Love (the mushy kind), a Story and an Invitation

(all pictures by Andrea)

In honor of Valentines Day, which is swiftly approaching (these holidays always sneak up on me), I thought it would be fun to share a little bit of Josh and I's story.

I went to a Christian college, where my parents, my aunt and uncle, and my grandparents all met and fell in love. Needless to say, I had me some expectations. And not just the "degree" expectations.

I heard the phrases, "Ring by Spring or your money back."

"Are you going for your MRS. degree?"

and my personal favorite,

"Domestic Science" (totally my dream career).

Well, I guess you could say I flunked that class. I graduated with a degree in vocal performance and a naked ring finger, and moved on to bigger and better things. Like working full-time.

I started working for the government a few months after graduating. Homeland Security, baby. I felt totally unprepared for the real world, but my student loans were not very understanding. The first week I started working there (in November of 2007), I noticed a tall, rather good-looking boy that sat a few cubes away from me.

When it came to men, I was far from outgoing. But something about this boy seemed different. Maybe it was his cute glasses, maybe it was the way he blushed every time I walked by, maybe it was his amazing smile that caught my attention. I learned that his name was Josh, and I decided that we needed to be friends. Among my group of girl-friends at work, I affectionately called him my "Work Boyfriend."

One day, while I was still rather new, I was trying to find one of the fax machines. I wandered from my cubicle, papers in hand, and ran straight into Work Boyfriend. "Oh," I said, "Do you know where the fax machine is?"

Work Boyfriend gave me a strange look, and said nothing.

Realization dawned. "It's right behind me, isn't it?" And in fact it was, in all it's plastic glory, exactly two feet behind from where I was standing. How incredibly awkward.

I thought, He must think I am a total idiot. But he just thought I was the cute Russian girl who sat a few cubes away. (I'm not really Russian, he just thought I was because apparently my first name looked Russian to him).

Two years ago, around this time, our office was celebrating Valentine's Day. I decided that it was time to get to know this shy boy. Question my motives all you want, but in my mind I really just wanted to befriend him. (And maybe see where that friendship went...).

So, on Valentines day 2008, I made a move. I left two pieces of Godiva chocolate on his desk (brilliant, I know). Then, I talked my friend Emily into inviting Josh to a concert with us. Consequently, the office was sponsoring Flower Valentines (where you pay $1 to give someone a pretty carnation with a little Valentine attached). Josh got a carnation that was from "Anonymous." Naturally, he assumed it was from me (it wasn't, that would have been WAY too forward of me).

Emily succeeded in inviting Josh to the concert. If all went as planned, it would be the first "official" time that we would meet. Sure enough, on Friday, February 15th 2008, Josh showed up at Emily's house and rang the doorbell.

I said, "Emily, someone's here," suddenly overwhelmed by a fit of shyness.

Emily yelled back, "You know it's Josh, go get the door."

So, I swallowed my fear and went to the door. "Oh hey, you must be Josh? I'm Mikalah." And so it began.

This supposedly shy boy started talking to me, and then didn't leave my side the whole night. He sat by me in the car, he sat by me in the restaurant, he sat by me at the concert. He tried to talk to me over the loud music, and I barely heard a word that he said. But, I nodded and smiled anyway. I was in heaven. He was cute, single, wearing a (tasteful) leather jacket, and he was totally into me. All of our friends noticed it too, the whole night people kept coming up to me and asking, "What's going on with you and Josh?"

Towards the end of the concert, I noticed that his arm was around the back of my chair. I thought, Gee, that's a little odd. But when I asked him about it later, he just said, "I didn't want anyone else to mess with you." (Awwww). I may have made the first move by asking Emily to invite him to the concert, but he was happy to take it from there. He had asked for my number by the end of the night, and called me two days later.

Two years ago, on February 17th 2008, Josh and I went on our first date to Caribou Coffee. And then one year ago, February 22nd 2009, Josh asked me to be his wife. The time in between was filled with countless cups of tea, new jobs for both of us, many nights spent watching "Jeeves and Wooster," thousands of prayers, a few misunderstandings, two months of being apart, and many, many trips to the Tea Garden.

Little did I know back then, that was just the beginning.

So that was the story, and now here is the invitation. How about you? I think, in honor of February and the Love-Fest of Valentines Day, it would be fun to hear some more stories. How did you meet your spouse, or your significant other? Or, how did your parents or grandparents meet? For those of you who want to, write a blog post (you can even use an old post if you want) and leave a link below so we can see your story. (This is my first time using Mcklinky, I am crossing my fingers and hoping it works!).

I'm excited to read the results!