It's a Love Story, Baby Just Say Yes...3

Part Three

July 28^th finally came. Concert day. I was ready! He picked me up and we were on our merry way. Actually, I think I was driving because his old car was not the most reliable at the time and the Ionia Free Fair was about 50 miles away.

We finally got there and got to our seats and it was a little awkward at first. It was our first real date and we were both super nervous. Neither of us knew what to say, so we just kind of sat there people watching (which was highly entertaining...good ole rednecks) I was so excited about the concert, but even more excited that I was there with him. I knew he wanted to hold my hand (because we had talked about it the day before, and he had asked me if that would be okay. UM YES PLEASE!) but he was too nervous to grab it. I tried to make it super easy for him and had it resting on the armrest between us, just waiting for him…but he never took the bait. I remember being so frustrated. I wanted to hold is hand so bad, but I wanted him to be the one to do it!

Finally, about halfway through the concert and during my most favorite Tim McGraw song ever (The Cowboy in Me) while I was rocking out and singing at the top of my lungs, blissfully unaware of anyone or anything around me… I felt him take my hand. And that moment was the most perfect moment ever. I remember feeling the butterflies going crazy in my stomach and being so excited and relieved and hoping that my hand wasn’t too clammy.

He held my hand for the rest of the show. I never wanted it to end because I didn’t want him to let go! When it was over he bought me a t-shirt (that I still have, even though it is basically un-wearable anymore). The parking lot was a mess, so we sat in my car listening to Tim McGraw cd’s (of course!) and talking for awhile until some of the other cars cleared out. We made our way back to my house and I was so sad for the evening to end.

It was late when we got home, and my parents were already in bed. (They trusted my sister and I a lot back then…as long as we told them when we got home they didn’t wait up for us nervously and didn’t really care as long as we were home by midnight usually.) We were standing in the entryway and I was saying thank you for the tickets and for going with me, and how that was one of the best nights of my life…blah blah blah. And then he swooped in and kissed me! On the cheek, don’t get crazy here people!

After that we awkwardly said goodbye and as soon as he left I went to call Hope and tell her all about it. The first thing she asked me was if we kissed! She was so excited when I told her he kissed my cheek (I’m sorry, but that is totally sweet and gentleman-like!) and made me tell her the play-by-play of the entire night over and over. He called me when he got back home (I always made him do that…he lived about a half hour away and I just wanted to make sure he got there safely, especially that late at night) and he was so nervous and asked me 3 times if it was okay that he did that. It was adorable.

After that I pretty much threw all my doubts out the window about ruining a perfectly good friendship and we started talking about ‘making it official’. Our entire relationship was very well calculated. We didn’t do anything without extensively talking about it first. And in true nerd form, all of these conversations took place on the computer. We started a new private Xanga page that we would write messages to each other and comment on instead of emailing back and forth all the time. And of course we were still talking on AIM all. the. time.

One day we finally decided we should really make it official and do this thing for real (Parks and Rec, holla!). We didn’t know if we should just say we started dating that day, or go back to when it all really started and use that date instead. We both went back to one particular email conversation and knew that that was when we truly started being a ‘couple’, and knew it was even more so meant to be when we both picked the same date. So we decided to use that day, June 16, 2005.

After that things escalated quickly. (Not like that you guys, get your heads out of the gutter!) Within a month of really dating, we were already talking about getting married and having kids and planning out our lives out together. We started going on real dates, just the two of us. For my birthday he got me a brand new digital camera (he is totally responsible for my love of photography by the way!) For Christmas he got me tickets to see Phantom of the Opera at Miller Auditorium (one of my absolute favorites…he spoils me like crazy) and a month later, we said those three little words “I love you” before he left for a 2 week trip to Alaska to visit his grandparents. He had obviously already met my parents several times, but he met my extended family and I finally met his family. After seven months of dating we shared our first real kiss (until that point it had just been kisses from him on my cheek or forehead). He gave me a promise ring. This was the real deal.

From an email Josh sent me when he was in Alaska:

“You mean the world to me Stephanie, and that is the honest truth from the depths of my heart.  You are my world.  God made us perfect for each other and I thought about that the whole way here.  You have been the most real and awesome blessing God could have ever given me and I thank my stars that you gave me a chance and we both were willing to take that leap.  I mean really, have you ever thought about the risk we took in doing this?  I mean with us both being leaders of the bible study group, what would have happened if we ended up breaking up, and the awkwardness that would have come from that.  

It is just amazing to see how awesome God can work in our lives. You are a truly amazing person Stephanie, and I couldn't be more honored to be the boy you picked and gave the chance to win your heart.  Really I owe so much to you, and that is the beauty of a relationship.  Knowing you both owe each other the world and not knowing how to give it other than through undying and selfless love.  You are my one and only desire, and to know that someday I will have the chance for your hand in marriage makes me smile broader than the oceans.”

I mean really…the boy had a way with words. How could I not fall in love with him?! And this was only one email. We would send each other stuff like this daily. Sometimes multiple times a day. Ah, young love… ;)

He was still in high school and I was a freshman in college and working close to full time hours, so it was a little bit of a challenge to see each other that often. But we made it work. It pretty much became ‘Josh and Stephanie’ instead of Josh or Stephanie. We were inseparable, even when we were apart.

Most people thought we were moving too fast and getting too serious. This was the first 'real' relationship for either of us. He was still a senior in high school, after all, and here we were, planning our entire lives together! But we just knew. We were in love, and we knew that we didn’t want to wait forever to get married and start our life together.

He graduated high school and started going to Kalamazoo College in fall of 2006. I was going to Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and Tuesdays I was at school from 9am to 10pm. It was a good 50 minute drive from my parents house, so there was no way I was going to drive home in between classes. I had a 4 hour break in the afternoon, and it just happened to be that it was after his classes, too. So we had a standing Tuesday night date where he would come meet me at school and we would work on homework and grab dinner until it was time for my class. And because he was such a gentleman, he would stay and work on homework while I was in class so he could walk me to my car afterwards, since it was late and dark and I was afraid of creepers. There were a lot of creepers at the school…seriously. A

From there, things only got better. I could basically say we lived happily ever after that… But what fun would that be?

To be continued...