we started dating, but we stayed together the whole time. But if there was ever any evidence of our seriousness, there is this HORRIBLY embarrassing picture. We had this taken at Sears not even two months after we started dating. This should be in Awkward Family Photos Highlights Magazine, "Circle all of the embarrassing things about this picture".

Who's indecisive?
*Hahaha, ME--I blame it on the bipolar. When I'm hypomanic, especially, I cannot make a decision for the life of me. It actually gets really upsetting for me--I want to just make a decision, even about something stupid, but I can't do it. 


Who spends more?
*Before I was medicated for bipolar, I would spend a lot of money while hypomanic. I LOVE to buy things for people and I would spend way too much. Since my bipolar diagnosis and medication, I've gotten super responsible with money. I paid off $14,000 of credit card debt in 14 months and I've built up a nice savings. If Jerry was solely in charge of our money, he would spend every last dime on whatever he was feeling in the moment ;)

Who is the first one to admit when they’re wrong?
*Jerry always apologizes first, but I don't think he's actually wrong. We never really come to conclusions that one of us is "right" and the other is "wrong". We just move forward.

Who has more tattoos?
*Jerry does. I hate tattoos. Which is why he's lucky I didn't divorce him just for shits and giggles after he got "Katie" tattooed on his arm.


Who sings better?
*Neither of us can carry a tune. At all.

Who hogs the remote?
*Jerry usually has it next to him, but I'm the one that controls it ;)

Did you go to the same high school?
*No, but it's still how I met him :)

Where is the farthest you two have traveled together?
*I was going to say that it was Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, but I double checked and it's actually a farther distance to Portland, Oregon--so Portland is the farthest we've traveled together.


Who drives when you're going somewhere together?
*It depends on my mood. Jerry is a more aggressive driver (not "bad", but not as patient as I am) so sometimes I'll choose to drive. I would say that about 70% of the time Jerry drives, though.

This was fun! I'm curious if Jerry would answer everything the same way. I'm going to have to ask him tonight :)

5 comments:

  1. I have to admit, I get road rage sometimes. What does it for me is when I drive up to a four way stop as another car is pulling up. Even though I stop last and they have the right of way, they just sit there looking stupid. So then I try to go, and of course, so do they! It drives me nuts and I let them know it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. In that one pic from Sears that you said was embarrassing, my main reaction is, Wow, do your sons look like their father!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My husband has a courier business so he drives for a living. He is the most impatient person when it comes to other drivers. I INSIST on driving when we go out together. I can't stand aggressive drivers.

    LOL Sears photos were the thing in the 80s and 90s.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the high school pictures of the two of you. Even back then you guys were an adorable couple and it's only gotten better as the years have passed! 💗 I also had a lot of fun thinking about how I'd answer these questions with respect to my marriage (Why is it that men fall asleep so easily??? Grrrr....).

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love your "awkward family photo" - mostly because I had an identical shirt back in those days too. LOL!

    ReplyDelete

I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

Featured Posts

Blog Archive