Last night, 2001

Last night, Kyle went to Riverfest to see The Black Crows and to meet up with his friend Si. Before he left, we laughed that at a Riverfest concert, this night, 9 years ago, was the first time I ever saw Kyle. I joked that life was strange. And it is. 9 years later, Kyle was a Riverfest and I was home with his son. Life hasn't exactly turned out life either of us thought, but God has been sweet to give us each other. And I will never forget that night at Riverfest, 9 years ago:

The bands were loud. There were huddled smiling masses everywhere. We had just graduated high school and we were living the dream. The air was humid and hot but we didn't care because we we young and we were out on the town. Perched on a grassy area, we could see the stage well and all the concert goers. At the end of Jennifer Knapp he passed me, dodging the crowds. He made his way down to the very front. I forgot why I came, I couldn't help but stare at him. I can still remember what he was wearing; burgandy cordiroys (I remember thinking it was summer, who wears cordiroys this late in the year?) a white button up shirt that was rolled at the sleeves and flip flops. He was so tan I thought he was an indian or something international. He had long shaggy hair that flipped in every direction. Again, I was obviously staring.

He and his friends stayed all the way through Shawn Mullins. Thinking that is was late and how long it would take to find the car and make curfew, we began gathering our things and saying goodbye to friends. As the concert ended, he and his friends walked past us again and he looked at me. It wasn't in slow motion and the stars didn't align but we made eye contact (probably because I was staring at him) through a crowded outdoor concert.

I remember as we were searching for the car I told my friend that somehow I thought I was going to marry that guy. I immediately thought that sounded ridiculous and fantastical. You'll never even see him again, I scolded myself.

But I did see him again, a year later in Si's dorm room.

I didn't recognize him in that moment or really for a while. Later, even after we had started to date, while talking about music and concerts we had been to, we realized we had both been there, that night. And I realized I had seen him there.

And 9 years later, here we are. Most people don't even know that story but it's how our story actually began.