It just occurred to me that I have never written down the story of how Johnny and I met, and since it's the month for love, I thought,
yeahhh, of course everyone wants to hear this:
I was starting my sophomore year at BYU, and technically I first met Johnny when I went to check into my apartment complex. He worked for the apartment complex, and there he was, sitting at the desk wearing a yellow pocket tee. But Johnny does not even remember this encounter, and I didn't think much about him at the time, other than that he seemed like an interesting and funny person. He told me not to lick the walls because they might have remnants of lead paint on them and to not put paint chips in my cereal (which I found out later he said to
everyone).
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| He worked at the grill by the pool in the afternoons. |
School started and I saw him around our complex a few times. I remember thinking that he seemed old, and I assumed that he was probably out of college already. But then I realized he was in my ward at church. Still, I did not think of him much other than that, and he says that he saw me at church but that I seemed very unapproachable.
Then Johnny's roommate Jeff just happened to be in one of my classes, and he and I recognized each other from church, and we became fast friends. Jeff invited me to go to a movie with him and some of his buddies (one of which was Johnny, but I didn't know that). I was super into clothes back then, and I remember seeing Johnny at the theater and thinking how much I loved his style. Hahaha. I know, but that is what I thought. Instead, I said, "You guys seem really old to me." So I think he thought I hated him.
And then we got into the movie, and Johnny was sitting on one side of me, and his cologne smelled soooo good. I was thinking
I could fall in love with this guy just because of his cologne! Still, he wasn't the kind of guy I was normally interested in, so I didn't think much other than that. The movie we went to see ended up being super lame, and Johnny got up and left to make a phone call during it and didn't come back. When the movie got out, Johnny was waiting for us in the hall. All of us rode home together, and Johnny struck up a conversation with me. I was so surprised at how easily we talked to each other because I didn't think we would be alike at all. That night I got home and told my roommate, "I think I could like him." In reality, I knew I already liked him.
The next day was a Sunday and I was determined to make sure I didn't let this guy pass me by. During ward prayer (If you didn't go to BYU, this is where all the students in your ward at church get together to say a prayer and eat treats on Sunday nights.), I saw that there weren't enough treats for everyone, and I invited Johnny and his roommate to come to my apartment for pumpkin ice cream and a game. I had a one track mind at this point and it was Johnny. A couple other guys came, too, and my roommates and I and the boys ate ice cream and played truth-or-dare Jenga. Hahaha. Afterward, I had a friendly conversation with Johnny in the hall, and then he and his roommate left. As he walked away, I told him to call me if he ever wanted to hang out, and then, just as I planned, he asked for my number : )
The rest is history from there. We saw each other every day after that, whether it was getting slurpies at 7-11, me meeting him by the grill at our apartment complex where he made hamburgers for the residents, or getting shakes at the Malt Shoppe. That Saturday we went on our first official date together, which was stargazing up at Sundance for one of his astronomy classes. We didn't kiss. That didn't come for a couple more weeks. But I do remember listening to Death Cab and Kalai and talking a lot. And I remember his sister Caitlin calling and asking him if we were cuddling, hahaha.
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| visiting Alabama to meet my parents---taken just a couple days before he proposed |
It was a perfect beginning. And when he proposed, we were laying under the stars again.
