Let me first preface this by saying that in my post about my brother's wedding last June, I made a vague mention of Jonathon: "Another thing has happened too, but I don't think this blog post is the appropriate way to declare the news." At that time, Jonathon asked me if I was going to write a post about how we met & started dating & yada yada yada. I told him no, that would come at a later time. He asked how much later. I said much, much later. And then it hit him. "Oh. You mean you'll write it if we get engaged?" Precisely. Little did I know that that "later" would be a short six months away. So here you go, Jonathon. Here's our story for the world to know :)
I met Jonathon the end of April, my first week working in the deli at Kesler's. He had been home from his mission approx. 2 weeks. I remember seeing him come into the store & meeting with Mckay. We had a bit a dilemma at that time because another worker unexpectedly quit so we knew Mckay was trying to find someone in a bit of a hurry. Jonathon came out of the meeting with Mckay with a big smile on his face. I had no idea that he had worked at Kesler's before his mission. The only thing I knew was that I thought he was very cute, and I hoped he was an RM, not a premie. I could never tell :)
A couple days later Jonathon started working. Kesler's hired another boy around the same time. I heard through the grapevine that one of them "worked there before his mission." I just had to figure out which one that was, since they both looked like they were 17. Jonathon was that guy, and I was so happy!! I could flirt and not feel like a pedaphile.
In spite of me finding Jonathon attractive, I really had no interest in him whatsoever. All the other single boys around my age at Kesler's were in love with me, so I made it a goal to make Jonathon become another one of those guys. At first I couldn't speak to him (I am a shy girl), and he definitely didn't speak to me! But then I started teasing him about buying burritos every day for lunch. He got a little defensive. I don't think he knew how to handle such an attractive girl flirting with him. Because I saw he was a little uncomfortable around me, I made it a goal to become better acquainted with him by teasing him more. It was fun! And I was in no search for a husband, so there were no worries there.
One day, I saw Jonathon stalking shelves above the open ice cream cooler. He was standing on a crate and the mischievous part of me had a great urge to gently kick the crate in order to startle him. Well, I got a little too excited, and instead of a nice gentle love tap, I kicked that crate hard out from under him! He almost went flying. He was so shocked, he proceeded to tell everyone, for the rest of the day, how I tried to kill him. That was the day Jonathon fell for me...literally.
A couple of weeks later, Jonathon & I were scheduled for the same lunch break. Neither of us ever went home for lunch, so we ended up spending the whole hour in the break room together. I don't think I'd ever had such a personal conversation with someone I knew so little before. We talked about different hardships we were experiencing in life at the moment, and we realized a friend we desperately needed in the other person.
Our friendship progressed, and a couple weeks after that lunch, Jonathon asked me to go to the local production of Pride & Prejudice with him. I accepted. We both walked away wondering what in the world had happened. Eight days later, we went on our first date. We first went to a coworker's wedding reception (an omen, maybe?) and then we went to the play. A mutual acquaintance saw us and apparently thought we were dating, for she proceeded to say "Good choice! Both of you!" with a smile beaming as wide as the Amazon. Needless to say, it was awkward. I wasn't even sure if I really even liked that boy yet!
About 10 minutes before the play ended, Jonathon's arm made its way around the back of my chair. A couple of minutes later, his hand rested on my shoulder. Inside, I started freaking out. A guy hadn't made a move on me in 2 years!! I didn't know what to do. I don't even remember how the play ended because turmoil wreaked havoc in my mind as I tried to decided if I really liked this boy or not. The night ended with Jonathon giving me a real hug. I was fully prepared to receive that awkward newly-returned-missionary pat-pat hug. But again, he surprised me by pulling me close like we'd known each other forever.
And the rest is history. Of course, there are many more stories of how we came to fall in love, etc, ect. But that would just start to drag on and be tedious for everyone else but us. So, we'll fast forward to the proposal.
After BYU got out from school, Jonathon went home to be with family. I still had to stay in Provo for another week to work. I planned to drive home early the Saturday before Christmas and then we would spend a perfect day together. We were going to go ice skating, go out to dinner, and then go to the Idaho Falls temple grounds to look at the lights. I had a pretty good idea that was when he was going to propose. But then my sister-in-law went into an emergency c-section Friday night. My parents rushed down to Provo and Jonathon came with them. We didn't get back to Blackfoot until Saturday evening, so our perfect date was pretty much ruined.
The next day, Sunday, was a pretty busy day. We played games with Jonathon's family that night until about 10:30 or 11 when we decided we needed some alone time. We went over to my house and relaxed in my basement. That was where we first told each other we loved each other during the summer (he told me he loved me two weeks before I told him). We were talking about life and things. Jonathon had the ring in his pocket and decided he didn't want to wait anymore. So, he got down on one knee and proposed. It was really sweet.
And that is that. I am so excited to marry Jonathon! He truly is my best friend and I couldn't ask for a better companion to spend the rest of my life with. As cheesy as it sounds, he completes me in a way I never thought possible. He is my everything, and I love him. Forever.
