The first time I saw Camille was not the first time I met her. Actually, Camille knew Gia through cheerleading long before she knew me. When I was a freshman and Camille was a sophomore in high school, Gia had the cheer team over to paint banners, or pillow fight, or whatever the cheer team does at “meetings”. As I was walking down the stairs Camille had just come in the door with her friend Lindsay and, let’s just say, there was some serious giggling and blushing going on between the two of them (This is my story and I’ll tell it how I want!). Just a freshman, I had no idea that I had just been sniped by an older girl…This wouldn’t be the last time.
Our Story Told By BERTO
Finally, after 7+ years, I figured it was time seal the deal and create a new milestone in our lives. I always knew I would propose at Nanna and Nannuzzu’s house on Christmas Eve in front of the whole family. I always knew I wanted Santa, AKA Frankie, AKA my Best Man, to deliver the ring. And, I always knew I wanted Camille to be my wife. What she thought was a candle turned out to be her biggest surprise. SNIPED!! And the Sniper becomes the Snipee! The look on her face is something I’ll never forget…and not just because it’s on Youtube.
As corny and cheesy as it sounds, getting through the long distance has truly made our relationship unbreakable. Different colleges, different states, different countries; throw anything at us and we’ll beat it. We’re a team. A team that’s been rigorously trained to take on the challenges of married life, but also a team deserving of marital joys as well…in the same state, in the same house, right next to each other, for the rest of our lives.
We were pretty much inseparable through high school and up until Camille left for college in Wisconsin. We were confused so we decided to spend some time apart. We would see each other when she was home, which made us even more confused, but allowed us to stay in touch no matter how dysfunctional. We finally decided to give the long distance relationship a try (which reminds me; thank you instant messenger, Skype, and 1-800-FLOWERS). It was hard. Very hard. Not only did it take a toll on our relationship,
It wasn’t a year later that Camille and I were officially on the high school market. What started out as passing notes before and after 9th period, quickly led to me getting her number one Friday night in a Subway parking lot. I stored that baby in my 9”-antenna-cell-phone with a belt clip and was able to pop-in to some of the older kids’ parties to see her. The flirting and note-passing continued all the way to the winter dance where older Camille was anxiously awaiting her prey. Before I could even reach the basketball-court-dance-floor, Camille shows up right in front of my face, asks “Will you go to Girl’s Choice with me?”, and smacks a big wet one right on by lips. SNIPED AGAIN!!
but on our cars too. Like the time I took a bus from West Lafayette, connected in Gary, got hit on by a 30 year-old black man, took a cab from Chicago to my house, got the car, stopped by my mom’s school to say hello, and drove to Madison to make it in time to catch the bus for Camille’s sorority formal….which was back in Chicago! Or the time Camille came to visit me from Madison, never turned onto I-65, and drove 2 hours out of her way and into Ohio before I got her call and told her to turn around. I never liked that Jetta anyways. Different colleges made summer the best time of the year, and made my graduation the biggest milestone of our lives. After that we would be 5 minutes apart…Not so fast.
I took a job with CB&I involving a two-year training program designed to expose me to the engineering, construction, and operation aspects of the company…which are not all in one spot. This meant more traveling and bigger distances. Just when we thought we were out! They pull me to Tyler, Texas. Then to Plainfield, IL. Then to The Woodlands, TX. Then to Freeport, Bahamas. At this point we’ve experienced every up and down imaginable and I’m pretty sure I could make a good living selling a Long-Distance Relationship CD-Rom and Handbook on the Home Shopping Network (order now and I’ll throw in a Snuggie!).