It Begins

Ever since I read Pioneer Woman's rendition of "Black Heals to Tractor Wheels" I've thought, "I really need to write down my little love story."  I have a little in my journal but to be honest, I was too busy spending every waking moment with Shane doing that whole dating thing to be writing down just how we met and became married. And...there is so much more to it than the simple two sentence story I usually tell...

While I am sure my little love story will not be nearly as funny and interesting as the Pioneer Woman's story. And, I'm pretty sure there aren't any literary agents stalking my blog just chomping at the bit to offer me large chunks of money to publish it.  I'm also sure it will take a lot more than one post so here we go. It begins:

"Are you any good?" These are the first words that came out of my dear husband's mouth when we first met. He was referring to my softball skills. I had just moved away from home for the first time and in an attempt to involve myself and be social, I had signed up for the ward co-ed softball team. He was in charge and to be honest, I don't think he wanted any wimps on the team. Well...he got one, because I may or may not have exaggerated my skills.... just a little :)  But let's rewind a bit.

As far as I'm concerned, my life began that summer of 1999. I was 19, had recently finished my freshman year at Brigham Young University which was conveniently yet very inconveniently in my home town. As the semester came to an end I borrowed my parents' car and I planned a trip to Idaho to pick up my best friend Alisa from the then Ricks College and bring her home. I missed her. I didn't make many friends my freshman year of college. I went through the motions going to a student ward and freshman activities, but when it came down to it, after class and work, I just wanted to go home and relax. The only thing at home was my retired parents and my engaged cousin. The only glimmer of a social life I had was a crush that formed with my TALL Freshman Orientation leader Loydell and the events I attended while casually stocking him.

While picking up Alisa I suddenly became green with envy. SHE was in college, she had an apartment, friends, and DATES. She was moving on and having fun! I was miserably struggling through school, mostly hanging out with friends who were a year younger than me, thus, still in high school, and wondering what on earth I was doing.

The moment I got home from that trip I drove to campus, picked up an off campus living magazine and started looking for an apartment. I had very little money and no car I could claim as my own, but I knew this was something I had to do. My life was going nowhere living at home.

There are millions of choices when it comes to apartments in the summer but only one seemed to be right. It may have been the low rent, or the fact that I had actually been there before but I felt comfortable signing away most of my paycheck just to live a mile from my parents' home.

Within three days I was packing up most of my belongings and leaving my home. The home I had lived my entire 19 years.  I wasn't sad. I didn't need to be. Home was just up the road and I could always go back... or so I thought.

I don't recall being scared until the first real day living at my new apartment. Holy Cow! What did I do? I imagine my roommates got a good chuckle at my inexperience of living amongst my peers, probably even more so because I had lived most of my life with boys...5 brothers to be exact. Suddenly I was in a small space with 5 other girls. I had a lot to learn.

In my excitement, I had bought a few plates and pans and put them in the cupboard. To my horror I found one of my plates only a few hours later, dirty, in the kitchen sink. Who had used MY plates? What was I doing here? Had I made a mistake? I was a little freaked out.

I decided to let it go ;) and within a few hours I was headed to the mountains with a large group of new friends (including apartment #34....a group of 6 boys) for an evening of star gazing. I knew then, I was never moving back home.

Two days later started with a bang. I had been up until 3 am for work but had to get ready for church at my new ward pretty early. The hum of several blow driers at once so early in the morning was so foreign to me, I was back to freaking out. I dragged my tired body out of bed, pulled on a green fleece pull-over I had thrown on the floor the night before and headed out into the estrogen filled hallway and down the stairs to eat some breakfast, hopefully in my newly purchased bowls.

As I reached the first step It felt as though I had a balled up sock in the collar of my pullover....that is...until it moved! I froze. My first thought... a spider. Of which, I am terribly afraid. I started trembling. I reached over my shoulder toward the foreign object only to feel it move over to my shoulder. I flipped out! I started flailing and throwing my arms all around when suddenly something round and white flew out of the arm of my sweater and tumbled down several steps.

A small, obviously frightened, mouse stood perfectly still on the stairs while I stared at in it shock. It quickly regained it's wits and scurried into a small hole in the stairwell. WHAT!!! I turned to my roommate who was fixing her hair and said "A MOUSE.... WAS IN MY SHIRT!"

Now....I didn't know what to think. All these dish boundaries being crossed, the early morning blow drier symphony and now RODENTS?!? Mommy!

It turned out to be a mouse placed ON PURPOSE in our apartment by some prankster boys in another apartment. I was the unfortunate and innocent butt of the joke. The mouse was also an unfortunate and innocent recipient of some cheese that was strategically placed by our maintenance man. Welcome to college! I had finally made it.

And I did...in fact...make it to church that day as well. I surveyed the whole ward, which consisted of our entire apartment complex, for prospective love interests. Let's face it. Most kids go to BYU to get an education and most come out of BYU with a diploma and a spouse. I didn't want to be the exception and at the rate I was going, it was going to take me all four years and perhaps a masters degree. The criteria? TALL...the guy must be tall.  This, foolishly, had been my only criteria since being one of the tallest amongst both girls AND boys in school my entire life. My radar zeroed in on one man. He WAS tall. Lucky me, he was also quite accessible as he lived in this apartment #34. They were in my family home evening group and he and his roommates were already well acquainted with my roommates. PERFECT!

Life... was off to a good start.

Next Chapter

p.s. this will continue as I have time and the desire to embarrass myself more. So don't expect this to be the next 20 consecutive posts. ;)