Sean and I had our first date on November 22, 1997. A couple weeks or so before that night my sister had driven out to visit me at school. Since he and I had numerous mutual friends, she got to meet Sean.
Right after meeting him that night she was pretty insistent that I should "go for it" with Sean. So much so that she took matters into her own hands. As we gathered late at night to grab food after a party, my sister asked Sean where he planned on spending Thanksgiving. He said he wasn't sure, but he had been invited to go to the home of one of our friends. Peg said, "You should come home with Nora" and he instantly agreed.
A few days after that first date it was time for Thanksgiving break. By this point I really liked this Sean guy and we were spending hours and hours talking each night. The night before we were supposed to go home Sean asked if he could sleep on the couch at my little one bedroom cinder-block campus apartment because his very peculiar roommate had his girlfriend staying in their room. He came over and as I handed him a fourteen month old McIntosh to hold he told me that was his first time ever holding a baby.
Every moment since that first night Sean has been a family with Mac and I.
Over the years as we have gotten older and so much wiser it has really occurred to me how improbably fortunate our little family is. How could we have ever really known that at age 21 and 20 that this would be something with longevity? That this would be the first of many Thanksgivings together.
All I know is Sean has been one of my biggest blessings, that he is an endlessly dedicated parent, and that together we can crank out some pretty darn good roasted turkey and gravy.
Thanks for being with me for the last 15 years Sean...love you to the moon and back.
