Somewhere Only We Know: The History of "Rackie"

You know how Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are "Brangelina"? And Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck are "Bennifer"? Well I think Chuck and I started the trend to call couples by one mixed name. You see, when we were 15 and had just started dating, Chuck liked to tell me about episodes of a show he was fond of called Dragon Ball Z. And on that show, characters would "fuse" and ultimately become one person, combining all of their strengths and powers. So one day that led us to a conversation about what our name would be if we "fused" and combined our powers, and thus, from Rachel and Chuckie, "Rackie" was born.

Chuck and I recently had a conversation where I told him I'm totally ready and excited to be married to him, but I just don't feel OLD enough to be getting married. I think a lot of people feel that way. How often do you hear people say things like "Where has the time gone?" or "Wow that doesn't seem like it was THAT long ago!" My grandma (who is turning 90 this week! Happy birthday, Grandma!) always says "Time sure does go by fast, and the older you get the faster it goes!" And I think she's right. But I especially think I feel that way about getting married because Chuck and I started dating when we were 15. And sometimes I still feel (and act) like I'm 15. When I stop and think about the fact that Chuck and I have been "Rackie" for almost 10 years, my next immediate thought is about how fast those 10 years seem to have gone by.

We started "officially" dating on August 24, 2002 but we had been friends for a couple of years even before that. Here are some things you may not know about Rackie's history.

- We met when we were 12 years old in the 7th grade.
- My dad met Chuck before I did- he was Chuck's principal in 5th grade. That was my dad's first year as a principal, and you can bet he never knew that one of the kids in his first group of 5th graders that year would grow up and marry one of his daughters.
- Chuck and I both played trumpet in middle and high school and were huge band nerds. This is probably why we got along so well. Mutual nerdiness = love.
- Our high school used to do these love matchmaking surveys for Valentine's Day as a fundraiser. A few weeks before Valentine's Day, you could answer a set of questions about your personality and likes and dislikes, turn it in, and a computer would generate your top 10 matches. Then on Valentine's Day you could pay $5 or $10 to see the results. In 9th grade (before we were dating) Chuck was at the top of my list as my most compatible match out of around 500 freshmen. See? It was meant to be. (Because I'm a hoarder, I still have my results if anyone doesn't believe me and wants to see it in print.)
- My parents were at first, not very fond of Chuck. All they knew about him was that he rode a skateboard, and at one point had an earring and spikey hair. Of course, once they got to know him they really liked him. And now sometimes I think they may even like him more than me!
- My little sister was 9 when Chuck and I started dating. She has now know him for more than half the time she's been alive.
- We went to prom together twice. And Chuck may or may not have been Prom King twice. (Give him a break, he was Class President and his name was "Chuckie". Who WOULDN'T vote for that guy?)
- We were given a superlative in the yearbook our Senior year. "Most Likely to be the Next Cory and Topanga."

A lot of you who have known us a long time probably knew a lot of those things already, but I guess I'm just feeling extra sentimental this week seeing as we're less than a month away from our wedding. (!!!!!) I've been thinking a lot about our relationship and how our dating era is coming to an end exactly ten years after it started. It's crazy. But I am SO excited to welcome the married era in a few weeks on August 24, 2012, even if I do feel like I should maybe be walking WITH the flower girls down the aisle instead of BEHIND them.

And now I give you what I know you've all been waiting for: Rackie- The Early Years.

One of many pictures of us at a band competition. It was evidently pretty cold that day, judging by our long johns! Oh and I was drum major that year, that's why I'm in a dress.

Sixteen years old, in New York City on a trip with... band. (Told you.... huge band nerds.)

This was us on our 1 year dating anniversary! We had to have one of our mom's drop us off at a restaurant for dinner because we couldn't drive yet. :)

There's us with our Best Man, Branden. I think if the three of us were asked to take a picture together right now, there's a good chance this would still be the pose that would happen naturally. Yep, some things never change....

Chuck has always been a great boyfriend. You'd have to be a pretty awesome guy to sit through your girlfriend's 3 hour long dance recital to see her dance in only 2-3 songs.

There we are with my little sis, Sami. This was our Senior Night, so she was probably 11 when this picture was taken. She had already known Chuck for 2 years at this point. :)