Married in 1997
Amy’s Story: Thad initially saw me when he was a Freshman sitting in study hall. I was a Sophomore and had walked past the study hall room and he thought to himself “I would never have a chance with her”. It wasn’t until three years later when I was a Senior that I saw him in the parking lot and noticed that he had a REM record (yes, a record) in his car. I commented that I really liked that band. From that point on I had crush on him. My best friend Callie was his lab partner and although I told her not to, told Thad everything I had said about him. Conveniently, Callie’s locker was in the same hallway as Thad’s, so I was able to make small talk with him frequently. Despite what Callie had told Thad, he maintained the “I would never have a chance with her” mentality. It wasn’t until a few days after I graduated that Thad had asked me out.
Thad’s Story: I was a Freshman, however I was not in study hall. I was standing at my locker in between classes and looked down the hall and saw Amy talking to her then boyfriend, who was an upper classman, and thought, “Huh…she’s cute.” And then quickly did a reality check as she was leaps and bounds out of my league. Fast forward two years and Amy’s best friend, Callie, was my lab partner in Chemistry and spilled the beans about Amy. Upon first hearing this, I thought to myself, “….how the tables have turned :)” We talked on and off during the spring of ’92. If memory serves, she got mad at me because I didn’t ask her to prom that year. I hope she got over it.
What led to Dating
Amy’s Version: Not sure why Thad had decided to ask me out that night but, in his mind, he wasn’t really embarking on a new relationship. He thought of me as his “Summer Fling”. Well, 28 years and 5 kids later we hold the record for the longest running “Summer Fling”.
Thad’s version: One Friday in May of 1992, I got off work early from my job busing tables at Grandmother’s restaurant and didn’t have anything to do. So, I decided to call Amy from the Grandmother’s phone, and ask her if she wanted to go hang out. We went downtown that night, went to some record stores, and topped off the evening when we walked through the drive-thru at Wendy’s and I bought Amy a Frosty. Amy’s correct- I thought it was a summer fling.
Looking back:
Amy’s Version: I wouldn’t say that it impacts our relationship but having kids that go to Pius now, we have been able to share our stories about teachers, when there were only 2 hallways, 1 microwave, band lunches etc. I still laugh a little when I heard one of my kids say, “Mr. Charf…….”.
Thad’s Version: I love that we can look back at a shared high school experience. I’m not sure how much it has impacted our life other than we both had great experiences at Pius and when dating, both agreed that if we ever got married and had kids, they would go to Catholic schools, which included Pius if we lived in Lincoln.
Life Update: While we have been together for 28 years, we will celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary in June. We have 5 kids, Ella (Senior at UNL), Maddie (Freshman at UNL), Ava (Sophomore at Pius), George (8th grader at Saint Teresa’s) and Henry (3rd grader at Saint Teresa’s). Amy has been in banking for the last 25 years. Thad is a managing partner with Boiler Brewing Company where he gets to talk about and drink beer for a living. He still loves listening to records, mostly REM records with Amy.
