The kindergarten meet cute
Did you ever think you would meet the love of your life in kindergarten? Neither did my parents.
I grew up constantly worrying that I was going to end up marrying one of the boys in my grade school classes. My parents love to tell the story of how they met in kindergarten, and so naturally I thought I would as well. Let’s hope that’s not the case because those kids weren’t exactly the cream of the crop by any stretch.
Aside from that, I probably know this story better than any other I’ve heard and it’s made me a bit of a romantic — but how could it not? I’ve always enjoyed this story, about how my parents met because it’s not one you hear too often and I find it amazing how, in a city of almost three million people, they managed to reconnect so many years later. It just goes to show how small the world really is.
Kevin and Diane met when they were four years old, when Kevin was caught red-handed stealing Diane’s animal crackers during snack time.
Flash forward to the second grade: they were on opposite teams for British Bulldog and Kevin, the young romantic that he was, shoved Diane, knocked her to the floor, and left a nice scar across her knee that’s still there today.
A couple years later when they were in fourth grade, the two had another fateful encounter. Kevin, at this point, had matured slightly in his understanding of girls, though he still succumbed to peer pressure. He whispered across the classroom aisle to Diane and motioned for her to lean in. Now as he did this, Kevin noticed looks from his buddies around the class, the typical “oh guys look, Kev’s gonna get Diane!” Ever naive, Diane complied, only to be met with a wad of spit in the ear — not something most girls want to receive. She reared back into her seat, disgusted.
A minute or two passed. Kevin was squirming at his desk. Diane ignored him, save for a few dirty looks for good measure. To her shock he motioned for her to lean in again, this time without looking around at his friends. She shook her head “no,” but he was insistent. She was in disbelief at what he had done, but could see his realization at how upset she was and knew he wouldn’t do it again. She’d also had a secret crush on him for years, which overpowered the voice in her head telling her she was nuts to give him another chance. Diane leaned in one last time and Kevin kissed her cheek and then shot back into his seat, his cheeks burning red, and continued avoiding classwork as usual.
The love had been confessed: Diane’s mom was right, Kevin was only mean because he liked her. The problem was, Diane was much too shy to ever reciprocate, so grade school passed with both waiting for the other to make the next move. Neither did and when elementary school was done they went their separate ways for middle school and lost track of each other.
Ten years later, Diane ran into Kevin’s brother and through him the two reconnected. The very next day Kevin went to the restaurant Diane was waitressing at for lunch. They talked endlessly and, as the lunchtime rush became the dinner hour hustle, they both realized that despite the years, they still had feelings for each other. They began going on weekly dates, which turned into a relationship of five years ending in a proposal — thus beginning their married life together. They have been married for 28 years and both agree they married their very best friend. Kevin and Diane’s story shows that while love at first sight is a romantic idea, often times the strongest loves bloom over time.
Feature photo provided by Sierra Mullane