The first time that I met Lindsay she served Ruth and me at the Beach Bar in Clark Lake, MI during the late spring of 2001. The moment that I saw her I thought of my son, David. She had a “look” that I knew he would like. You know the look. She was attractive, athletic, personable, with sparkling eyes and a great smile. Our daughter, Elizabeth, worked at the Beach Bar too. The owner, John Collins, employed young, good-looking, energetic people. Both girls fit the bill.
I don’t recall her service (I expect that it was wonderful), but I do remember thinking that “this is a girl that David would like”. Turns out I sold her short. He loves her.
David met Lindsay just as we did through her work at the Beach Bar with his sister. I take full credit for their first date and subsequent romance. It may have happened without my subconscious intervention, but the timing wouldn’t have been the same. Elizabeth had made arrangements through her boss, John Collins, to take Ruth and me to a Tigers’ baseball game to celebrate Father’s Day. John provided her with four tickets to a Monday night game in his suite. Elizabeth and her then “friend”, Jeff, were scheduled to go with us until a special school board meeting needed to be held and my availability flew out the window. My resourceful daughter asked her brother and Lindsay to take our place. The rest, as they say, is history.
I don’t know if either of them experienced love at first sight. I don’t expect that they did otherwise my resourceful son would have asked her out before being encouraged by the offer of free tickets to a baseball game. I do believe that game altered both of their lives forever. When you spend several hours with someone you get to know them and attraction grows.
A couple of months after beginning their relationship, Lindsay headed west to seek fortune and fame in Hollywood. She had a connection to a TV studio in LA and hoped to land a job in the television industry. If memory serves me correctly she sought a job behind the camera, but once she arrived she was offered jobs on camera. Her time in LA was short. She realized that this was not a life for her because she missed her family and, more importantly, David. Meeting a Tebo man will do that to a girl.
She returned to Michigan and began dating David on a regular basis. I got to know her through a series of brief conversations sitting in high school bleachers while we watched David coach basketball teams. We spoke during each game. We discussed her college experience and her constant change of intended careers. It seemed like one week she was going to be a teacher, the next a journalist, and the next a food marketing consultant. It didn’t matter to me what path she chose. I knew from our talks that she was bright and would do well no matter what her final decision became.
It was during these conversations that I learned that she spelled Lindsay with an “a”. The “a” was an important point because she wanted people to be correct in their dealings with her. Lindsey is a perfectly good name, but it isn’t hers.
While their relationship grew Lindsay developed some major health issues. As they worked through those I knew that David was truly smitten. Others may have chosen to turn and run, but he stayed.
On Valentine’s Day of 2004 David proposed. Ruth and I knew what was coming because he provided us with a “heads up”. Heck Lindsay’s parents, Debbie and Larry, several of her other relatives, David’s brother, Michael and his “friend”, Eileen, all knew what was coming. He proposed at the end of one of his basketball games. Lindsay, Ruth and I were sitting in the bleachers making small talk awaiting David’s arrival. He came out of the locker room to join us. Once he arrived, his team came out of the locker room with a huge, handmade, poorly printed, sign that said, “Will you marry our coach?” She said, “yes.”
They married in August and Brady was born ten months later. When you’re on a roll, you might as well keep rolling. Two years later Eva was born.
After Eva’s birth Lindsay went through another health scare. She came through it and continues to enjoy her family life. She’s made a conscious decision to live a life around family time, time with David, and me time. It all works very well.
Lindsay and I have grown to learn more about each other through our continued bleacher conversations. These days we are watching Brady or Eva as they travel through their athletic careers. David coaches many of the teams/games so this provides me with some dedicated time with Lindsay, AKA Linds, AKA LuLu. During these bleacher conversations we’ve discussed a multitude of topics: current events, family, David, the kids, being and having parents, careers, houses vs homes, and occasionally our dreams.
It’s through seventeen years of bleacher conversations that we have formed a lasting bond. It’s also where my liking of her turned to love. I love her for loving my son and being the ying to his yang, for loving and guiding my grandchildren, and for allowing me to know her better by sharing her life with me.