Nathan had taken the prerequisites for the Licensed Practical Nursing degree and needed to apply to the program. The way EITC worked at the time, as long as you fulfilled all the requirements you could get in, first come, first served. (The process has changed since, probably because of what happened that year.) There were a limited number of spots and a lot of competition. They would start accepting applications at 8:00 a.m. Monday morning. Several of Nathan's classmates decided they would line up the night before so they'd be sure to get a spot. Not wanting to miss out, Nathan headed over there around 2:00 p.m.
There were 6 or 7 students there when he arrived, bundled up and wrapped in blankets against the February cold as they sat in lawn chairs. I assessed the situation and then ran home for "a few things." I returned with our camp chairs, a space heater, an extension cord, some books to read, and our frozen wedding cake top. We were happily heating the great outdoors with the school's electricity when the news crews showed up to find out why all these crazy people were camped in the snow. There were now about 15 of us. The publicity prompted the school to open its doors so we could wait inside. I ran home again, returning with a 13" tv (to try to catch the SuperBowl commercials), a Nintendo game system, and Dr. Mario. I also brought a bottle of sparkling cider I'd been saving for the occasion.
By now, Nathan's classmates were starting to think I was either crazy or brilliant. We ate our cake as it thawed, sipping Martinelli's and warming up with the free food Wendy's kept dropping off (I guess they were feeling very bored and very kind.)I wasn't done. As it got late, everyone tried to make themselves comfortable on the floor, using their backpacks as pillows and their jackets as blankets. That's when I broke out the air mattress. We got a self-inflating double-high queen-sized air mattress for our wedding from Mike and Jessica Haddox, and I unashamedly blew it up. We had pillows and blankets too. People were just a little shocked at our brazenness, and jokingly warned us not to get carried away on our anniversary. (Around all those people? As if.) Throughout the night a definite hatred was kindled in many hearts, stemming from their jealously. But by morning I was proclaimed to be not only the Most Long-Suffering Wife in the World (for spending my anniversary in the school hallway) but the Darn Coolest Wife as well.
"Of course," Nathan bragged, "Why do you think I married her?"Oh, and Nathan was accepted into the program!
1 comment:
That's quite the story. You are a good wife!
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