We had worked together at Willow Creek Church in suburban Chicago for about 5 months, and over that time span, he asked me to do things as friends, like meet for church, take me out to dinner to thank me for taking him to pick up his truck that was in the shop, et cetera. He wanted to be friends and we were friends. I didn't completely get that he was that interested in me. Besides, my parents were divorcing and I was REALLY not interested in bringing home a man to meet my mom and dad who were fighting and battling and splitting up.
In early December we had our Staff Christmas Party. My department was part of the planning crew so we were busy most of the day getting ready. I had lunch with my fellow teammate Teresa and during lunch she had asked me if she could give my number to a friend of ours from the Singles Ministry. I knew the guy and he had always been super nice to me, but my parents divorce was just looming over me and I really, REALLY, REALLY didn't want to bring a guy into that mess. I told Teresa, "no" and asked her to explain to our friend why I had to say no at that time.
Later that night during the Christmas party, it was my job to take photos of the evening, so I was running around. I sat with Jay during the sleepy Fernando Ortega concert in the auditorium and I had bumped into him a few times that night. As the party ended a few hours later I went back to my desk to gather my things and head home. I took a lap around the building to see where Jay was so I could say, "See you later, it was fun hanging out with you," but I couldn't find him. I just walked out in the snow to my car.
When I got into the parking lot, I noticed someone walking back into the building. It was freezing out and I wondered why the guy didn't have a coat on. It was Jay. He had been looking for me too and went out to the lot to catch me. He walked me the rest of the way to my car and he officially, formally asked me out to dinner and Christmas shopping in downtown Chicago.
I said yes, but as soon as I did, I did a double-take. In my head I said, "Who said that?" I had just turned down a request from a friend that afternoon and here I was saying yes to a friend I worked with. What the heck? Who said yes?
Well, the rest is history.
So, why this ornament? It was given to me the night of the party. Honestly, I can't remember if it was a staff-wide gift or if one of my teammates gave it to me that night. Nonetheless, this ornament reminds me of the night when Jay first asked me out.
