A Love Story

Disclaimer: This may be a bit sappy and is not soapbox-y at all.

Today is April 6th.  That means that it has been one year to the day that Josh and I officially started dating.  Most everyone loves a good romance, so here's mine.

Josh and I met in vertebrate embryology.  Our eyes locked across a cross section of a chicken embryo and we knew it was meant to be.  Well, not quite but close.  He is habitually early and I am occasionally early.  There we sat, alone in the classroom.  He was reading, I was texting.  I eventually decided it was rude to sit in total silence.  So I asked him what he was reading.  After that we started talking.  The problem was I didn't know his name.  I kept talking to him for months, still avoiding addressing him directly because "hey you" is such a turn off. 

Around March, there was a test coming up and I got a Facebook message asking if I'd like to meet up to study.  This was a turning point, the message had his name on it!  Woo hoo!  No name no more!  I replied I'd love to study (there was sooooo much material).  I picked a convient time because I had a date later that night and had to drive to JC anyway.  Let me just pause here to mention that I am oblivious.  Totally, completely oblivious.  It never occurred to me that he had anything on his mind besides the chick nervous system.  Still oblivious, I picked the place to meet:  Waffle House.  Nothing says budding romance like the stench of fried foods.  Mom, being slightly more observant than me, suggested I dress up.  I did, after all I had a date after the study session.  When I got to Waffle House I discovered my jade silk blouse had a rip four inches long.  Isn't that wonderful?  He got a great view of my stomach all night long.  I was mortified.  No biggie though, it was just studying.  I was heading to GA in a few months where I planned to meet a geneticist, fall in love, and have perfect test tube babies.  I went on my date afterwards and broke up with that guy that very night.

Suddenly, Josh and I were talking more and more.  I found myself creating reasons to see him.We would talk as we would walk to our cars.  Isn't that sweet?  Sure, except I parked across campus from where he did.  So for a little while I would walk out to his car, wave bye, wait til he got in his car and double back across campus to my car.  Then I started moving my car halfway through the day.  I said I wanted to learn to drive a stick shift (a wonderful skill to know that I still haven't mastered).  I knew he had a stick shift and he started coming over after work to teach me to drive.  Somehow we always ended up watching tv til really late.  I was falling for him but I pushed that aside because I was moving, I had plans.  Make a plan and God laughs.

Finally, he got up the nerve to ask me out!  It was precious and I blushed the whole time we were talking.  He picked a time.  Then I realized that the date was set during the middle of the Tennessee basketball game and it was March Madness.  I called and asked if he'd like to cancel so he could watch the game.  He laughed and said he wasn't that into TN basketball (horrors!).  So we went to a bbq place.  This was bad on two levels:  one, you should never have bbq on a first date, it's a messy dish that can't be eaten delicately; two, the restaurant had tvs everywhere and the TN game was on.  I was completely distracted.  I actually started yelling at the tv in the middle of one of his sentences.  This was not an auspicious start.  Somehow, and I will never know how, this did not make Josh run and hide.  We had one more date after that.  Then I got a call saying he would like to discuss our relationship.  Uh-oh.


I figured a "discussion" needed fuel so I made homemade dumplings.  Now to have this serious talk I was covered head to toe in flour.  Great.  We beat around the bush FOREVER!  Finally at almost 1 AM, Josh started in on the main event.  He said that he wanted to get married and start a family and that he thought he wanted to do that with me (mouth drops open).  He would like for us to date exclusively with that goal in mind.  He continued that he knew I was going to GA but we would work around that because when he started in on a relationship he meant for it to last.  Then he asks what I think.  I close my gaping mouth and respond "Um...okay.  Does that mean we can put it on Facebook?"  Eloquent, mature, and flour covered, what a catch.

That was April 6th.  By the end of June (while walking hand in hand on the beach) we decided we did want to get married and he gave me the go ahead to look at engagement rings.  In August I begged him to let me forget about UGA and stay with him instead of moving five hours away.  No dice.  I moved, we visited.  In October, on the day of the UT/UGA football game he went alone to my house and talked to my parents for over an hour and ended up with permission to ask for my hand.  Later that month he recreated our first kiss and proposed.  We set the date for May but changed it when there was a conflict at the church.  We've been married over two months now.  I can't believe ALL of that has happened in just one year.  It's been the best and craziest year of my life.  I can't wait to spend all the rest with him.