A Love Letter To Greg Carpenter

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we asked Patch readers to write a love letter to that special someone and let us deliver it. This is Sonnie Carpenter’s story about her husband, Greg:

“My husband, Greg, and I have been married for 22 years. We “re-met” at our 10-year high school reunion in November 1992.

Greg and I grew up in Paramus. We went to the same elementary school, but it wasn’t until fifth grade that we were in the same class. Our teacher, Mrs. Alberti (whom I adored and Greg disliked), put me in between Greg and his best friend, Andy, thinking she would stop the two boys from constantly interrupting the class. In the meantime, Greg used to make me cry on a daily basis -- so much teasing that the other kids’ moms would call the school, my mom or his mom to say Greg was making me cry again.

My mom used to tell me to get over it because there were probably two reasons why he was pushing my buttons. He either really liked me, or things weren’t so great at home for him. I learned to ignore him and would later find out that my mom was right on both accounts. Either way, after fifth grade our paths never crossed. We went to opposing junior high schools in town, and once we were back together in high school, I avoided him in the halls and we ran with different crowds.

Fast forward to college, and my close friends knew it was hard to push my buttons because some jerk named Greg hardened me to teasing back in fifth grade.

I had moved, so I never got the invitation to our 10 year high school reunion, but I ran into an old friend in the library in town and she gave me the details. I volunteered to help decorate but I said I wasn’t staying for the party. Well best laid plans...

I stayed and was catching up with some old classmates on the dance floor when Greg came bursting through the crowd. He interrupted my classmates and myself and exclaimed that he never stole my leather bound Alice in Wonderland book. (It was his friend Andy who took it, but Greg got in trouble for it.) Once he had my attention, he apologized for being so mean and making me cry.

We ended up talking in the parking lot until about 2 a.m. When I called my college friends and reported back that I met someone at the reunion each one said, ‘Don’t tell me it was that guy who made you cry.’ The rest, as they say, is history. We’ve been together ever since.”

--Sonnie Carpenter

See all Patch love letters here.

For next month's Love In A Small Town feature, we want to know: What place in town will always be a reminder of love for you? Whether it's the park where you had your first kiss or the restaurant where he proposed, email your story to locallove@patch.com for the chance to be featured. Get more details here.