Thanks Allison

Not too many of us can pinpoint one exact moment that changed our lives forever...but I can. For me it was 16 years ago today, October 18, 1993. I was a freshman at Ohio University. I was only 18 years old, with my whole life ahead of me. When I woke up that morning I had no idea that the days events would set in motion a journey that would lead me to where I am today...a happily married, mother of two.

The day started off like any other. I stumbled out of bed (with the help of my handy "alarm clock" - my roommate, Amy) and made my way to my 8 a.m. class - Freshmen English - yuck! After class I grabbed a copy of The Post (our school newspaper) and headed back to my dorm to kill some time before my 10 a.m. Political Science class. I was startled by the phone ringing. I had fallen asleep on the floor while reading the paper. It was my friend Allison. We had Poli Sci together and usually met in my dorm lobby to walk together to class. I told her I was too tired and was going to skip class that day (I think we can all see what kind of student I was shaping up to be but this story isn't about my academic career). Allison, being the dedicated student that she was, tried to convince me to join her for class. Repeatedly I rejected her reasons why I shouldn't skip class. She gave it one last ditch effort with: "Bill is teaching class today."

Bill was the graduate teaching assistant in the class and, like most of the girls in the class, I had a huge crush on him. What can I say - he was older - he was brilliant - and he was adorable. I hustled down to meet Alison and we headed to class. The class was on issues in American politics and that day's subject was abortion. I won't bore you with the details but the discussion got VERY heated. For those of you who know me well, it should be no surprise that I had plenty to say on the subject, and spent most of the hour arguing back and forth with several other students.

Skip ahead a couple of hours...

That afternoon Bill called me in my dorm! I almost passed out. He said he really appreciated my participation in class and wanted to know if I wanted to check out the campus pro-life meeting that was taking place that night. Not the best pick-up line I've ever heard but it sure worked. After the meeting ended he asked me to go get some frozen yogurt & he paid - yep, this was definitely turning out to be a date in my book.

As I sit here typing this blog I can still feel the way my stomach knotted up when he walked me home that night and I'm proud to say that I haven't lost that feeling. I can be having an exhausting day with the kids - feeling about 100 years old - and he comes up behind me and gives me a hug and I feel like that 18 year old girl again. So, tonight I want to say "thank you" to Allison. Thank you for being such a dedicated student and convincing me to NOT skip class that special day.