I was on a path of circumstance and convenience. The circumstance was having the benefit of a military GI Bill, and the convenience was being especially satisfied with myself when helping others. Halfway down the path, I found myself a young single heterosexual black male in the female dominated profession of nursing. I was a novelty, and today was my first day at a coastal university in pursuant of an advanced degree. The plan was to get in, party like a rock star, make some questionable choices, a few new friends, and somewhere along the way earn that degree.
Phase one of the plan started out with a bang. There was nearly sixty people in attendance and my status of novelty remained without challenge. Now, before you go getting all the wrong notions, this is not about the objectification of women. I was focused, I wanted to do good, and adding a balance of testosterone to the right group proved to be a winning scenario in other like environments. Once embedded in the group, nature did all the hard work. The group consisted of a Mother Figure who would encourage, comfort, and motivate, a Task Master to schedule every aspect of everything; including a scheduled time to review the schedule, and last but far from least every group needs, The Finisher. No matter the assignment, whether it be reports, homework, projects, or studying for a test, The Finisher would have already booked a venue and procured all required materials to complete the task at hand. Write that down! If you are a man, less than perfect, and you need a winning team; try the above formula.
As luck would have it, keeping pace with the status quo, The Finisher would have already assembled a team, put in a request with the Task Master to schedule a meeting to complete the first assignment, and did also complete an emotionally bond with the Mother Figure. For these reasons, The Finisher was immediately declared the unofficial leader of the group. As I got to know her, it became obvious that her ability to connect with people is the secret sauce of her professional life, and also the catalyst accredited for the singular moment that changed the rest of my life!
After a full day that started and nearly ran to completion without a hitch, The Finisher and I gathered our belongings and started towards the exit. Steps from the door, I looked over my shoulder to visually confirm and acknowledge my understanding of the group’s plans. However, before I could revert my attention back to the threshold, reality as I know it would be altered... Only a second away from a clumsy collision, her voice whispered as if only to me; as does an equinox breeze on a sunny afternoon. Her presence was welcoming and warm in that same way. Now, standing face to face for the first time, I would symbolically offer my heart in the form of a greeting. With a sense of urgency I employed The Finisher to present us one to the other in grandeur esteem. Though anxious, the altered frame by frame melodrama slow motion spun inches into immensity, and seconds into surrendering. She was there but still light-years away, for after a lifetime of unwitting patience, I could hardly wait to experience her. As sure as I knew that nights precede day, in that very moment I also knew that for the rest of my life, this would be the story of, “How I Met My Wife!”