Every story has a beginning, and the best stories we hope never end. So the story of Lauren and JC (the Seven Year Itch) begins in the summer of 2001 with curly hair and a red sweater. Summer 2001 was an interesting political time in Washington, DC. Throughout early 2001, a moderate Republican Senator from Vermont was growing more and more disillusioned with the direction the newly-elected President was taking the Republican party. On May 24, 2001, that growing discontent boiled over and Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican party, giving Democrats control of the United States Senate.
This event became an important footnote in our personal history. Lost in the political earthquake that day in May was a newly-minted counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Jeffords assumed the leadership of that committee from Harry Reid and, given the opportunity, I decided to stay on the committee staff and work with the new Chairman and committee Democrats.
The day after the switch, Lauren, fresh out of college, joined Senator Jeffords' personal office as a staff assistant. For some reason, I have never forgotten the first time I saw Lauren. It wasn’t that sparks flew, because they didn’t (that would come years later), but I distinctly remember her curly hair and red sweater sitting behind a desk in the Jeffords’ reception area answering phones. We wouldn’t begin dating for several years, but that first introduction began our story. And seven years later, after many twists and turns, a profound friendship, and a little cajoling, our story, like the best stories, has no end in sight.
So, I thank Jim Jeffords for many things, but most of all, I thank him for Lauren.
Put simply—no Jeffords’ switch, no Lauren and JC.
This event became an important footnote in our personal history. Lost in the political earthquake that day in May was a newly-minted counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Jeffords assumed the leadership of that committee from Harry Reid and, given the opportunity, I decided to stay on the committee staff and work with the new Chairman and committee Democrats.
The day after the switch, Lauren, fresh out of college, joined Senator Jeffords' personal office as a staff assistant. For some reason, I have never forgotten the first time I saw Lauren. It wasn’t that sparks flew, because they didn’t (that would come years later), but I distinctly remember her curly hair and red sweater sitting behind a desk in the Jeffords’ reception area answering phones. We wouldn’t begin dating for several years, but that first introduction began our story. And seven years later, after many twists and turns, a profound friendship, and a little cajoling, our story, like the best stories, has no end in sight.
So, I thank Jim Jeffords for many things, but most of all, I thank him for Lauren.
Put simply—no Jeffords’ switch, no Lauren and JC.
3 comments:
Awwww...I didn't know my bro had a soft side:) Way to flatter Lauren with the pictures of the curly hair and the red sweater...no wonder sparks didn't fly...for several years!
You really are putting me in a tight spot, having to contemplate that the esteemed Mr. Jeffords has done something, albeit unwittingly, worth my gratitude.
Leave it to you, J.C. to make politics romantic. I can only image the romance ahead for Mr. and Mrs. Sandberg.
Congratulations! We can't wait fer you two to get here.
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