Over the past year, we have shared many stories, recounting our relationship experiences (dating and marriage). As we approach our anniversary this year, it seems fitting that we begin to record these experiences, both for historical purposes and for capturing the humor and tears, the trials and emotions, and the bond of love that brought us together and continues to grow. This is the first of a multi-part series of posts that provides a historical record of our journey with a unique feature. Each part is written from each of our perspectives.
Our story commences with a serendipitous encounter that happened a little over twenty-one years ago that set the wheels in motion and slowly started intertwining our lives in ways we could never have foreseen. Along the way, we have discovered the beauty of our differences and the joy of our similarities. Like pieces of a puzzle fitting perfectly together, we complement each other in ways that are both surprising and delightful. Our many quirks and eccentricities have become the threads that weave the fabric of our shared story.
Welcome to our story.
Twenty-one years ago, sometime in the Spring, I was heading down the halls of my old alma mater, working my way towards the cafeteria, where I’d soon be running winter guard rehearsal with the other guard instructor, who is also my older sister.
What in the world is winter guard, you may ask…well, it’s an incredibly amazing activity that combines dance and equipment, such as flags, rifles, and sabres, to tell a story or create a statement of some sort. Performances mainly take place on Saturdays in the Spring, in gymnasiums of different schools. Guards from all around go and compete against other guards. Look it up and watch some shows! I could talk about guard for days, but that’s not the point of this particular story, so let me move on.
Anyway, I was walking down the hall when I passed by this crazy good looking guy with piercing blue eyes, dark hair, a sexy goatee, and a popped up collar on his black Adidas jacket. My heart might have literally skipped a few beats and I definitely had to look back after we passed each other. And this is about the time I decided that MAYBE my guard girls, who had been talking to me about this math teacher/soccer coach guy being someone I should meet, might be right! LOL!
I even tried to “meet“ him another day after rehearsal by showing up to a soccer game at the school that night. He had no idea what I looked like, even though by this point I knew he was aware of my existence. The kids were definitely talking to him too, but they hadn’t quite figured out how to get us in the same place at the same time. I’m pretty sure they suggested I go to the game that night.
Well, I got brave and decided to go. After the game, I walked down to the field and literally stood right near him for a few minutes, but I chickened out and didn’t introduce myself. I guess my bravery ran out and the nerves got the better of me. I made an effort, but it wasn’t meant to be on that day.
However, after some encouragement from several of my girls, including my younger sister, an embarrassing meeting at my car one day before rehearsal, and eventually, some old school handwritten notes back and forth through the kiddos between this hottie and myself, we started talking. The talking turned into dating, and the rest, as they say is history! On July 3, 2024, we celebrated 20 years of marriage and adventures! It’s been a fun ride, so far, and I’m looking forward to many more years of adventures together.
But before I move on to the here and now, I’d love to dive in a little deeper to the what was and some of the fun and funny that got us here. So, you read how I first saw Andy, but I didn’t mention that he didn’t notice me at all that day. GEESH!
So, when did he actually notice me? Oh, my gosh, such an embarrassing day…
I was in college still during this time, as a dance major, and working multiple jobs, in addition to my job coaching the color guard and winter guards. I was definitely burning the candle at both ends, so to speak, and spending a ton of time driving from school to jobs and back again. Running home to shower and change in between activities wasn’t always the easiest thing to do.
This particular day, I had been at school all day, dancing and sweating and didn’t have time to go home before rehearsal. Let’s just say this would not have been a day I was looking to pass the cute guy in the hall on the way to rehearsal. But as luck would have it, this is the day those girls of mine managed to talk the cutie into coming to the parking lot, just in time for me to pull up. They walked him over to my car and introduced us.
“Coach Bean, meet Miss Price,” they said with huge grins on their faces.
Bless him, because I was NOT feeling it! It’s not that I didn’t want to meet him, but it would’ve been nice to have a little warning and maybe had the opportunity to not be disgusting! LOL!
So.Flipping.Embarrassing!
Anyway, I barely looked at him and was pretty short during my “nice to meet you, can I go now?” Bless! But he must’ve at least found it amusing and could see through some of the grossness to what I might clean up to look like, because he played along when the girls wanted to take him a note with my phone number. And he called!
We played phone tag for a bit, but when we finally connected, I felt like we hit it off immediately. He was nice, respectful, funny, and actually interested in learning about me too, which is just about the total opposite of every guy that tried to talk to me at school or my jobs.
I was starting to lose hope that there were actually still good guys out there, and then he showed me there was! Talking and getting to know each other was fun, but we still hadn’t REALLY met face to face for actual conversation and hanging out. So, we made a plan for our first date…
So, where do I start? How far back do I need to go to start this story? Let’s start with three names: McKinley, Jessica, and Sarah. And, let’s set the scene of this story at the local high school.
I was an unemployed computer “geek” who recently took a job as a high school mathematics teacher and soccer coach (just starting in the second semester of the school year). As the semester continued toward the start of summer, I had several students who participated in something I had never heard of….an event called WinterGuard. Two of these students were McKinley and Jessica. Throughout the semester, and the season for their activity, they took it upon themselves to attempt to play matchmakers and introduce me to their instructor, who happened to be the daughter of one of my fellow teachers at the high school.
Although I was indeed single at the time, I was not actively looking for a “date,” but I humored their attempts and continued to ask them questions as they brought up the subject. This went on for several weeks. Also, it is important to remember that during this whole time, I have no idea what information is being told to their instructor!
One thing that I do remember about that time is there was an Adidas warm-up jacket that I would wear quite frequently. As I would find out later, this would become my identifying feature so the instructor would know who I was as I would walk through the hallways of the school during their WinterGuard rehearsals.
One day, late in their season, as I was walking out after the school day to head over to soccer practice, McKinley and Jessica saw me and came to talk to me, or stall me as I would soon find out. By stalling me, they were allowing their instructor time to arrive for WinterGuard rehearsals. They stalled me just enough, as shortly after getting my attention, they walked me over to where their instructor had just parked. Of course, at this point, they both had HUGE smiles on their faces. As the instructor got out of the car, McKinley and Jessica introduced Coach Bean to the instructor, Miss Price, for the first time. What a meeting that turned out to be!
This is how I remember the introduction meeting…
…[Me thinking to myself] So, this is the instructor that they have talked so much about this semester. She is indeed a beautiful young lady! Although, she does not seem to be very happy. Perhaps, she is not interested in meeting me.
All I remember after that is Miss Price saying, “Hello!” to me, and I think I might have gotten a “nice to meet you.” Then a statement, “It’s time for rehearsal!”
WOW! I mean….awkward!
Obviously, in the days that followed, McKinley and Jessica continued to talk to me about Miss Price, even feeding me lines saying that Miss Price said I was “hot.” Their attempts continued for several more days, and they had now enlisted the help of Sarah.
I am not sure how this part of the story goes for Miss Price, but all of a sudden one morning, I was greeted by Sarah at my classroom. All I remember is she handed me a folded-up piece of paper that had a message written on the outside, and the paper was sealed shut with an abundance of tape. The message stated, “If this tape has been altered in any way, I am not responsible for what is inside.” My thoughts after reading that…this is quite interesting, intriguing in fact. So, I accept the paper and tell Sarah thank you. Then, Sarah makes sure to let me know that it is from Miss Price and that no one has messed with it!
A bit later on, while I was alone, I opened the sealed paper to find a note. The note was a message from Miss Price stating some sort of an apologetic message for all the work the WinterGuard girls had been doing, but if I would like to talk, I could call her….and she provided her phone numbers!
This is where I am aging myself…because the means of contacting and communicating with each other at that time was still via a phone call, not the plethora of online social media options to communicate (SnapChat, text messages, Messenger, Twitter (X), Instagram, etc.). Now, back to the story…
At this point, given all the marketing that McKinley, Jessica, and Sarah had been doing, having finally met Miss Price, and now actually being interested in talking and seeing where this would go, I tucked the note back in my pocket for safe-keeping so I could call her later on and perhaps go on a date where we could meet and get to know each other, without the interference of our students.
I don’t remember the timeline from here, but I do remember that I attempted to call her many times, leaving messages occasionally, but I was never able to actually speak to her. Somewhere during this period of phone call attempts, I found out about an event that was going to be held at the local high school where we both worked. The event was called Relay for Life. I also found out that the WinterGuard was scheduled to be performing at this event, although I had no idea what that meant at the time. Regardless, I knew that it might be an opportunity to finally talk to her So, I made plans and went to my first Relay for Life event, and saw my first WinterGuard performance (even though it was on a football field). The performance was a routine of dance and color guard (flags, rifles) set to “Saturday in the Park.”
“Saturday in the park
“Saturday in the Park”, Chicago
I think it was the Fourth of July
Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
People dancing, people laughing”
Yep, that “Saturday in the Park.”
The one thing I never did see was Miss Price. I was informed later on (by the marketers…McKinley, Jessica, and Sarah) that Miss Price was not there that night because she had to work at her other job. “Ok,” I thought to myself, “so much for my plans of coming out here to see her and talk to her!”
Oh, another little bit of information I received from the marketers during this period was that Miss Price already had a boyfriend. However, the marketers thought that she and I should meet, so they didn’t care a whole lot about this little bit of information. Again, their attempts to be matchmakers. Still eager to meet and talk, away from our students, I continued to call and leave messages on occasion.
A few days went by, and one evening as I was sitting around the living room, probably watching TV with my dad and stepmother, the phone rang. I didn’t think anything of this, as the phone frequently rang and was always for my stepmother. So, on this occasion, I did my usual behavior of not answering the phone and continued watching TV. Then I heard, “Yes, hold on.” And, my stepmother handed me the phone. Shocked that I had received a phone call, all I could do was start thinking that she had finally gotten one of my messages and decided to return my call. I was already on the cusp of giving up on my repeated attempts to call and talk to her at this point. My heart was now racing and my palms were getting damp with sweat as I reached to take the phone. I was suddenly nervous! But, I grabbed the phone, and said, “Hello?” The voice on the other side was her. She finally called me back!
I don’t remember what we talked about over the phone, but I do remember that we talked long enough for my dad and stepmother to retire for the night, and one thing that did come up in conversation on the call was the fact that I was still living with my dad (with a response of “Oh.” from her).
Anyway, more conversation and discussion as the TV shows continued through the evening, and eventually it happened….we started talking about meeting up for a date.
“Friday night at eight,
Professor Sherman Klump, The Nutty Professor
Got myself a date,
I cannot be too late,
She might just be my mate,
And that would be so great,
So great, great, great, great, GREAT!”
The date was scheduled for the following Saturday afternoon. The point here is that I finally got it…I had scheduled a date so we could meet and get to know each other, away from our students!
Finally, we wrapped up the conversations and hung up for the night. And then, a HUGE smile came across my face as I filled with more nervous excitement!
This is awesome, you two. And I am so glad you met. Andy you are such a hoot.. and I now have four beautiful grandchildren. Happy belated anniversary.. I knew you were off making memories. ❤️
Thank you so much! I am glad that you read this. That has been much of our family theme this year…being active and making memories together.