Second First Date

Disclaimer: This post will feel more like a crazy college girl's journal but that is because I was a crazy college girl at the time of these events and that is how I remember it all taking place. I apologize in advance for all of the side notes, run-on sentences, and random thoughts in parentheses.

Last year's February 28 was a snowy day on BYU campus. I was wearing my favorite gray boots and striped yellow scarf. I skipped Marriage Prep (don't worry I was going to go to the afternoon section) to take an O Chem midterm first thing that morning - those tests are known to take three hours without blinking an eye. I unexpectedly ran into an old friend that I hadn't seen in a long time (this friend is the one that I started dating, see my First Date post, but things didn't work out and ended on rocky terms. I wasn't over it completely, and seeing him was exactly what I needed.) Made my day, and I thought it couldn't get any better... But it did.

Later, I was running late for Marriage Prep (I was still FREAKING out that I'd seen Jon earlier and was trying to figure out what it all meant. So naturally I was writing all of my thoughts down on a scrap of paper in between classes), and I hurried out of the JFSB basement to bump into none other than Wesley! I NEVER saw this kid on campus, ever, so it was quite a surprise. It was just a quick hello goodbye, but still my day was getting even better. (Side note: there were multiple doors to get out of the building but I chose to stay inside as long as possible and went out the far entrance, which is exactly where Wes was coming in.)

Made it to Marriage Prep with my friend Jessie. As we walked out, she spotted Wes in the crowd and called out to him. The three of us talked for a while out in the cold. I was trying to be so nice and cute and flirty to try and make up for the disappointment of December. Our little chat was good, and then we all went our separate ways. Mine was home to teach piano lessons.

And guess who called me in between two lessons?? Wesley Harward. I was shocked to say the least, but I couldn't stop smiling after our quick conversation. I said I'd call back after I was done teaching. And I did. And he asked me out, again. And I said yes. And I could not have been happier! (Evidence of this shear joy - spinning around my room saying 'He called me!! Wes asked me out again!!') Little did I know that that happiness would never leave but only increase and that I'd be married to him in less than six months. All I did know was that I had a second chance with this boy, and I wasn't going to break his heart again. I'm so grateful he had the courage to call me again because our second first date changed absolutely everything.

We arranged for that Saturday, March 3. It was an incredibly busy day for me, but I knew I could not put Wes off till the next weekend. I participated in the stake Women's Conference, rushed home to eat and change to then head off to campus to record a demo of a song I'd written with a friend - recording is seriously one of the funnest things ever. I then went straight to a special friend's birthday party for a while to then race home to change and compose myself for my date with Wesley. He picked me up, and I introduced him briefly to my family. We went to dinner and then a show in Murray. It was very entertaining, though I was exhausted and was trying to hide it, and the best part was spending the evening with Wes. I didn't know that it was the renewed beginning of something special but just a wonderful date with a good, attentive, adoring young man.

Wes and I like to look back to these early times in our relationship and see all that has changed. It's fun to hear his perspective and all of the little details after the fact - like the fact that he saw Jessie and I before we saw him but he didn't say anything or the reason why he decided to call me again or that it was right after his mom's birthday dinner that I called him back. We know that none of the events that week were coincidences. Everything happened the way it did for a reason and was perfectly orchestrated by One who knows more than I do. (I say I because Wes was a lot more clued in to the fact that we were meant to be together than I was at the time :)