On April 4, 1998, I met Teresa. "T2" was her nickname. (Her young cousin, Josh, couldn't say Teresa. It came out as "Teretoo". The name stuck and was shortened to "T2".) We began to date and eventually we were married. The following are excerpts from a diary I kept of our time together. This is part one. I'll post a few more parts in the days to come. Enjoy!
4/4/98 – Met “Theresa”…Easter play at Montrose.
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4/4/98 – Met “Theresa”…Easter play at Montrose.
4/6/98 – Dan & I discuss Teresa; I agree to let him get her number for me.
4/7/98 – Dan says Teresa would like to get together with me.
4/12/98 – Dan gives me Teresa’s phone number.
4/22/98 – Called Teresa…not home, so left a message.
4/26/98 – Called Teresa again…not home, so left a message…she called me back 20 minutes later…nice conversation…“I like her!”
4/27/98 – Called Teresa again…talked for one and a half hours! …very nice conversation.
5/2/98 – First date - I went to her apartment in Laurel…she looked very nice…we talked a bit, then to Olive Garden for dinner…raining, so we walked together under an umbrella…she liked that I put my hand in the small of her back…upset stomach, to bathroom, gone a while…Teresa briefly thought I had left her…everything’s fine…back to her apartment…we talked for several more hours…I left at 11 pm…wonderful time...nice chemistry.
5/4/98 – Exchanged our first (of many) emails…talked on phone that evening.
5/6/98 – More emails…
5/8/98 – Called Teresa and we talked some more…“She’s a real sweetheart!”
5/9/98 – 2nd Date – I picked her up and we went to TGI Friday’s for lunch…went to Laurel Mall to window shop…to movies to see TITANIC (I later found out Teresa had seen it several times already)…back to her apartment…talked until 11 pm…First kiss…one hour drive home.
5/11/98 – Called Teresa…Kristen answered, gave me Teresa’s cell phone number; I called her and we chatted while she drove home; then she called me back and we talked for another hour!
5/14/98 – Called Teresa…another great conversation; she’s saying all of the right things…”I’m getting neat vibes!”
5/15/98 – 3rd date (unofficial) – called Teresa…nice conversation, planning to get together tomorrow…I planned to do laundry tonight…Teresa has no plans tonight…”I’ll see you tomorrow”, says Eric…Dan tells me there is no rule that says you can only date once a week…I call Teresa back…Of COURSE she would like to get together tonight…I drive to her apartment…she greets me at the door, says her room mate, Kristen, had to go to the hospital, stomach pains, says she’s sorry, she has to cancel our date…despite her protests, I go with her to the hospital…Elizabeth there, too…while we waited for tests to be run to find out what’s wrong, Teresa and I talk…we’re there until 3 am! Kristen has an ovarian cyst, but she is okay…Teresa later (MUCH later, after we are engaged) tells me she has a vision of me wearing her wedding band while we were waiting.
5/16/98 – 4th Date - Met Teresa at Montrose Baptist Church…out to dinner at a very good Italian place on Rockville Pike…to White Flint Mall to window shop…back to Montrose…met Teresa’s Mom, Lynda…then we watch the school play, FAMILY OUTINGS, by Paul McCusker, my cousin…good play, well performed…said goodnight and headed home…Teresa later tells me a lively conversation ensued between her and her parents…Jim, her Dad, says, “I believe we have a winner!”
5/18/98 – Another one and a half hour phone conversation…
5/20/98 – Another one and a half hour phone conversation (remember, it’s long distance to phone between Laurel and Montgomery Village…but there’s no price tag on love…)
5/22/98 – 5/25/98 - Teresa in Detroit for the National Speech Competition with several of her Mt. Hebron students…
5/23/98 – Eric buys a new sports car…a 1999 Eagle Talon...
5/25/98 – Teresa home…she wants to see my car, so I drive to her place and we go for a ride…got ice cream at Tastee Freeze in Laurel…she says she likes my car…
5/28/98 – Teresa’s 26th Birthday…I picked her up and we went to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory…we ate outside…after eating, we just sat and talked…a seagull flying overhead “unloaded” on our table…glad we were finished eating…we walked around and enjoyed a very romantic evening together…I took her home and said goodnight.
5/29/98 through 5/31/98 – Eric in Uniontown, PA, visiting with family.
5/31/98 – Talked to Teresa…”She’s so cheery…what a positive person!”
6/3/98 – Met Teresa at Boston Market for dinner…to the Wed. night service at Montrose Baptist Church…Dan introduced me to Pastor Ray Hope…and Kristy…
6/5/98 – “Cross-country”-ed to Teresa’s (rush hour traffic is very bad between Mont. Village and Laurel, necessitating back roads)…to movies and saw THE TRUMAN SHOW…talked and looked at pictures back at her place…left very late…
6/6/98 – Eric’s 29th birthday…Teresa treated me to pizza at The Ledo Restaurant in Langley Park…then Teresa gave me a personal tour of the University of Maryland campus (she was a tour guide there in college; we both went to UMD)…much fun!
6/12/98 – Wedding rehearsal for Teresa’s friends, Joanne & Kevin, at Montrose…dinner at Chili’s with Jun & Jen, Tammy, and Elaine…Teresa & I to James III to help set up reception room for Joanne…Dropped Teresa off at Montrose and said goodnight…
6/13/98 – Joanne & Kevin’s wedding…nice service and reception…hurricane-type weather hit during the reception…Teresa and I to her parent’s house…they’re out of town…we got a pizza and watched a video, JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO…good, romantic movie (sort of) to end a romantic day…then I headed home…
6/15/98 – Met Teresa in Rockville for dinner at TGI Fridays…
6/17/98 – I played street hockey with a group of co-workers…decided to stop at Montrose to surprise Teresa…I remembered that she had choir practice, so I left a note on her car’s windshield and headed home…She called me later and we chatted for a bit…I realized tonight just how much I really love her…We formed the “Mutual Admiration Society”…we’re the only members…
6/19/98 – Teresa and I out for a Chinese dinner and to the movies…
6/20/98 – Teresa and I to New Market, MD, for a surprise 30th birthday party for my friend and co-worker, Gary…Then to my parent’s place and Teresa met Mom & Dad for the first time…I think everyone liked each other, though Sam the Cat bit Teresa’s foot…Then we went to the Bowie Baysox game and I met Teresa’s Dad for the first time…Fireworks after the game…
6/23/98 – I met Teresa at Montrose, then I drove her to my place (she’s out of school for the summer)…out to eat at Mozerella’s…raining hard as I drove her back to Montrose and her car…we just sat in my car and talked until the rain let up and she could drive home safely…
6/25/98 – Met Teresa and Kristen at Montrose (Montrose Baptist became our “meeting each other halfway” spot)…to the National Zoo…DaVinci’s Notebook, friends of Teresa’s, performed…then to Armand’s for dinner…back to Montrose…Kristen went home, and Teresa and I talked for a bit…then we “raced” each other to the BW Parkway, where she headed home to Laurel and I went to Mom & Dad’s in Bowie…
6/26/98 – Teresa and to lunch at Macaroni Grill, then to Mt. Hebron High School, where Teresa works, and she gave me a tour…then to the movies at Snowden Square – first time in a theater with stadium seats!
6/27/98 – Teresa came over…cousin Erin here, too, waiting for Dan…Teresa and I took Erin with us to Frederick and went to Wonder Books, a used book store…then to Shoney’s for dinner…
6/29/98 – I decided to surprise Teresa at UMD, since she had a class that day, but it let out early and she had already left…I headed home…Called Teresa when I got home and she felt so bad that we had missed each other, as if it was her fault…
6/30/98 – Teresa made me dinner for the first time…we had her specialty, Ziti…afterward, I followed her over to Montrose for her ensemble rehearsal (Jun, Joanne, Tammy, and Elaine)…good time, hated to say goodbye…I found out about the nickname Joanne and Teresa came up with when they talk about me: E-man…
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