Happy Birthday, Stiemy!

December 1995 I remember my best friend and college roommate talking about this boy they called Stiemy. How he was so cute and she thought he was a really great guy. All I really knew about him was that when I was a Sophomore, I think I was in a car returning from the Landing that gave him a ride. His last name was the same as one of my closest friends and that was really all I knew of him.

February 1996 I had a date to a fraternity party with this guy that played football for the bulldogs. We headed to Anthony’s in West Point for a great meal with a huge group. Stiemy was in the group and he had a date with a girl and they really didn’t seem that in to each other. I recall giving him a really hard time and looking back on it am sure this was just my way of flirting. Fast forward a few weeks to the night before spring break was to begin and a big group of girls were out celebrating Holli and Steckler’s 21st birthdays. Again, Stiemy was there (was he beginning to follow me)? I went to sit down and visit for a bit and this is how the conversation went:

Me: “hey”
Stiemy: “hi, you can’t sit there”
Me: “excuse me?”
Stiemy: “you can’t sit there that is someone’s chair”
Me: laughing…”you mean her’s” (as I point to the girl headed to ladies room)
Stiemy: “yeah”
Me: “fine then” as I got up to move he backtracked a little.
(Obviously, the date he had been on earlier had gone better than I thought.)
Stiemy: “what you doing for spring break”
Me: “headed to Orlando with Ashley”
Stiemy: “why?”
Me: “well, we have interviewed for jobs at Disney for the summer and I’m just
going down to play”
Stiemy: “if you live in Orlando how will I ever talk to you?”
Me: “we don’t talk now, why would you want to talk to me this summer?”
(now who is playing hard to get…hahaha)

So it began, the relationship with Stiemy. Long distance all summer from Orlando. My parents say that when I came home one weekend to visit, they had never seen me so nervous as I waited on Stiemy to come visit me. I was at Disney for his birthday and sent him a care package that included: a turquoise polo t-shirt, I Like You book and a stuffed Eeyore. Little did I know at that point that everyone in the family watched each other open ALL of their presents and past cards around the room. Can you imagine the look on his face when he pulled out the book and a stuffed animal?

All of this was 12 years ago and today he will once again open presents for his birthday. June 20th marks his 34th birthday. He told me this morning that he felt old today and I told him it must be the 3 hot and beautiful younger girls he lives with and that we would keep him young!

There are 3 important men in my life: Daddy, Hart and Stiemy! Most girls are lucky to just have 1 and I have 3. He loves me for exactly who I am. He gave me the two most beautiful gifts I could have ever imagined. Nobody can make me so easily frustrated or make my heart flutter like him when he gives me that Stiemy grin (not even Keith Urban). The grin is what I get when I say something to him that he really thinks is silly or when the girls do something that make us so proud. Happy Birthday, Stiemy!