Our Beginnings (Happy Valentine's Day!)

Whenever I look back and reflect on my story, I am reminded that where I am today is no accident. I see the way the Lord fashioned each choice, experience and opportunity to make me who I am and bring me to where I am today. I am blessed. I am thankful. I am undeserving. I am humbled.  So in honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I would share the part of my story where the Lord brings into my life the man that I would one day fall in love with, marry and begin this journey of parenthood with.

Seth was actually not the type of guy that I grew up seeing myself with. Sure he was a football player (totally expected) and complete man of God, but I always thought that I wanted the center-of-attention life-of-the-party type that I connect with immediately in our very first conversation. This is not our story. In fact, I don’t even remember meeting Seth for the first time. We simply found ourselves in similar circles early in college.

I do remember the first time I gave Seth a first thought. It must have been sometime sophomore year; it was cold out. I don’t know who all was hanging out that night or what we did, but I remember riding along (alone) with Seth to drop off the Pietrini Jeep at Nathan’s Briarwood apartment. On the walk back and while we casually talked about nothing important, I thought about if I could ever see myself with this guy. He was great, but I just had this feeling like I wanted to shake him because he wasn’t easy for me to get to open up like the extroverted, easy-to-connect with type that I expected to see myself with.

I sure didn’t see it, but Seth was starting to, and our friends (particularly his – i.e. those that knew me as “Beccatime”, or BT for short) were starting to talk about it.

We became good enough friends that I almost visited him in Chicago that summer after freshman year. I thought you may enjoy these select email excerpts I received from him in the days before cell phones and Facebook. And you didn’t think Seth was much of a flirt…

6/11/03

To my favorite person in the entire world:

Sorry I took so long, but I couldn't get into my email since I didn't change my password like bobby craton told us to…I just got back from a White Sox game and a movie with some friends to finally find it working.  Anyways, anytime you want to come out here you are welcome for as long as you want, just let me know and I'll set it up. 

How has your summer been so far? I hope it hasn't been as lazy as mine…I'm interested to hear about all of the fun things you people do out in Minnesota…

Your favorite person in the entire world

Seth

7/2/03

To the less filling and great tasting (?) girl I have decided to try calling  Beccalite:

Assuming you were referring to July 25 as the last weekend in July, everything will work out perfect...It would be great to see you that weekend. I am already starting to experience BWS (that's a fancy medical term for Becca Withdrawl Syndrome), so I hope to see you before school starts...

From someone who has run out of clever ideas to end his emails with

P.S. If you get the Taylor magazine at your house, open it up to the inside cover and you might just find a picture of something to hold you over until the next time I see you.

While it didn’t work out to visit that summer, by the middle of sophomore year, we definitely had a few I-might-like-you-moments. For Seth, after our shared J-term class and more time together, including a trip to his parents house that break, he was about ready to pursue me. A few days after Seth begin to pray about this decision, I broke the news (and his heart, kind of). You see, Seth had decided that he would spend second semester junior year studying abroad in London. Second semester was the obvious choice for him since he played football. For me, on the other hand, it made sense for me to study abroad first semester to allow me to take a J-term class.

I announced I would be studying abroad in Hong Kong first semester. He heard, “We’ll be an entire year apart.” I knew (nearly) nothing of his interest at the time, and Seth thought this was a closed door. So he thought.

A couple months later we both attended a mission trip to Mexico for spring break. And I tested him. I vividly remember our group walking to the bus one afternoon after climbing a mountain. I intentionally dropped back just a bit to see if Seth would notice, and if he would stop and wait. He did just that. And for the very first time in my life, I was scared of this boy that liked me. Because I remember thinking, this might just be real.

Our story from there was not all rainbows and butterflies. This I will share another day. But I will share this for now: The Lord knew what I needed, and wanted, better than I knew myself. Thank goodness! Because has given me more than I ever could have asked for or imagined. I love you like crazy Seth Pietrini. And now we are being given a new life to add to this family of ours. We have lots of love to be shared. Happy Valentine’s Day Little Pea!