This morning, I was thinking about December 5...and remembered that it's David Smith's birthday. To anyone else, this is not a big deal, (nor should it be), but I always remember because of what happened on this day in 2003.
My former mission companion, (and roommate), Elizabeth, started dating David several weeks before I started dating Ryan. When David's birthday rolled around, she wanted to decorate his office, but wasn't sure how to go about getting it done. Since Ryan and David worked at the same place, things worked out for Ryan and I to go decorate David's office together while Elizabeth kept him out of the office for a while.
I remember Ryan went to the temple and I went to the MTC to help the missionaries learning Russian--and we met up in the Provo Temple parking lot when we were both done. We drove to Ryan's office so he could start the weekly computer back up. When we got there, he opened my car door and I headed toward the door of the building. When I turned around, he had a rose and a card for me to congratulate me on my new job. (I had just been hired either that morning or the day before to be the office manager at KBYU.) It was so sweet--and honestly, exactly what I had hoped for. I know--I'm a silly girl. :)
After Ryan started the backup, he told me he was going to take me to dinner to further celebrate my employment. I remember telling Ryan that I didn't care where we went to dinner...and then he said he wasn't going to pull out of the parking lot until I chose a place. So, I chose one of my favorite places, Winger's. When we walked in the door of the restaurant, the hostess looked up and said, "Are you two together?" When I said yes, the hostess replied, "Good because you're standing under the mistletoe--and you get a dollar off each meal if you kiss." Not really knowing what to do, I said, "OK," and kissed Ryan on the cheek. We were both so twitterpated that evening that we totally forgot to remind our server about the discount.
After dinner, we went over to David's office, (he usually works later in the evenings), and decorated up a storm. I don't remember much about that part of the evening--only that we had fun "trashing" his office together.
When we finished the decorating, we went back to my parents' house to wait for Elizabeth and David to show up for cake and ice cream. We had little strawberry shortcakes and then went downstairs to watch, "Maid in Manhattan." I really don't rememeber much about the movie, but that was the first time Ryan and I held hands. I knew before then that our relationship was probably going somewhere more permanent, so it was extra exciting for me.
The next day, (Saturday), I had a date with a guy who had asked me out six weeks previous. As much as I did NOT want to go on that date now, I felt like I couldn't back out the day of the event--especially when the guy had asked David and Elizabeth to double with us at my suggestion. Before Ryan went home on Friday, I made sure he knew where I stood so that he wouldn't wonder about what was going on. The date was OK--but the entire evening, I was thinking about and wishing I was there with Ryan. I'm sure my date probably didn't understand why I wasn't into the whole thing.
Sunday rolled around and I was anxious to see Ryan again. After holding hands on Friday night, I wondered what was going to happen at church in our singles ward. I came in a little late and grabbed the first empty bench I could find. Elizabeth and David had arrived earlier and were motioning for me to come sit by them, where Ryan, who was passing the sacrament, had put his things. I didn't want to cause more of a distraction than I had already caused, though, so I stayed put. I was a little bummed that I wouldn't get to sit next to Ryan, but figured it would be fine. Well, much to my delight, when the sacrament portion of the meeting was over, Ryan picked his things up and came to sit by me. Honestly--that made me feel so important to him. He wasn't afraid of what other people would think--he wanted to make sure I knew where I stood with him. I loved it!
The next day, I received an e-mail from the guy I went out with on Saturday night. He explained that he wanted to talk to me about a few things and would throw in dinner and bowling for fun. I wrote back and said that I was willing to talk to him, but would have to decline the invitation for dinner and bowling because I was dating someone. In his next e-mail, he said that I had answered his question and he hoped I would let him know if I was ever available again. When I read that, I turned to Elizabeth, (who was also checking her e-mail), and said, "I don't think I'm ever going to be available again!"
And, I was right. A week or two after David's birthday, Ryan and I sat in the living room, lit only by colored lights on the Christmas tree, and started talking. Even a week or two later, neither of us remembered how it came up, but in vague terms, we discussed our future together. We knew that we were going somewhere--although neither one of us was ready to say it yet. When Ryan left for the Christmas break and we talked on the phone and IMed every day. I remember telling Ryan that I hated him not being there and I was never doing that again! He replied, "Next time I come to Seattle, you're coming with me." He was definitely right! Later in that conversation, we talked in very specific terms about getting married. We went ring shopping for the first time on New Year's day and were engaged 3 weeks later. (Which, for those who are interested, was about 8-9 weeks from our first date.)
From the time I realized my interest in boys, I had always hoped that I would have a boyfriend around Christmas time. As I got older and started dating, I dated a few guys, but was never "lucky" enough to have it happen during the Christmas season. That year, I certainly was lucky enough! The memories of that magical time have enhanced my Christmas season every year since then--and I enjoy falling in love with Ryan all over again each year as I remember.
When we got our list of families on Monday, I was excited to see that we were to send them to Australia, Singapore, and Dominican Republic, as well as several states in the U.S. We mailed them out on Tuesday--and now we're just waiting for our cards to arrive over the next few weeks. I put up little maps of the world and the U.S. so we can see where our cards come from. I'll post pics of the cards on my blog as we receive them.
