How We Met

I have about 5,259 posts things I want to talk about.  I adore talking and I think I like writing even better- no interruptions.  So, it was really hard to decide what to post on today, but in the end I have decided on the ever interesting and predictable topic of "How we met".  If my husband dies driving his very dangerous car today, the one that died three times yesterday, the one with the check engine light, the one with unreliable breaks, not the extra van in the garage that is perfectly fine except for a drained battery, no the 15 year old Ford Station Wagon, at least I will have paid tribute to the beginning of us.  Side note: If you are the grammar police, you should stop reading what I write right now.  I like run on sentences and I'm much better at spelling than all those other tricky little rules.  Anyway, back to the point of this post.  Let's go back a few years, all the way back to 1996, which is coincidentally the year his car was born.  I was starting my sophomore year at BYU and Judd was fresh off his mission for his second year at BYU as well.  We both decided to live on campus in the apartment style dorms.  These were one step up in responsibility from DT where we got to eat in the BEST CAFETERIA EVER, the Morris Center, where I lived the year before.  These dorms, Heritage Halls, had kitchens complete with a table and a loveseat.  6 girls, or guys, shared one bathroom with one sink, 3 bedrooms and the lovely kitchen.  4 apartments shared a common area with some couches and a T.V..  It was paradise! As fate would have it, Judd and I ended up living in adjacent buildings and therefore landed ourselves in the same ward comprised of 2 buildings of girls and one building of boys.  I was not about to let this gender disprepancy hinder my dating possibilities and by 2 weeks into school I had already gone on one date with a boy in the ward and was working on charming a few more.  That was when we got callings. In the L.D.S. church the members accept volunteer positions to help the ward, or congregation, function smoothly.  Because our ward had only adults, there were not enough callings for everyone, so the Bishop (leader of the ward), had to make some up and share others.  Judd and I were called to teach adult Sunday school every other week- together! I'm sure it happens, but I've never lived in another ward where two non-related people taught a class together, as in at the same time.  And the honest truth is that I took one look at him name, for I hadn't met him yet, and said to my roomies, "What a hick name!"  I have a thing about names.  There is also this understood unofficial rule at BYU that you don't marry your home teacher ( a calling where 2 guys visit an apartment of girls to make sure they are okay and give them a spiritual message each month).  That would be like marrying your professor at another school. Well, marrying your teaching partner was almost as bad so I wrote him off of the potential dating list before I even met him.  On Judd's side of things, he wasn't even thinking about dating.  He was fresh off his mission by just three weeks and was focused on his education.  He was so focused that we had a hard time finding a time to meet.  He had class until 5 p.m. and after that, I was busy pursuing my goal of 3 dates a week.  Finally, we agreed to meet from 5-6 on a Friday night so I could hurry home to prepare for a date.  I asked, "How will I know who you are? " and he volunteered" I'll wear a post it note on my head".  I didn't think he really would do such a silly thing, but he actually did arrive in the lobby of his building with a yellow post it note on his forehead proclaiming" Hi.  I'm Judd".  It was funny.  And I liked it.  We met a few days later to try and plan our lesson and we had trouble planning it. We couldn't stop talking about other things.  A couple of weeks later, Judd asked me out to a movie, but I said no because I had to draw the moon for a class.  And I had to do it every night at 10:00 P.M. for two weeks.  I thought he was asking as a friend and going with a group.  I didn't realize he had prepurchased tickets and it was a date.  The next day, he showed up outside of my apartment at 10:00 P.M., and when he found me drawing the moon I was "forgiven".  We continued to meet for hours on end to "plan our lessons". My 19th birthday came a few weeks later and my teaching partner gave me an adorable matted paper with my name and the meaning of my name.  He had made a cardboard mat himself and covered it with fabric.  After giving me this thoughtful gift, we went for a moonlit walk through the winding paths of our apartment community, pausing next to the gently stream, and Judd asked me out.   This time I got it.  It was so much clearer to me.  And my heart was a flutter and of course I accepted his invitation.  I went home, where my roommates declared me to be in love.  Collapsing on my bed and admiring the roses they had bought me, I noticed the gift from Judd was peeling up on the edge of the mat.  Curious, I peeled it back some more and noticed writing on the back of the paper.  A secret message!  One that I wasn't meant to discover for some time.  It read, "I love you heaps! -Judd"  Of course this sent me and my roommates into a complete tizzy!  He loved me!  He hardly knew me! But, he loved me! I could tell he was special.  We hadn't even been on date or kissed each other, but he loved me! We went on our first date a few days later and there was pretty much no turning back from that point.  Well, except for time he broke up with me for one day.  But, that's another story.  We met in September.  We were engaged in March and married in July.  This July will be our 14th anniversary.  And I hope that our marriage is in much better shape than the death trap that Judd drove to the court today!