Mollie
Once upon a time…in a galaxy far far away. Well, if you want my side, it all started 6 (really 6.5-Nick) years ago when I was a little ol freshman at the University of Kentucky. Sr. Ellen, the pastoral associate at the Newman Center, introduced Nick and me without any preconceived ideas. However, we still went to the same church and while he didn’t see me, I always saw him. I can recall a few times during a period of college where I would go to the 9:00 AM mass because I knew that was the one he usually attended. If I was lucky, he would be my side’s Eucharistic minister. Oh, how many times I prayed he would come and be on my side and how few times it actually happened. After that period, I saw Nick a few times more (not at church, but at a coffee shop).
But it wasn’t until a fall day in late October when we first had a real conversation (and don’t think it was Nick’s initiating). I was walking our temporary pet 150 pound golden retriever through Woodland Park and saw Nick getting into his car on the edge of the park. I quickly dragged Bodean towards Nick’s direction. I casually called out his name as if I were surprised to see him there. We chatted for a few minutes that felt like a second and then we parted ways. Two Sundays later, I saw him at church and we spoke for a few minutes. Later that afternoon, I received a facebook message from Nick Such asking to grab coffee later that week. My Thursday night class could not have gone by any slower. The rest is HIStory…
Nick
I remember when Sr. Ellen first introduced Mollie and me, back in 2009. We saw each other a few times over the years, but never really got to know each other. About a year before we actually started dating, Sr. Ellen ran into my friend Garrett at Kroger and tried to play matchmaker, but the timing was still not right. God’s timeline is often a bit different from our expectations. I remember our first date at Common Grounds. We talked about neuroplasticity (Mollie brought that part up!), and got to know each other a bit. Both Catholic, from big Catholic families, growing up Notre Dame fans, with a strong connection to our ethnic heritage. Our second date was to a hole-in-the-wall diner called Charlie Browns. That’s right, I took the dietitian out for a burger and fries…that’s how I knew she really had a thing for me. We sat there for 4 hours talking, and it felt so natural. I later found out that Mollie went home after this date and proclaimed to her sisters, “That’s it, I’m going to marry him!”. I’m glad that they pressed Mollie to be a little more patient, but the writing was on the wall.
