Archive for the ‘Portraits’ Category

If this doesn’t make you smile, I honestly don’t know what will!

The story of Jaime and Ron begins with one person – Bob. Bob could be described as a mutual friend now but that wasn’t always the case. Ron and Bob have known each other for years and could definitely be considered friends. But the relationship between Bob and Jaime was much more…adversarial. See, Jaime and Bob are attorneys – on opposite sides. Jaime is a prosecutor and Bob is a defense attorney. Jaime’s job is to put people in jail; Bob’s job is to keep people out of jail. How and why they ended up becoming friends in still a mystery to themselves and everyone else in the courthouse.

Anyway, after their first trial together, Jaime and Bob decided to get some food to celebrate the conclusion of their first trial against one another. Bob invited Ron but Ron wasn’t so sure about coming – he wasn’t so sure about this thing called “Thai food.” He decided to be adventurous and try a new cuisine. When Bob went to the bathroom, Jaime and Ron started discussing their love of travel. I guess you could say that the rest is history.

Ron and Jaime dated for just six and a half months before Ron decided to “pop the question.” It was a Wednesday in mid-December and Jaime had just returned from a conference in Springfield. It was cold cold cold! Jaime got to Ron’s house and he said that he had something to show her. She hemmed and hawed. Her first question: “Is it outside?” The reply? “Yes.” Strike one. “Will I have to walk in the snow?” “Yes.” Strike two. “Can it wait until Friday?” “I don’t think so.” Uh oh. “I don’t have any shoes appropriate for walking in the snow.” “You can wear my big ole shoes.” “I don’t think so.” Ron had had enough: “Get your a** up, put on my shoes, and get into the car.” Of course, when Ron said it, it didn’t sound quite so harsh! Jaime got up, put on the shoes that wouldn’t stay on her feet, and went out to the car in the freezing cold. He took Jaime to a street lined with decorated Christmas trees. After walking through the snow looking at the beautiful trees (and dealing with what amounted to a pound of snow in her shoes), Ron asked Jaime to marry him. Her response? “Are you serious?” But of course she said yes (or…er…we wouldn’t be writing this today)!

How does Jaime know that Ron is the one? It started at their first meeting when they both expressed a love for traveling and had realized that they had been the exact same number of countries – 24! He doesn’t threaten to leave her even though she stumbles upon 16 and Pregnant on MTV and then “accidentally” misplaces the remote (oops!). When she starts singing random songs, he sings along with her even though he can’t possibly know the words (she is making them up as she goes). He cheers her on when she keeps people from improperly merging into traffic. He is a great listener and remembers every little thing (which she is worried might one day come back to bite her in the butt). Most importantly, he calms her down every time she has a freak out (which, unfortunately, is much too often).

How does Ron know that Jaime is the one? Along with the same number of countries traveled to, they also have the same travel philosophy – plan out the major details and wing the rest. Jaime and Ron both sneeze when first exposed to the sun, a semi-rare trait known as photic sneeze reflex. When Jaime’s not singing, Ron will start beat-boxing and Jaime joins in without skipping a beat (pun-intended). She gladly puts on a blanket whenever he blasts the air conditioning. He knew she was truly the one after an extended weekend together ended with a day apart and Ron literally felt hungover, as if he was on cloud nine around her and was coming down from that high. She complements him in every way possible, and is the perfect yin to his yang.