What do Spenser Baldwin and Sigmund Freud have in common? They’re two men I wasn’t so sure about when I started my long trek through the psychology program at Abilene Christian University. Fortunately, that’s where the similarities end because Freud was a very disturbed man. Cole McAllister introduced Spenser and I about four and a half years ago before our first day of APCT psychology, and now here we are…planning our wedding. There’s obviously a lot of time that has gone by, and plenty of stories I’ll hopefully get to share. But first…I’d like to talk to you about Chinese food.
I was never really a fan of Chinese food growing up. I know it’s surprising…why wouldn’t the best Chinese come from Minnesota? It’s because everyone knows the greatest Pan-Asian cuisine is in Texas…no less, Abilene. It was probably my brother, Adam, who first introduced me to Little Panda. And let me tell you…meeting Spenser was the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me, but going to LP for the first time is right up there with it. I was hooked the first time I consumed the incredible contents of their styrofoam boxes, and eventually, this became a staple food of my relationship with Spenser. Many afternoons between classes were filled with sesame chicken and fried rice…along with an episode of Lost.
So it should come as no surprise that my ring came in a fortune cookie. Spenser (and a sly elderly woman) convinced the fine staff of Little Panda to share their recipe so that he could make it for me on our vacation to the northern woods of Minnesota. It was there in Hackensack, over sesame chicken, sitting by a campfire with the sun setting over a lake, and with a fortune that read “To have joy one must share it”, Spenser asked me to marry him.
It was an incredible night filled with lies and deceit to get me out of the cabin so Spenser could prepare. And after we celebrated for a little while with family and made a couple of phone calls, we returned to the campfire where Spenser provided me with a beautiful booklet outlining his commitment to me and to our families as my future husband. It was easy to say ‘yes’ without a doubt in my mind that night, and I still can’t believe how lucky of a girl I am. I can’t help but think I should probably send Cole McAllister a thank-you note.