Here he is, the man I married. His name is Gary A. Mandelbaum, and we met way back on January 1, 1993. Funny story how we met up with each other. See, he was the person who brought a long time friend of mine to see me at the hospital while my dad was in ICU recovering from heart surgery. Gary and I didn't talk that much to each other in the beginning. All I really noticed about the guy was the color of his eyes. Something about blue eyes just grabs my attention...call me biased since I have them too? Maybe, but either way, he caught my eye.
Well, we kept meeting up with each other off and on for about a week after that. It seemed that everywhere I went, he ended up, so we'd sit around and talk to each other. Mostly, it was me doing all of the talking, and him doing all the listening and "uh-huhs." Gary's a quiet guy, so to say. There would be times I would just stop and look at him and say out of the blue, "Will you just shut up?!?!" That would make him laugh, break the ice, then he would actually say something to me. At that point, I thought to myself, "Hey, this guy ain't that bad...He laughs at my jokes, no matter how pathetic they are, and he seems to like me." Soon after that, we started dating.
Before long, Gary and I were moved in together with our own apartment across town from where we first met. Neither one of us really had anything to start with, so our place was quite bare. I remember buying a dining table with my tax return that year, just one month after moving in with him, and feeling so proud of that accomplishment. I laugh at it now, but I tell you, it was a proud moment in my young life. I was only 21 at the time, and this man that I was falling in love with was ten years my senior. It really didn't bother me at all about our age difference, and it never has to this day.
Before you can say ortho-novum, I found out I was pregnant. He already knew. In fact, the man told me one day that I was. It shocked me to think he could actually tell that I was pregnant without the aid of an EPT. To this day, he has always been able to be my first pregnancy test. He was excited about the pregnancy, and I was the same way. Just before I found out this bit of news, he had proposed to me. Of course, I said yes to his question. We hadn't set a date yet when the news of a new addition had arrived. I then had a new baby and a wedding to plan, so you can say I was a busy person at that time.
The months passed, and I was getting bigger by the second. When I was eight months pregnant, we moved into my mother's house to stay until the baby arrived. This way, we could save some money and be prepared for what was to come. Three days before I gave birth, we moved into a larger apartment of our own, and set up house there. Then, it happened. One morning, while Gary had already left for work, I woke up with a horrible pain in my lower back. I thought it was just from the stress from moving, but I quickly found out that I was wrong when sitting down with my morning cup of coffee, I was blessed with my water breaking all over my chair!
Alexander was born that morning, on October 10, 1993, just nine months and nine days from the first day I met his daddy. (Do the math, we were busy that first week or so... lol)
On April 11, 1994 my wildest dreams were realized when I married Gary at 7:30 in the evening. It was a small wedding, nothing too elaborate, but it was perfect. His Dad served as the Best Man, and my close friend, Gwen, served as my Maitron of Honor. It was a short, sweet ceremony, and the only time I've ever seen this man in a suit. :) (Have to say, he looks good in that..)
Andy was born nine months later on January 12, 1995. Yes, you can save your comments about the wedding night! :) He was our second and last child born to us, and our little miracle baby.
A little about the man I keep talking about here? Well, he was born in April of 1961 in St. Louis, Missouri. He's lived in several parts of the country here, including New York and California. He graduated from Irvine High School in Irvine, California back in 1978. After high school, he enlisted into the US Navy and served for four years. This man has done more in his 38 years than most of us do in our entire lives.
Gary's favorite things to do vary, but are usually along the same lines. He is a total motorcycle buff! This man is the only person I know who can literally build a Harley Davidson from ground up without the need for instructions. He's built many bikes in the past, and it's a passion of his to do this full time. Unfortunately, you either need to be an extremely wealthy person to do this, or have a lot of time on your hands. WE are neither! lol It is a fun hobby, I must say, but it is very time-consuming. He is the only person who I've been able to trust enough to get on the back of a bike with, and that is saying a lot for this guy! He always jokes about how his bikes are his first "children" before we had our own little bikers....of course, that doesn't mean that our kids will be able to just hop right on and ride with him any time soon! (ok, maybe when they're about ten years old, but no sooner!!!!)
Needless to say, this man has a lot to do with how I am today. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be a very boring individual, still single, still looking for that something in life that is hard to find. He's a great guy, and I just happen to be married to him. :)
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