How it all happened...part 1

It started with London, but doesn't everything great start with London? Well, actually, you could say it started with Shakespeare, and I wouldn't blame you. It's another great option. Regardless of how it began, it did. And I'm so glad.

The first words Mike said to me were "Hey. Do you want to form a Shakespeare travel group?" He was, of course, referring to flying to London with all the other people in our Shakespeare class who were going on the program. It was the beginning of April 2010, and we were in a pre-departure orientation for our London study abroad. My first words to him were, "Actually, I can't. I don't know when I'm coming home yet, so I'm not buying a plane ticket yet." Yes, a rejection. However, I would later tell him that when he walked into the pre-departure meeting, I thought, Hey...there's a really cute boy going to London!


After that, we talked briefly in Shakespeare class about travel plans and our final papers. Ah yes - nothing better than Macbeth and Henry IV for flirtation material.

The semester ended, and I didn't see him again until May 15 when he came strolling into the lobby of Regent's College, London (wearing a "Mind the Gap" shirt, no less) for our program orientation. I remember hardly anything else from that day because I had a ridiculous amount of jet lag. I do remember that he ordered a Sherlock mystery sandwich from the deli on Baker Street...

Throughout the next week, I gathered a few impressions about him: he was a bit goofy, but he was incredibly patient, witty, friendly, had a great bass voice, and loved studying literature. About a week into the program, my roommate, Jenny Hortin, had to go home to be with her family during a crisis. It was a really hard decision for her to make, and as much as I tried, I couldn't give her all the comfort she needed. She asked Mike to give her a blessing, and when he did, I was blown away. It was (though very early on) the first of many times I thought of him as husband material. His kindness, gentleness, sincerity and humility couldn't help but shine through.

Though we never told each other, we both started to like each other. However, a few things got in the way of a potentially budding romance. Among other reasons, we didn't want to add any drama to the trip, and we just wanted to be friends with everybody.

One night (that turned out to be a very important point in Mike's deciding he really liked me), a group of us went to an interesting play at the London National Theatre. At intermission, I was feeling uncomfortable and thinking about leaving. My friends were really enjoying the play, and I didn't want to ruin their night. We talked about leaving for a bit, and I just didn't have the courage to say I wanted to go. Mike saw my discomfort and said, "We could always just go get some ice cream..." I could have kissed him. I jumped right up and said "Yeah! That's a great idea!" That night was when I learned how tactful and good Mike is at easing uncomfortable situations.

Another night, Mike and I found ourselves alone while some other friends went out to a play. We talked and talked and talked, and before we knew it, our friends were home. It was such a special night for me - I discovered that we had so many similar interests like photography, books, Japanese food, and music. That night, I began to seriously think about how fun it would be to date him when we got home.

Well, as all good things do, London ended. On June 19th, the morning everybody left, I got up to see them all off. I wasn't leaving - I was going to stay with a wonderful family up in Solihull (near Burmingham) for a week, and then going on to Cambridge for another study abroad program for 8 weeks. I wanted to go home so much that day! I missed so many things at home. I was scared to death of traveling over the English countryside by myself with all of my luggage. I gave Mike a hug that morning (honestly, not the best hug ever - he admits he was still feeling a little awkward about showing me he liked me), and waved out the window to him and Ben as they walked towards to Regent's Park gate with their luggage.

A couple nights later, as I was comfortably situated in Solihull, I found that Mike had sent me a facebook message. He confessed that he couldn't help but think of Juliet teaching the torches to burn bright as he saw me wave to him from the Regent's College window. It sounds a bit cheesy, but my heart was eager to grasp onto any sign from him that he liked me.

Throughout the summer, we continued to correspond and tell each other about our summer adventures. Without fail, every message from him made me smile and laugh. I found out that he had a radio show I could listen to on the internet, and when I heard his deep voice again, I couldn't help but be giddy.

I came home from Cambridge on Saturday, August 21st, and school started up again the next Monday. At precisely 9:00 Monday morning, I walked into the LNCO courtyard to meet up with this boy I couldn't wait to see. When he stood up to greet me with a hug, I remember thinking Holy cow! Was he always quite this tall and attractive?

The hug was much better this time.

We talked for a bit, and then he had to go to class. I was sad to not have seen him for a longer time, but I had hopes for the future. He texted me about an hour later, wondering what I was doing after my class ended in about 30 minutes. Apparently, he wanted a bit more time with me too.

We met up after my class and ended up spending most of the rest of the day together running errands around campus and going to my favorite place to eat - The Kyoto - for lunch. I didn't see him Tuesday, but he called me that night to see if I wanted to take an Institute class with him. Why yes, I did want to see him at least twice a week, so I said yes.

After that, things went unbelievably well. We went on some wonderful dates in Bountiful and Millcreek canyon, went on some beautiful walks through my neighborhood, and I realized I was starting to fall for this guy. It was almost scary how much we more than clicked. We became best friends. We both proclaimed ourselves to be very slow-movers, but about a month after I got home, we declared ourselves "official." Not a week after that, we knew we were in love.

I tell you, I was hooked. He treated me like a princess. He appreciated my wit and could keep up with it. With his arm wrapped around me on a blanket in my front yard, he told me about the Horsehead nebula. We talked about our favorite names. We philosophized with Lewis and Talmage, talked about Media Law, Japan, England, traveling, future career goals, editing, advertising, and graphic design. We Skyped on the days we couldn't see each other, and talking to Mike became the best part of my day. When some of his friends became engaged to be married over Spring Break, we joked about joining them. Pretty soon, we weren't so much joking about getting married.

And then I threw us both off in the beginning of last December by seriously planning to go on a mission. While Mike never hesitated to tell me he supported me, he would always follow his words of encouragement by saying that he definitely wouldn't mind if I stayed home and married him. We started talking marriage in terms of two years down the road. I was getting my mission papers in as soon as possible, so I could get my call as soon as possible, so I could leave as soon as possible, so I could get home as soon as possible, so I could marry Mike as soon as possible...see a trend?

To be continued...