"My E.C."

Usually when talking about marriage, people mention the need to date your spouse. For a moment, I need to date myself. Just chronologically. When I was a freshman in college, my friend Vincent Fagiolli III--who we all believed was an Italian mob boss--had his own corvette…and his own CELL PHONE. Whereas most of us only had 5 digit phone numbers (on campus phones all started with the same 2 digits, so you just had to remember the last 5), he could make and receive calls anytime, anywhere. He embodied the future!

As I moved through my college career, others began to own cell phones. By my senior year, you didn’t even have to be an Italian mob boss to own your own digits; however, cell phones were still novel enough that nearly all apartments had landlines as the primary line of communication. Regency #56 where I lived with my 5 best friends was a home with no cell phones and one landline. As such, we had a white board next to the cordless phone for flawless message taking. We had it divided into 6 parts; each box had a name on the top and plenty of space to record any messages missed while out. We also decided that we would add an “OK to wake” list under each of our names. Sleep is precious in college and some callers just weren’t worth disturbing a snoozing student. But if you were on the “OK to wake” list…then awake we did. I’m quite certain ‘Mom’ was on all of our lists. Other VIP’s were on the board, and under my name was also ‘My E.C.’.

In the beginning, ‘My E.C.’ was only a fictitious person. The initials stood for my ‘eternal companion’. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I have an understanding and belief that marriages can be eternal. “’Til death do us part” is a phrase I never have to say. I believe that God’s priesthood has been restored on the earth, and through His priesthood power a man and a woman can be sealed for time and all eternity in His holy house. Marriages performed in Latter-Day Saint temples perpetuate beyond the grave into the eternities to come. And so what more dreamy, hoped for friend could I be awoken for than my very own eternal companion. When Regency #56 started out, none of us were on the path to eternal companionship…but we all had faith!

Enter that cute boy from Windsor #3. Whose name just happened to be Eric Carter. Which consequentially meant his initials were E.C. Who would come into our apartment and see our whiteboard. And one day noticed his initials were on my “OK to wake” list. But didn’t really understand how he was mine. Until he did. And then so did I. And then he asked me a question, and I said yes. And then just like that, he stayed on my list--even moved up to the number one spot. Because Eric Carter--E.C.--was really going to be “My E.C.”. And I was going to be his too.  And so now I’ve dated myself. Just old enough to share a phone with my roommates, just young enough to be on My E.C.’s cell phone's favorite contacts list. That’s right, he may or may not be an Italian mob boss.