Chris Christie and Mary Pat Foster

Bridges to Cross

Chris Christy met Mary Pat Foster when the two were undergraduates in student government at the University of Delaware. Mary Pat, the ninth of ten children, attracted Christy with her independence, faith, and ability to surprise him and have fun.

Christie, a year older than Mary Pat, was student body president his senior year. Mary Pat was elected to the position the following year when she was a senior. Though she felt she had big shoes to fill, she left her own mark by defeating a petition to defund a campus gay and lesbian organization, by leading classmates to a legislative hearing to protest higher tuition costs, and by attempting to fund weekend activities as an alternative to the binge drinking that was prevalent.

The Christies married in 1986 a year after Mary at graduated. Chris was a law student at Seton Hall University, and Mary pat was earning her master’s degree in business administration.

The couple lived in a one room apartment in Summit, NJ that was so shabby it made Mary Pat’s mom cry.

Chris Christy went on to become a partner at the firm of Dughi, Hewit, and Palatucci, and Mary Pat began a very successful career in investment banking, eventually working with the Wall St. firm of Cantor Fitzgerald.

In 2000 Chris Christy was a key player in the election of George W. Bush. As one of the leading fund raisers for the Bush campaign, Christy was nominated to be U.S. Attorney for New Jersey in 2001.

On September 11, 2001 Mary Pat Christie was at work two blocks away from the Twin Towers when the planes hit.

She like many others were evacuated from the city while her family, Chris and their three young children, waited and worried on the NJ side.

Also like many others, Mary Pat was determined to return to Wall St. when it reopened. Along with walking by the remains of the horrors of that day, Mary Pat had the trauma of working for a firm which lost over two thirds of its workforce in the attacks. More than 650 Cantor Fitzgerald employees died that September morning.

Christie made certain that his wife had his full attention at the end of these grueling days. He knew her to be tough, but also knew that she tended to keep her emotions hidden. He didn't want her to feel alone as she coped with the loss and suffering she observed every day.

After some time away she is back with Cantor Fitzgerald and juggles career, family, and politics to be a very visible and pro-active First Lady of New Jersey.

The Christies have crossed many bridges in their 26 years of marriage,and it looks like another one has come along. Whatever comes next,though, I believe Chris and Mary Pat will cross this bridge together.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/post_235.html

Close Your Eyes And Defy Gravity

Sometimes when love comes along, you just have to have a little faith...faith in your friends, faith in the guy, and faith that everything will work out. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and just close your eyes....and defy gravity.

 
The story of how we met began in November of 2007.  My best friend suggested that I go to her company Christmas party with a coworker she wanted me to meet.  I have never been the type of person eager to be set up, so I was happy to tell her that I had plans for that same day.  Time passed, and my family and I paid a visit to this same best friend on New Year's Eve.  She made mention of this coworker again.  Once again, I blew off the idea of getting set up.



Flash forward to April of 2008.


 
My  friends and I found ourselves  at Sea World for the day.  For dinner, we decided to eat at a local Korean BBQ restaurant.  When we got to the restaurant, my friend told me that we needed to leave one extra seat empty.  Apparently, "the coworker" was meeting us there.  I didn't want to sit next to him, so I made another friend sit next to me.  I didn't know the guy, there was no way he was going to sit next to me while I ate! Knowing he was coming made me so nervous.  Instead of looking for what to order, I spent most of the time watching the door, trying to figure out which guy was going to walk through and come straight to our table.  It felt like an eternity for him to arrive.  It seemed like at the very moment I decided to look away from the door was the very moment he decided to walk in.


He introduced himself to the group, sat across from me, and we all had a nice dinner.  There was something about him that seemed different from every other guy I had met.  I don't know if it was "sparks" or if it was "love at first sight."  All I know was that this first meeting was definitely not going to be the last.  He made me feel comfortable.  He was easy to talk to and joke around with.  I even ended up sharing some of my rice with him.  He was that kind of guy that made you feel like you had known him forever.


We left dinner that night, but we didn't exchange contact information.  We just ended the night with a "nice to meet you" and "good-bye."


A few days later, my best friend gave me his cell phone number because she wanted me to ask him for help on something.  We've never stopped texting each other since.


Our first date was in April at Disneyland.  We got married the following October and are now happily together with a new family.

http://artsyprincess.wordpress.com