Things About Me: I Like Accents

One of the first things people ask when they find out my husband is from Australia is, “How did you guys meet?” My friend, Jonna, worked with Simon and wanted to set me up on a blind date. It was between him and another guy who was a youth pastor; she went with Simon because he was from Australia and she knew I liked accents. Doesn’t that sound like a great basis for a relationship? A one-sided love of accents? Apparently Jonna knew what she was doing because here we are, almost 8 years later, married for 6 years with two kids (who both look like their father).
I mean, wouldn’t you have gone out with this guy? Who doesn’t love a peanut butter and chocolate candy-covered face?

The lovely picture above was very similar to the one Simon first sent me of what he looked like. The above photo was taken on the same day as the one he sent me but in his photo (which I can’t find at the moment), there were three guys and one girl and I had to figure out which one was him. And trust me when I say, I prayed he was the one I thought/hoped he was (and he was!) because the other options were not my type. [I found the photo, it is below – I totally lucked out!]

For reference, below is the photo I sent to him to show I was fun-loving.

We emailed and IMed back and forth a couple of times and decided to meet in person, at the mall. Perfect for a first date with a stranger, plenty of other people around us and casual atmosphere, plus, I thought, if I’m having a bad time I can just say I need to go pick something up at a store. But I didn’t need to worry about that, I had a great time talking with Simon and the date lasted 3 hours. On my way home I even stopped by my best friend’s house and told her about the date (I was living on my own for the first time and didn’t have anyone at home to analyze the date with) and I remember thinking, “This could be the person I am going to marry.”

And then I got this email:

I just wanted to send a quick note just to let you know how much I enjoyed your company last night. We talked for almost 3 hours,and seemed to connect with each other on different things. By the sounds of things, both our schedules are hectic in the next few weeks but I look forward to catching up with you soon.

Doesn’t that sound like an email from someone who perhaps wasn’t interested in pursuing a relationship? A polite, “I had a good time but have a nice life.” Bummer. But this was my first lesson about my husband, he is the most literal person you will ever meet. He honestly meant that he had a good time and that we were both going to be busy so he’d talk to me when he got back from an extended road trip. And while I had written him off, he had every intention of picking things back up when he got back because THREE weeks later, I got another email and things continued on from there. I still tease him about that email and not calling/emailing for THREE weeks after our first date – though apparently I wasn’t too miffed since I went out with him again (and again and again).

Less than two years later, on April 30, 2005, we got married surrounded by family and friends…

Happy Anniversary, to my hubsand*, I love you and forgive you for not calling me back for THREE weeks. And I still love your accent…

The picture we sent out with our engagement announcement
and (below) from a Chicago trip couple years ago.

Also, there are benefits to being married to someone with an accent, particularly an Australian one. You see, other people love it too, so we typically get pretty good service at restaurants. For the first five years we were together, almost every time we went out to eat, the server commented on his accent, asking where he was from or gushing, “I just love your accent.” It brings perks, but oh my gosh, does it get old. One time, we were driving back to Michigan from Chicago and had gotten a hotel room through Priceline. Knowing it would likely be small but hoping for some extra room because we had Liam and his pack and play, I sent Simon it to check us in and told him if it was a female at the front desk, to lay it on thick and ask if we could get a bigger room to accommodate the baby. He totally scored us the business suite for no extra charge. My hubsand rocks! Again, happy anniversary, my love!

*Misspelling completely intentional, we have always called each other “hubsand” and “wif” because being married felt so surreal when we were newlyweds.