Anniversary Countdown Part 2

The First Few Weeks

So, I've already gone over many of the details of that first meeting. Go here for that. Here's the long-short of it all: We met at the airport the day he came home from South Africa, it was awkward, he met my dad at 3am, my dad was in his robe, we've been inseparable ever since (Josh and me, not the robe). I was attracted to him right away--what's not to love? He's tall, dark and handsome. One of my favorite things about him is his eyes...ahhh.

Josh got home on a Saturday night and he invited me over for Family Home Evening the following Monday. He presented a nice lesson--I think he gave us the first discussion (if you're lost, I'll happily send some LDS missionaries your way to explain this all to you ;o) ) and afterward we watched his favorite movie Tombstone. Yes, it's an R-rated movie, something a missionary would never watch, or at least get caught watching. We were sitting on the floor by the couch. Josh was sitting upright and I was laying on my side with my arm awkwardly placed so my hand could be easily attained by any single young man looking for a relationship. Luckily he took my obvious hint because I would never make a move on him. My goodness, that would be too forward and I, sir, am a lady. I don't remember much more than that happening that night. I'm sure we stayed up talking for a while before I headed home.

The following night Josh and I went somewhere. I have no idea where. I just remember having a long conversation with him in the car on the way home. Up to this point, remember, Josh and I had regular weekly contact but it had never been face to face. We got along really well and I found it so easy to talk to him. I didn't feel it necessary to play the stupid games I'd played in the past to try to get the boy to think that I'm shy or vulnerable or hard to get. I was just me. Josh will debate that because of ONE instance, but I'll get to that later. Anyway, I realized that being with Josh was like coming home. I knew I was going to marry him and I told my mom and sister that later that evening. And that was it. I was committed.

Sometime that week, I just remember it was before Christmas, Josh asked me to lunch. Unfortunately, he wasn't comfortable driving yet because he'd spent two years driving on the left side of the road, so his family came and picked me up from work and we all went to Subway for lunch. I was having a bad day at work and told him all about it. He told me that his family was headed out for Christmas shopping and then would probably head over to his dad's hotel to check out a ball that was being held there that evening. We enjoyed our lunch and as I was getting back into my car and he was getting back into his, I recalled the day so far and said to him, "This day is so awful I could just go home and bawl!" Josh countered with, "Instead of going home to bawl, how about going to a ball?" Isn't that the greatest cheesy line ever??? He totally melted me. What girl doesn't dream of going to a ball with her Prince Charming? I went back to work and gushed over the idea of dolling up and going dancing with my new "friend." I got all dressed up, did my hair, and was ready. Then I waited. And I waited. And I waited. I got a phone call. Josh was calling from a pay phone in Colorado Springs (about half an hour from our town) to say that his mom was taking longer to shop than she had promised and he'd be about an hour late. I felt bad for him because I could tell he was upset about it, but he was stuck there since he hadn't driven himself. So I waited some more.

By 10pm, Josh had called me twice to apologize for being late and once to cancel our date. I was so sad! I didn't blame Josh, he was as upset as I was, but every so often I like to rib him about how he

STOOD ME UP FOR OUR FIRST DATE!

Really, it wasn't his fault. I don't dare delve into more details than that...if you can't say something nice...

We spent Christmas together. First I spent the afternoon at his house with him and his family. After dinner with a very slow-cooked turkey and my car getting a flat tire, we finally made it to my house where our families spent the remainder of Christmas evening together. I don't remember what I got Josh for Christmas. I remember that he gave me a bracelet. It was very pretty. I've even worn it, once. He's never bought me another bracelet since.

So, I knew I was going to marry Josh (even though he stood me up for our first date) but the man wasn't puckering up. I think he didn't want to rush into anything but, helloooo, he'd been home for almost a week... Put out, boy! Actually, I think he was more vulnerable than I was, so I tried to be patient with him. Still the lady, I left the kissing ball in his court, but I was itching for it to finally happen.

(BTW, I have no pictures from our courtship and my scanner isn't set up right, so I'll get engagement and wedding pics up as soon as I can!)