** I meant to publish this on Friday, but I had to wait for final edits from Justin – he said I got part of the story wrong 😉 so here’s the official version approved by both of us ***
Last Saturday, April 30th, marked a dozen years since the day I got married. For me, that day was calm, full of quiet joy. I felt safe with the man I’d pledged myself to for eternity.
However, our courtship – isn’t that such a fabulous old fashioned word – was the opposite. Sometimes I cringe when I think of our love story. Really marriage is so much better than dating. Dating is so full of drama, uncertainty, angst…I’m glad it’s over. But in honor of our anniversary here is a shortened version of our love story.
I first saw him after church, the begining of my sophmore year in college. He wore a blue tweed sports coat straight out of Seinfeld and he smiled at me as we left the building to head home. We hadn’t officially met yet, but he stuck in my head. I thereafter referred to him as “the cute guy with glasses” and officially called dibs.
We later officially introduced ourselves in the laundry room of our apartment complex – such a romantic setting – and over the next couple of months became friends.
That October my roommate and I planned a trip to a nearby corn maze and invited several apartments to go with us. I called and invited Justin, adding that he could invite his roommates too. At the last minute, all the other girls backed out. It ended up being me, her and about 10 guys. He likes to count that as our first date. Me, him, and 8 other guys. I don’t count it.
That semester we had a class together. For the midterm we made a bet. Whoever got the highest score had to take the other one to dinner. I don’t even remember who won, I do remember it was close and that we ended up at Macaroni Grill in coordinating yellow outfits, unplanned. **Justin said that I won **
After dinner, we headed to see “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” at the theater and proceeded to act like we were 13. The majority of our conversation went, “So do you like anyone?”, “Yes, but I don’t want to tell you who it is,” in various forms for about an hour, until we finally ended up holding hands about midway through the movie.
As we stood on my doorstep that night saying goodbye he said, “This is going to complicate things,” and then leaned in to kiss me. I was thrilled about the kiss, but it was an accurate prediction.
Over the next year and a half we went in circles. I didn’t think he loved me as much as I loved him, he wanted to date other people, but then didn’t love it when I did. Neither of us really knew what we wanted and looking back we were so young. But through all the drama we got really good at talking to each other and we became best friends.
The summer after we met we spent apart. For almost four months we could only write and talk on the phone, with a couple brief trips thrown in.
For the first 6 weeks I was in the Middle East with my parents and email was the only option. Man, I really wish I’d kept those emails, such great conversations.
When I got back to the States I was in Utah and he was in Arizona. We had a lot of long conversations late into the night. The being apart helped us to discover each other, gave us a chance to miss each other.
It was that summer that he drove seven hours to tell me he loved me, arriving at 3am, and then turned around and drove 7 hours back. He was only there for eight hours but my aunts still managed to surround him and pound him with questions. Which is maybe one of my favorite memories; I’m sure it’s not one of his.
When school started again we started talking about getting married, and the circles began again. I was sure, he wasn’t – well if he wasn’t sure, then neither was I. Afterall, I wanted to be with someone who loved me and wanted to be with me more than he wanted to live – I’d read a lot of love stories in my teens. The circles continued for four more months.
That Christmas I flew home to Saudi Arabia and then on to Thailand. At that point he was more sure than I was. We decided to take the two weeks apart to evaluate what we wanted. So, I decided to pray the entire 36 hours it took me to get home, or at least until I felt strongly one way or the other about whether I should marry this boy, my best friend, or not. Nothing happened. I’ve never felt such nothing after praying, not doubt, not certainty, just nothing. I had a lot of talks with my parents that Christmas break and my Dad said something that struck me.
“Well if you aren’t getting an answer one way or the other, maybe you can just choose. Justin is a righteous hard working guy, you can decide to be with him and that would be great or you can decide not to be and you’ll find someone else.”
Not the most romantic thought but wise nonetheless. At some point in our journey through Thailand I decided I did want to marry him. I made the choice. And I had a wedding dress made while I was there, because…why not. My Dad pointed out that just because we had it made did not mean I had to use it anytime soon.
I was excited and at peace with my decision. After flying all the way from Thailand to Saudi Arabia back to Salt Lake City I bought a ticket to Boise so I could spend a couple of days with Justin’s family and tell him about my decision.
He picked me up from the airport and I told him on the way back to his house that I was sure I wanted to marry him. And he said….that he was no longer sure he wanted to marry me. He was worried that I didn’t love him enough if I hadn’t been sure before.
I was disappointed and a little embarrassed, but strangely not too incredibly thrown. I had made my choice and I was not going to change it unless he decided for sure that he didn’t want me.
Three weeks later, in the early hours of the morning, while my roommates slept, he came to pick me up for a family event. He asked to come in before we left and before I knew what was happening he was pulling out his guitar and singing “Forever” to me. The only thing I remember thinking is, “This is so sweet, he better sing this again when he actually proposes.”
The next thing I knew he was down on one knee. Whatever speech he’d planned was lost on me, I was in complete shock. The only thing I said as I stared at the ring was, “When did you get that?” Finally, my foggy brain cleared and I managed to say yes. ** he claims I never actually said yes, but I did end up with the ring on my finger at some point ***The ring hadn’t been sized yet, but I couldn’t wait to wear it, and wrapped string around the band to make it fit.
Three months later we were sealed for time and all eternity in the Bountiful temple.
After I made my choice in Thailand all doubt left me, I never looked back. After he made his and asked me to marry him I never doubted his commitment. I’ve felt safe ever since.
Marriage is hard, everyone knows that, but Justin makes me more myself. He’s my best friend. We get each other, we want the same things, and we fit. Our love story was and constantly is a choice. Which I’ve decided makes it more, not less romantic.