Our love story: introduction and part 1

J and I are just days away from our tenth wedding anniversary.  It's been an amazing journey, and I love him with every bit of my heart.  I decided to write the story of how we fell in love.  It's not going to be perfect - I'm no professional writer, but it's OUR story, and that's all that matters.

J+E, Our Love Story

Part 1:

      I had always dreamed of the man I would marry. Had I met him already? What color was his hair? What was he doing today, somewhere in the world? Was he bored in sunday school too? The questions began in my head when I was about seven, and continued through high school. I never shared them with anyone – it was too private, a matter of eternity. Even when I dated boys who weren't members of my church, I always knew I would marry in the temple. I didn't care which temple, just that I would be sealed to the man of my dreams for eternity.

     I was raised expecting my college education to be handed to me – at a collage back east, paid for by my well-off father, so when I was told I was on my own for higher education, I was confused, and defaulted to working for a year while living at home. After my new boyfriend left me with a promise ring, headed on his mission, and I was lonely and bored, my institue teacher talked me into applying list minute at Ricks College … in Idaho of all places. I was accepted, with a small scholarship. I was ready to get out of my parent's house and move on with my own life, so I jumped at the chance. I was still writing my boyfriend on his mission, wearing a promise ring on my finger, determined to wait for him, so when everyone teased me about finding Mr. Right at Ricks, I'd just roll my eyes.

     I remember driving through Idaho towards college, staring out the window at the lava rocks, feeling more like we were driving over the moon than towards my new collage life. I was scared – what was I doing in Idaho? I then realized it was the perfect place to hide out until my boyfriend got home from his mission, and we could begin a happily-ever-after. I didn't have to care about what boys thought, I could just have fun!

     That summer semester was all about new friends, adoring my roomates, learning new terms like “FHE Brothers”, and playing just as much as I studied. There were a couple guys I went out with, just for fun. My missionary was far away in south america, and getting a few kisses from random boys wouldn't hurt anything! Little did I know that another missionary in Europe was getting ready to return home, and would soon walk into my life. As I was playing, teasing, and flirting, I was clueless that I would soon be faced with choices that would effect my eternity.

     Fall Semester at Ricks College started with excitement and new roomates. The wave of new students was joined by the wave of cooler weather. My new roomates were as diverse as could be. One shy, but had the best laugh, another crazy energetic and hillarious, one sweet and serious, one preppy and adorable, and one more that was small but dramatic. One of our first shopping trips was to walmart, where a couple of us bought ribbon to wear in our hair. I bought some silver ribbon – I loved silver, and I was ready to look cute and girly! I bought it for myself to feel cute, not realizing that one spool of ribbon would change my life.

To Be Continued ... 




Click here for Part 2