Patrick & I had a pretty quick courtship. We met at the end of July & got engaged in December. The first three weeks of that we were together in California, then we started a long distance relationship. I was in New York, and he was in Florida. December we both flew home to California for Christmas. I remember being so excited about our first Christmas together as a couple. Christmas morning we were alone together (not sure how we pulled that off). We decided to exchange gifts. I can't even remember what I got him, but I'm sure it was something good. I'm sure I put a lot of effort into picking the perfect gift. I wanted to impress him and show him how much I loved him. I also was really excited to see what he had gotten me. I was sure it would be something wonderful. As I ripped open the package, I was very surprised by the gift. I pulled it out. It was a huge Disneyworld sweatshirt. I mean huge! It was an XL and back then I was a tiny 120 pounds. It was lame looking too with characters on the front (something I would never wear). I was really disappointed. I smiled and when he asked if I liked it I said "yes". This was not the sort of gift I was expecting. I acted happy and we continued our Christmas day.
Much later that night we were alone again. Pat started a fire and I sat in front of it. He surprised me with a proposal. I was shocked! Of course I said yes. He then went on to tell me that he spent all of his money on the ring, and couldn't really afford any other gifts. He wanted me to have something to open on Christmas morning, so he grabbed this sweatshirt.
It's pretty funny. I have kept it all these years, but have never worn it. I will never give it away, or toss it in the trash. It's such a great memory for me. The Christmas I actually got the best gift ever!
