Let's start at the beginning, shall we....This could take a while

My name is Cherrie, like the wine, not the fruit.  People have been telling me that I should write a blog for the past few years.  People seem to think my life is quite amusing.  But to be honest, I felt that my time was much better spent nursing a smart water and catching up with my DVR.  Recently my friend insisted that I read a blog called "gorilla buns", and it made me realize that it's great that people find me and my family entertaining, but more importantly, I should be recording this stuff for my own benefit.  My family is anything but average, so as not to confuse you, let me start near the beginning.

I started out as a little girl growing up in a humdrum suburb in Southern California.  From a young age I believed that I was destined for something greater.  Like so many other kids, I dreamt about the day when I would get the hell out of my crappy little town and live a more grand and fabulous life.  

I spent my whole life doing what was expected of me, going to school, getting good grades, helping around the house, staying out of trouble, then going to college, interning and graduating.  Then one day I had graduated and for the first time had absolutely no freakin idea what I was supposed to do next.  For the first time I found myself realizing that I had the power to think for myself.  Don't get me wrong, I had always been a sassy, outspoken girl, who wasn't afraid to ruffle anyone's feathers.  But, the idea of actually deciding where I would live, what I would do, where I would go, was totally uncharted territory.  I knew I wanted to travel, but I also knew, I was living at my mom's condo and was so broke it that I had actually bought the burrito I had for lunch with a credit card.  After thinking for, I don't know, 3 minutes, I decided that I was going to be a flight attendant.  Why not?  This could be perfect.  I could travel and they would actually be paying me!  My mind instantly skipped to old classic image of a stewardess with the cute hair cut and the little hat, pouring coffee from a silver pot into a coffee cup held by a devastatingly handsome, Kerry Grant type gentleman.  I walked over to the computer, sat down and started searching.  I saw that there was an open interview the next day in Las Vegas which was about four hours away.  So, I told my family about my totally awesome new plan.  Completely ignoring everyone rolling their eyes at me, I rushed off to the mall to buy the most flight attendant looking suit I could find.  I figured I should at least look the part, right! I was filled with excitement on my long boring drive to Vegas.  I was too naive to even realize that failure or rejection could even be a possibility.  My attitude was that they had to hire someone, so why the hell wouldn't they hire me!  At the interview I did my very best flight attendant impression and before I knew it I was hired!  At least now I was back in my comfort zone of having someone tell me where to go and when to be there.

Once I had completed flight school in Indianapolis, I was sent to work in Chicago.  I arrived at Midway airport on the day before Thanksgiving in 2000.   I walked off the plane a sunny, wide eyed girl from California with two suitcases, a fleece sweatshirt and $300 dollars.  I didn't take me long to realize, a. How frikin insanely cold Chicago is in the Winter. and b. How frinkin unprepared I was for life in the real world.  I got my very first apartment, Goodwill furniture and eventually a full length wool coat for $5 from a second hand store.  I spent the next year doing exactly what I had set out to do.  I circled the globe three times.  Visited exotic, far out places, many of which I didn't know existed before that.  

When I moved to Chicago everyone and their mother kept telling me, "The Summer time in Chicago makes surviving the Winter worth it."  Evvvveryone kept raving about how fabulous the Summers were in Chicago.  By the time Summer rolled around I was completely convinced that either the cold weather had caused all of those people serious brain damage or they all must have been fans of 99% humidity, frizzy hair, smelly pits and greasy skin.  My attitude wasn't helped by the reality that I was living on the third floor of an old walk up brick building, with no air conditioning.   I guess due to the fact that it was colder than frik when I moved there, all I was worried about was staying warm.  Not to mention that being from California, I assumed that every inhabitable place in the western hemisphere had air conditioning.  I spent much of the summer sitting in my sweltering apartment, wearing as few clothes as possible, sitting next to a fan the size of a salad plate trying to keep from hopping the next flight back home.

There was a lot about that time of my life that was fun and exciting and free.  But between living in a strange metropolis, and rarely ever working with the same people twice, I was often lonely, anonymous and missing that feeling of belonging or connection.

My building on W65th Street and Cicero was inhabited almost entirely by flight attendants.  Everyone was coming and going at all hours of the day and night.  You were lucky to get a head nod and a "what's up" as you passed someone in the stairway on your way to airport to head off to the next strange city.  Until one hot, sweaty, hellish day when someone knocked on my door.  It may have quite possibly been the first time someone had EVER knocked on my door.  I thought to myself, "who ever it is must be at the wrong apartment.".  The fact that I was likely never going to see this person again, and that it was just too disgustingly hot to add any additional clothes to my gross sweaty body, I decided to just answer the door wearing what I already had on - a sports bra and short gym shorts.  Luckily for me it was just a guy from the apartment downstairs and not some psycho perv.  We finally introduced ourselves after months of passing each other in the halls and he asked me if I had a buddy pass to spare for his little sister who wanted go visit their brother in Arizona.   I apologized because I didn't have a single pass.  I closed the door and thought, "Hooray!  I finally know someone!"  Time went by and Scott and I became friends.  I don't think we ever ended up working the same flight, but we spent many a day off hanging out at the bar at the end of the block or killing time at his apartment (His apartment was full of gay guys. It probably goes without saying, their home furnishings were much nicer than mine, not to mention the fact that they had a small a/c unit in their kitchen window!)

One day Scott was showing me pictures of his family.  He pointed out his fraternal twin brother Brian in one of the pictures.  He told me that he lived in Arizona and then mentioned how he thought that his brother and I would be perfect for each other.  I completely discounted the notion, I mean clearly we  are geographically challenged and he hardly knows me.  How would he know who I'd be great with, right!  I mean come on, we occasionally hang out, have a few beers and I listen to you belt out your best Celine Dion and suddenly you're my matchmaker.  Being curious, not having known too many twins in my lifetime, I asked if they are a lot alike.  He explained that besides sharing the same birthday and both being musically talented, they didn't have too manly similarities.  He told me, and I quote, "I guess you could say, Brian is the smart one and I'm better looking".  For the most part that was the end of it, until one day in June.  

It was a typical hot, nasty, humid day in Chicago.  I was hanging out with the guys downstairs.  If I'm being honest, Scott's other flight attendant roommates were laughing at my red faced, deer caught in the headlights reaction to their glossy new hard bound homo-erotic coffee table book.  Earlier in the week Scott had mentioned that is brother was coming to town , but I hadn't paid much attention.  That was until someone knocked on the door and in walked the "smart" twin brother from Arizona.  My first thought was, "Scott lied".  In my opinion Brian might be the smart twin, but he was also the cute twin.  I myself had always been a cute, outgoing, bubbly girl to whom male attention had never been in short supply.  I had never been one to be shy or clam up in front of a guy.  But for some reason I felt like a fumbling, bumbling, sophomoric, idiot from the moment Brian walked in.  That moment is burned into my brain to this very day.  I know exactly what I was wearing, how my hair was styled, where I was sitting.  I had no idea that I had just met my children's father, the man I would one day build a life with.

Brian was in Chicago for the Summer.  After he got his fill of family life back at his parent's house in the suburbs, he decided to stay with Scott for the rest of the Summer.  We saw each other occasionally in the stairwell and exchanged pleasantries.  I found myself always being quick and rarely making eye contact for very long because for some strange reason this boy gave me butterflies an made me nervous.  And let's be honest, he was 6 years older than me and probably thought I was just some stupid giggly kid, based on our first meeting.  Over the next month or so I would hear Brian in the apartment beneath me playing guitar and singing.  One day I was walking down the stairs and he opened the door just as I was passing by.  He stuck his head out and asked me where I was going, as if he had been waiting for me to pass by.  I told him I walking to the diner at the end of the block to pick up a bite to eat.  He grabbed his shoes and said he wanted to go too.  I nervously walked the block and tried to make small talk.  When we got to the restaurant I ordered my food and he said he didn't want to order anything.  We were the only people at the outside patio area.  Here I am sitting in a chair at a table, on a patio with 20 empty chairs, and Brian decides to sit on the ground leaning against the building.  He just totally screwed me up!  He makes me nervous in general, then he comes to the diner with me and doesn't order anything, then he sits on the ground so now I can't even look down to avoid eye contact.  Crap!  

After that I have no memory.  September 11, 2001 changed everything.  My world stopped.  My job, my priorities, my life would never be the same.  The airline was asking for furlough volunteers.  Since I didn't have a spouse or children to support like so many of my colleagues, I decided to volunteer.  I went back to my Grandparent's house in California and tried to nurse my spirit back to health.  It was time to come up with a new plan.  I was not going to be scared into giving up.  I would not surrender to a crappy average life, in my crappy average town.  I was determined not to just marry some guy in town, have kids, grow old and never be brave again.   I went back to Chicago to officially resign from my job and pack up my apartment.  On a break from packing boxes, I wandered down to the boy's apartment.  I looked around hoping to see Brian in the kitchen or perhaps walking out of the bedroom. I sat on their couch and nonchalantly asked Scott where his brother was.  He looked at me with the face of someone who just saw the last train of the night leave the station.  He told me that I missed Brian by one day.  He had left for Phoenix the day before.  He gave me Brian's number, but I knew I would never call.  In my mind the timing said it all, it just wasn't meant to be.

I visited a friend in Tucson for a few days and decided that would be my new plan.  I would move to Tucson, maybe go back to school.  It was time to reinvent my destiny.  Scott and I had kept in touch.  Before my trip to Tucson, I had mentioned to Scott that I was going to AZ for the weekend.  About a week or so later I had two messages on my cell phone.  The first message said something like, "Hi, this is Brian, Scott's brother.  Scott told me you were going to be coming to Arizona.  If you are coming to Phoenix I'd love to take you out and show you around."  and the second message said, "Hi it's Brian again.  If you call me back soon, I can also take you to lunch before I go to work today".  I wasn't near a mirror, but I'm quite sure I was blushing.  Too bad I had already returned home from Arizona, and it was Tucson I had visited.  I felt like the least I could do was return his call so he didn't think I was blowing him off, and that would be the end of it.  But to my surprise, he told me that it was no problem because his little brother was graduating from the Marines in San Diego in a week and his whole family, Scott included was coming to town and I should join them.  I felt somewhat backed into a corner and reluctantly agreed.  

A week went by and Brian was coming to town.  I hadn't spoken to him since he invited me and at this point I was determined to get out of it.  I called him to let him know that I appreciated the invite, but I just wouldn't be comfortable.  My intention was to simply say thanks, but no thanks - maybe our paths will cross again - it was very nice to have met you - have a nice life - good bye.  I was not prepared for him to tell me that he had already driven two hours out of his way to come get me, that he was 15 minutes away from my house and he totally had to pee.  He informed me that he would be stopping by my house even just for a short visit.  I was so taken off guard that I had nothing articulate to say, so I settled for a, "Uh, okay.  See you in a minute".  I hung up the phone thinking, Shit, Shit, Shit. Before long he pulled up in front of my grandparent's house.  He came inside and I introduced him to my grandparents.  He promptly told me that since I wasn't going to join the entire family in San Diego, he would at the very least be taking me out to lunch.  I awkwardly agreed, and quietly told my grandmother that I would be back in 30 minutes.  Lunch turned into, "Hey, let's go for a drive.  You can show me around your home town.", from that to "Oh that's where your mom works.  It's almost 4:00, let's wait for her and the three of us will go out to dinner".  I just truly had no idea what to make of this guy.  He was so forward and assertive.  His level of confidence bordered on cocky.  At that point I decided that I would be friendly, but NEVER date this guy.  I just got the vibe that he was cute, and he knew that he was cute.  He just came off as a player.  

Brian went on his merry way and that was that.  Until two days later when he called me and told me that his twin brother, my friend Scott was going back to Arizona with him for a few days and that I should come too.  I told him that I'd think about it, and after the encouragement of my family I decided to just go ahead and go.  It was only two days, how bad could it be.  I was two hours into my four hour drive to Arizona when I got a phone call from Brian.  He informed that his brother Scott was no longer coming because he had to work.  In my head I'm thinking, "Holy Crap!  I am stuck with this guy by myself!".  He assured me that there would be no funny business.  He told me he'd put me up at the hotel that he worked at as a bartender.  I agreed and continued to drive.

I arrived in Phoenix and spent the next few days eating the fanciest food at the some of the fanciest restaurants I had ever been to.  Brian introduced me to all of his friends and everyone seemed to have already heard all about me.   He took me with him to help him pick out a new puppy (which he let me name).  He asked me to stay a few more days to accompany him to company Christmas party.  My two day trip turned into an eight day trip.  He took me all over town continuously telling me how fun and cool the Phoenix area was and that I should move to Phoenix instead of Tucson.   I finally just told him that, ya Phoenix is great and all, but I already had a friend to live with in Tucson and I would basically only be paying for utilities.  He quickly said, "Move in with me".  We had just stopped for him to buy a pack of cigarettes.  I told him that I have asthma and couldn't live with a smoker.  Without missing a beat, he threw that new pack of cigarettes out the window of the car and said, "Then I quit!  Move in with me!".  Is this guy for real!  Seriously, what planet is he from!  He spent the next few days doing everything he could to woo me.  Before I knew it, the day of his company Christmas party arrived.  I did my best to smile and hide my shock as he introduced me to his collaegues as his "girlfriend".  One woman told me, "Oh my God! This is huge.  Brian hasn't had a "girlfriend" in years!  You must be the real deal.", which kinda contradicted my previous impression of him.  At one point in the evening one of his co-workers told me that they had all been hearing about me for months.  They told me that Brian returned from his Summer in Chicago telling everyone that he had, "met the girl he was going to marry this Summer".  That explained why everyone was so thrilled to meet me.  At some point I just decided to give in.  I went back to California for Christmas, packed my car with and put a sign in the back window that said, "Phoenix or Bust", held my breath, and moved to Arizona.  

Brian flew me back to Chicago to meet his parents a few weeks after I got to Arizona.  Two years later we were married.  Since then we've traveled the world, spent a lot of time volunteering and advocating for vulnerable children, suffered several miscarriages, and became foster/adoptive parents.  

Between adopting two baby boys and subsequently finding out we were pregnant, we ended with three baby boys in one year.  My life is God's little practical joke.  :)  

Now you are up to speed.  Way to go, you read the whole thing, and look it only took up two weeks of your life.  Bravo!