Memories, like the corner of my mind...

I've been thinking a lot lately about how Mr. Bunny and I met. And the more I think about it, the more overwhelmed I become by the idea that we could have lived our whole lives and never even run into each other. It makes me really sad to think about, because I'm so happy with my life. But without Mr. Bunny, I'm not sure what I'd be doing now. I know my life would be completely different. When you think about it, everyday we make decisions that could effect the rest of our entire lives. But as a silly 19-year-old girl, there was no way I could have predicted what fate had in store for me the night of January 2, 2004.
I heard about Mr. Bunny before I ever met him. I'm pretty sure I was 16 or 17 the first time his name came up. One of my closest friends from high school, Justin, had an obnoxious, yet oddly endearing older brother named Chris. Justin's family lived in Washington state until he was 15. Chris had several good friends from Washington who would come down to visit Austin and stay with Justin's family. I met them all at some point or another.
There's Rickey, Justin's sweet, good-natured cousin who loves Jesus candles. There's Matt, the youngest and the wittiest, with rumored Canadian roots. I met Todd at Chris's wedding--he's the gentle giant, a hippie who became a dad just after high school. His love for his son is apparent in everything he does. I met Josh right after he lost his mom to breast cancer; he is one of the funniest people I've ever met, and used his humor to mask the sadness. Then there's Bill*, a Marine, one of the smartest people I know--I had quite a crush on him at 16. Little did I know he was gay (I didn't find that out until Mr. Bunny told me three years later).

I met all of them--except for Mr. Bunny. But his name came up over and over. These boys were all about 4 or 5 years older than me and my friends, and as teenagers, we were in awe of them. We listened to their stories of high school hi-jinx with intense interest. I remember hearing about my future husband and the parties he hosted in high school. I heard about the quirkiness of my mother-in-law long before I got to see it with my own eyes. Josh once told me that Mr. Bunny got him a job at the factory where he had his summer job. Josh couldn't force himself to come back after lunch the first day. This was in part because he found out that Chris had been diagnosed with leukemia (Today Chris is healthy as a horse and still stubborn as a mule). But Josh also told me that the half day of work at that factory was the hardest job he ever had. Mr. Bunny worked there for two whole months. Now that I know Mr. Bunny, I'm not surprised-he's a very hard worker.
I always figured I would meet Mr. Bunny eventually, and we came close to meeting each other nine months before we ended up crossing paths. When Chris (Justin's brother) got married, Mr. Bunny was this close to coming down for the wedding. Something came up, and he wasn't able to make it. The wedding took place a month before I graduated from high school-when I think about how different things might have been if he had come to visit then, it scares me. I know that we wouldn't have started dating. As high school girls we were seen as off limits (at least we were then).

Looking back, I'm sure of the fact that I wasn't ready to meet him yet. I was too young, too naive, and had little experience with matters of the heart. I remember being impatient, and wondering when I was going to find somebody to love. But I don't think I could have fully appreciated the wonderfulness that is Mr. Bunny that April. I was 18 at the time and I met him right after turning 19, which may seem to make little difference, but that year had a big impact on me. I went off to college, had some silly dalliances with boys, and I learned a lot about myself. At 18, I was very immature, and I'm pretty sure I would have annoyed him.
Mushy as it sounds, I truly believe that love has a way of finding our hearts when we are ready for it (and in my case, when I least expected it).
Do you want to hear more of this story? I know the majority of you know me, therefore you know all about me and Mr. Bunny, so I don't know if you're interested. If you are, I could make it a multi-part serial, a smaller Elle Bunny version of Black Heels and Tractor Wheels. Bonus points if someone could help me figure out what to name it. "Bunny Hops and Big Dreams"? "The Bluebonnet and the Bunny: A Love Story"? Discuss.
Have a great day!

Love,

Elle Bunny

*Bill is not his real name. If you know me, you most likely know who I'm talking about.