We first met on June 21, 2008... in a chat room. We were both fans of Remember WENN, and because of it, both friends of Linda & James Young and Rodney Walker. Mike had been chatting with them for years, and I had met them the previous week at a live performance of the TV show in Owensboro, Kentucky, written by the show's creator, Rupert Holmes. It was because of Linda that I knew about it in the first place!
By the second week of chatting, we started staying on longer than the others (they were on EST)... and found out that we had many things in common. Love of history (WWII, the 1930's), dogs, America, our various university football teams, love of baseball, classic movies, a disdain for fake Christianity... and even common experiences: a falling out with previous best friends, trouble with knees, people misunderstanding us in similar ways. Oddly enough, I had even visited his hometown of Norman two years before when I was in the UW Husky Band... it was a football game against Mike's Sooners... and we lost. But I remember it as one of my favorite band trips.
The day before Easter, 2009, we spoke for the first time. I gave him my phone number while chatting late into the night. It was my sister who suggested that we could drive out to meet him that August after visiting our grandparents in NC; so I found his number online, and hesitantly called him to set it up. Funny how we were both slightly nervous when calling each other. It's not every day you call your best friend for the first time. :)
The first meeting occurred late on Sunday, August 9th, 2009. Meg and I stayed at a motel, and visited with him until the 11th, leaving the morning of the 12th. He kissed me Monday night while we watched the thunderstorm in the distance... and that brought on our first serious conversation about the Lord.
We kept talking on the phone after Saturday chats... sometimes into the wee, wee small hours of the morning. We were soon talking both Saturday and Wednesday nights to spread it out a little. And I think we both wanted more. :)
The next August, 2010, we drove out to visit again, this time with Jason, my new brother-in-law, and we drove from Seattle to Norman, and back again. This was for 4 days, and felt fantastic. We went to the zoo again, visited his family, and cooked dinner together once. Another long talk on the way back from Lawton and again the last night.
Before I left for the Navy the end of the next month, we had a record-breaking 8-hour phone conversation about the future... and everything under the sun. :)
And on September 21, 2010, our relationship was cut off severely. I was in boot camp; no phones, no Internet. He wrote me a letter every single day, telling me tidbits about his life and silly things he found on the Internet. Mid-way through, in October, after reading Mere Christianity and making his way through the New Testament for the first time, he gave himself to Christ again. He was able to tell me over the phone when we were allowed a short time once, due to good performance.
He drove up to Great Lakes for the graduation, meeting my family and rushing to be the first one to hug me after Liberty Call was sounded. We were able to spend a wonderful weekend together with my family, and even had a couple hours alone together Sunday evening.
For Christmas, he flew up to Seattle to spend 8 days with me at home. He stayed downstairs, and we had wonderful days. We got engaged the day after he arrived, Wednesday, the 22nd, at a small park in Bothell as the sun went down. Unbeknownst to me, he had looked at rings before he came, and on the 23rd, we picked one out at the local jewelers. We had a romantic dinner at the downtown Ivar's on the 26th, and visited the top of the Space Needle. Our planes left at nearly the same time the next day, so we were able to say our goodbyes at his gate.
He's visited me twice in San Diego... the week before my birthday in March, and again in the beginning of June, both times for long weekends. It is ever clear to us how we cannot wait to be married... And now it is upon us! :)
Everything about Mike and I has felt like it has been ordained; as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Funny, since both of us have been very non-assuming about getting married (in general) in the past. :)
We are to be married in exactly a week at McFarlin Methodist Church in the chapel (a block away from his house) with family and a few of his friends. My parents and sister and brother-in-law are flying down to attend... my mom made my dress for me (we decided on the pattern when I visited home for Memorial Day, and I tried it on when I visited for two weeks in August), and she also constructed the bouquet. Pictures will be taken, and shared here and on Facebook. Also in mind is a reception/renewal of vows sometime soon in Seattle so we can share with more of my family and my friends.
At this point, while I am at the training command in San Diego, we plan to live apart. He is trying to orchestrate a plan for working remotely part of next year, so we can live together as much as we can. We think it best if he is able to keep his job (of over 20 years) and do it from a distance. Lately, most of his work is via email anyway, and the University has sounded positive about it so far. Let it be so, Lord!
No comments:
Post a Comment