Mushy, Mushy, Love Story

I was so surprised...I found the man of my dreams.

So I know that almost all of you have heard the story, that most of you have heard it way too many times, and that some of you didn't even care the first time. Well, I'm not writing this for you. I'm writing this for me, and for Russell, and for our children (when we have them--and when they're old enough to ask). :]

Russ and I met on a night on which I wasnt supposed to be out.

Well, I clearly was supposed to be out, but I wasn't going to be. My roommate Caroline and I had just come back from a concert that the All-American Rejects had put on for NAU. I desperately wanted to go downtown to the bars to see if we could spot the band, but Caroline was skeptical. I later learned that it wouldn't have taken much convincing to get her out, but I felt silly asking her again, since she'd just explained how unlikely it was that we'd see them...

So I enlisted the help of my little--Emma. She'd been asking to go to the bars with us, and I knew she'd help me out with my problem. It didn't take much persuasion to convince her to pretend it was her idea to go downtown.

So, armed with the "fact" that my little wanted us to go out, I convinced Caroline to go out with us.

We went straight for our favorite bar--Maloney's--and grabbed a booth next to some rowdy strangers, watching a couple guys run around the bar in competition. After a victor was announced, and about halfway through my tequila sunrise, the winner himself walked by our table on the way to the bathroom.

Now, as he was not-half-bad looking, and as I had already caught his eye, I threw him a grin, and was rewarded with a wink.

I turned to my friends--I'd never been winked at before! Did that guy really do that?--And before I knew it, the guy was squeezing into our booth next to Caroline.

The four of us chatted, and the charmer--turns out his name was Russell--dazzled us with his surprisingly accurate drunk memory, reciting our favorite colors, music, hometowns, majors, etc. for us.

There was just something about him.

By this time, his friends had sort of joined us, and we'd talked for hours, and it was closing time too soon. We all shuffled out the door, and still this guy hadnt asked for a number! We split into our separate groups, saying awkward goodbyes and "nice to meet you"s, and I knew I had to do something. When would I see this random guy again otherwise?

Maybe it was the tequila shots, maybe it was just something in me that recognized him. Whatever it was, a strange boldness swept through me and I cooly stepped up beside him, handing him my phone with his name typed out as a new contact. "Is this how you spell it?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied...And then he got it. "Oh! You want my number?"

Duh.

He texted me that night (or early morning, really), asked me on a date for that week.

We dated that April, May. I went to Hawaii with Russ and his family after graduation--where I totally fell in love with them. I stayed in Arizona for my mom's wedding, and joined him in Oklahoma days later.

We fell in love quickly, and I think we both just kind of knew. We'd found the one. And it was easy. It wasnt perfect, but it was easy.

We were engaged that August--a whopping four months into our relationship. Russell took me to a jewelry store, claiming that he wanted to get his sister a watch for her birthday. Being that I'd only been with my boyfriend for four months at this time, I tried really hard to believe that was the reason. You just can't go into it thinking he's scoping out a ring for you that soon!

Well, "maybe a ring would be good for her." So Russ began wandering past the rings, and I looked up and down for a ring that might be appropriate to give to his sister--weird, but possibly manageable, I thought. And then he wandered to the engagement rings. The jeweler whispered to me, "He's looking at the fun ones now!" and I chuckled nervously--I knew what those rings were.

When the jeweler insisted I try on a ring that had caught my eye--even though I tried desperately to remain unbiased and kept saying, "I don't know if she would like this, but I think it's nice."--I tried to give him my right hand. Really, the man did not make this easy.

"No, your other hand," he grinned. I'm pretty sure I was shaking with nerves and awkwardness. Here we are, with this jeweler trying to pressure my boyfriend of four months into buying me an engagement ring, and I have to go along with it. I took that thing off as quick as I could (though it was very pretty).

After dropping me back at home, Russ went to "study with the other guys" for about an hour, and we later sat on our apartment floor, drinking wine and putting together a puzzle. Russ seemed a little on edge, but I ignored it. Until he suddenly jumped up, looking out the window.

"The sky's clear tonight, do you wanna go star gazing?" He knows I love looking at the stars--especially since I point Orion out to him pretty much every night--and we had planned to go the next day. But I was up for it--plus I was so confused by his demeanor.

We drove out to the Wildlife Preserve, where he proceeded to try desperately to get us up Mount Scott. "It just would be a really cool way to look at the stars!" But, alas, the gate was locked tight, and I was not willing to hike up a small mountain in the dark.

Disappointed, Russ finally pulled over, and we turned our gazes to the stars. Or, I did, at least. Immediately, I began pointing out the constellations I knew, spouting out the meaning behind more. I glanced to where Russ had been standing, and found him on one knee.


Shocked, I have no idea what Russell then said to me, and I literally only remember, "Will you marry me?" I stared at him, seriously contemplating my answer. I knew I loved him, and that we were gonna end up married anyway, but was it too soon? Could I pull the trigger?

Finally, I decided. "Sure, yes, yes, of course!" I stammered out (which I will never be allowed to forget). And it was such a sweet moment. My heart was bursting with joy.

I found out in the car, when I called my mom to tell her the news, that Russ had asked her for permission to marry me. It was the most wonderful surprise.

We were married three months later in the most beautiful ceremony, with the most fun and wonderful reception under the beautiful Arizona sunset. The day was perfect and so full of love.

And now it's been nearly four months since then. We've moved across the US, gotten a puppy, made new friends, started new careers, made a home together. And it's been good. Really good. I know I'm an absolute romantic at heart, but I'm surprisingly not that good with really mushy stuff, but I'll say it--life is beautiful. Our life is beautiful.

Sure, we're learning how to be adults, and how to be married, and how to be who we need to be and what we need to do, but I would not trade any one second of this life for anything.

I've found--finally--where I really belong. And it's in his arms. And that is beautiful.

Thus ends the mush. :] Thanks for bearing with me through it. I hope it was worth the read to you, but if not, well, I already warned you! haha This is for me. Because even though these are wonderful memories, I know my capacity for memory, and I don't want to forget any of it. :]