Intro to Mike and Abby

*How we met*
My boyfriend and I are both from Fort Wayne, IN although that's not where we met. We both grew up at the McMillen Ice Arena, although that's not where we met. We even both went to the same grade school, but that’s not where we met. We met just 2 hours south of Fort Wayne in Westfield, IN. I was in college and trying to stay with skating a bit and was very lucky to become a staff coach at a new rink that opened up. He was also a staff coach but for hockey and a manager at the rink. I was helping out with the Synchro Team at the time and we gradually would talk on my way in and out of the rink but we were nothing more than acquaintances. [Truth: He said he’d never date someone as bitchy as me and I said I’d never date anyone as short as him.] Although, Miss Sue was always (or so I’ve heard) trying to get him to call me or ask me for my number.
At the time, I was doing some skating shows that were fairly close to home and mostly at Christmastime. Miss Sue was at a couple of them because her daughter was in a couple of the group numbers. I’m not exactly sure how Mike came up in our conversation, but he did and I said oh no, that’ll never work, but if he calls me I’ll talk to him and maybe go out with him a couple of times. I just didn’t think there was much Chemistry there. [You can stop laughing.] Somehow, Sue got him to call me. I don’t remember when the first phone call was, but it was pretty long. I do remember that because I kept thinking to myself, “I can’t believe we are still talking.”
We had our first date on Christmas Eve of 2005. He picked me up and had a Starbucks bag for me with a mug and a $15 gift card. [No, I did not get him anything…how was I supposed to know he’d give me a Christmas present on our first date. And yes, I felt like a sap.] He took me to O’Charleys for lunch and then we went to the mall to pick up some pearls for my mom (from my dad). And then he took me home. We kept it short because it was after all Christmas Eve.

That's the basic back story on us. Four and a half years later, we have 2 dogs (Lex the Labradoodle-4 and Louie AKA Lucifer –He’s a pooper—9 months) and a mortgage together. We are both still involved in skating and probably always will be. He coaches a high school hockey team and I teach private and group lessons for figure skating.