The Ugly Mug

It was 8 years ago I sat in the Echo Lake dinning hall and watched in complete horror as this mug was slapped together. I'm not kidding, I was dumbfounded as to how little thought and effort could go into something one would create. My jaw most likely was on the table. I spent at least an hour debating how to paint mine deciding on colors, words, design... (maybe I should say here that as part of being staff at Echo Lake we were treated to painting our own mugs for the summer). I barely knew the guy who painted this mug then, but today he is my husband who I am deeply in love with.
This morning it seemed all our mugs were dirty and at the very back of the cupboard was this one. So I used it to have my morning coffee and was flooded with memories. So in the name of some good ol' sap close to Valentines, this one's for you babe! (and some entertainment for the rest of you ;)
I had met him the year before, but I'm not embellishing when I say it was just an introduction as he dropped his niece off at camp that I so genuinely greeted him with my look of death. I had some major boy issues back then. He still remembers my, uh, not so loving, all men should die look.
So the next year we both end up working at camp (this is the ugly mug year). We went to training camp where I was certain he was interested in another girl. Until one day in the middle of chapel he fixed my necklace as he was sitting behind me... hmm. So I let myself 'feel' a little for him and picked up a bit on his flirting that he might be interested too. BUT then a friend told me he had a girlfriend back home. Well... it did turn out later that I was misinformed, but don't worry he got a good cold shoulder and I may have called him a few names too. Anyways... after that was all cleared up, a couple weeks into camp my friend and I ended up giving him and his friend a ride into the city to send his friend back home. Sorry, that's confusing, I'm just trying not to use names... stay with me. So, I generally like to think I'm funny. So funny in fact that most people don't catch on. Well on the ride we stopped at my friends house, where I was staying and happened to be keeping a diamond ring my mom had given me. So I wore it. On my ring finger. Aaaand may have nonchalantly got in the back seat with 'him.' Well, after a few minutes of his stomach churning and almost puking he asked me if I was engaged. I laughed and told him no, it was my grandmother's ring. Well, if we weren't off to a smooth enough start, turns out I have a pretty good chip on my shoulder... As were talking in the car, he looks at me and says 'You know, it's really hard to find a girl who is just focused on God'.

in my head: 'scuse me? did you really just say that?

what he meant was he finally found one.

Oddly enough what the girl heard was she was a flake like everyone else.

So I replied "yeah, well it's not like finding a guy like that is easy either!"

Ha! Take that!

Sometimes I really wonder how we got together.

Perhaps I should also mention that this whole summer he stated to everyone that would listen that he was a "Bachelor to the Rapture" and that "Girls suck, chuck rocks at them".... There was no way I could resist his charm!

But back to the mug... somewhere in those 7 or 8 weeks we worked at camp, we switched mugs. By the last week of camp I was wearing his down vest and carrying my hot chocolate around in this nasty green mug. The whole stinking camp knew more than we did how serious we were. Which is funny to look back at now, because I'd just roll my eyes at girls like me now. We wrote each other letters every day during nap time or when campers were settled at night. We still have most of them! And of course, we most definitely did not sneak out to meet each other behind the wash house at night... Got up waaaay to early to go kayaking together... Met his family who thought I was 12...

I am of course leaving a lot of details out, but my kids only nap for so long... but my favorite memory is sitting on the beach with him, watching the sun set and hearing him say

"...I think I love you."

"I think I love you too"

....

"No, wait. I love you"

"I love you too"