After the break

During the seven week break I had worked hard for my parents by doing some jobs at a couple of apartments they manage.  Doing so I was able to make just enough money to make it back to Idaho.  To be honest I was thinking I wasn't going to make it, but I knew I had to get back to Idaho because I knew that was where I was supposed to be.  There were times when I'd be cleaning an apartment and it seemed like things just weren't going to work out.  I'd stop, look at the ceiling and say, "Okay Heavenly Father, I'm doing all I can.  If I'm supposed to be in Idaho, then please help me get there."  Those were sacred times when I would be filled with comfort, knowing that somehow He would make it possible for me to get back to Idaho.  And sure enough, He did just that.

After the break I made the trek back up to Idaho.  It was the middle of September by this time and I was under a lot of pressure.  I wouldn't be in school since I was just planning on working and saving some money for school in January.  I had just enough money to pay for rent and the gas money back up to Idaho and maybe a bit of money for food.  Plus, I had a job interview scheduled for the 15th, the first day of school for everyone else, but I had no idea if the job was going to go through.  I went in for my interview for the job that day and I got the job!  But, I wouldn't be starting for another 2 weeks or so.  How I survived the next 4 weeks I will never know since I wouldn't get paid for another 2 weeks after I'd started.  I knew though that I had to trust in the Lord and that He knew what He was doing, which in fact He did.

As it turned out, Joshua and I texted every day when I got back to Rexburg.  He was busy working and I was busy trying not to be bored at my apartment.  I did a lot of cleaning and recuperating from the foot surgery I'd gotten during the break.  Finally, Joshua was able to find a time that we could spend some time together.  On that Friday the 19th he invited me to go to a sunflower maze with some friends of his.  I accepted and had a great time with him and his friends.  The maze was a bit lame, I won't lie, but being with Joshua made it fun.  After the maze we went with his friends Taylor and James to a little Mexican place in Rexburg and had a blast.  I felt so comfortable with all those boys and it was just what I needed.  Joshua paid for everything, which was impressive because I wasn't sure if it was a date or not since I felt like we were just hanging out with friends. One thing that I remember from that was when Joshua was ordering his food he wanted to get the bean and cheese burrito with extra cheese, but he wasn't sure if he wanted that or if he wanted to try the fish burrito.  I told him, "Come on, be adventurous."  So, as a result he got the fish burrito.  Apparently it didn't turn out so good because he still blames me for pressuring him to get that nasty fish burrito. :)

After that I went home a very happy girl.  I'd had the time of my life and I couldn't wait for the next time I'd get to spend time with them.  The next time would be just Joshua and I for our next date.

To be continued.... :)

The Seven Week Break

Now I need to describe what happened next in our little story.  To be honest it wasn't as eventful as you all would probably hope.  In fact, it didn't seem quite eventful for me at the time either.  One thing we must all learn is to never underestimate God and the small and simple things He does to help us along in our lives.  The next little bit of our story is just that - a small and simple thing called "texting".

Okay, before ya'll start doing the whole, "Texting is so lame!" bit, keep reading.  I would have to agree that in certain circumstances texting is a very lame, dumb thing that my current generation is falling back on.  BUT, I'm not going to get into that.  One thing that I forgot to mention was that after our date Joshua asked me to let him know when I made it to all of my destinations.  I thought that was thoughtful so I texted him both when I got to Utah and Arizona so that he knew I made it there safely.  This actually opened the door for him to feel better about texting me more and after a couple of days he asked me how my trip was.  We would text for a bit and he'd ask me "get to know you" questions.  It was really fun and I decided that I was going to do the same thing.  There would be a day or so when he wouldn't text me so I decided that it would be a good idea for me to text him first.  Pretty soon we were texting daily and getting to know each other that way.  During that whole seven week break this happened and I was still thinking nothing was going to really happen with this.  He became a really good friend and in my history that was as far as things usually got.  Again, I had no idea what was going to happen when I got back but I was pretty sure I would be going out with Joshua again.  When, I didn't know but I knew it would happen.  And to be honest...I was looking forward to it.

Again...to be continued....

 This is me after I got my foot surgery during the break.  

Check out that beard!  Isn't awesome?!

The First Date

Now that I've written about our first meeting, I now need to describe our first date.  The results of the date were not anything like I expected them to be.  First it needs to be understood that we met the weekend before finals and I was moving out of my apartment as well as finishing school.  After a few times of trying to call me (apparently I was busy or I didn’t want to answer an unknown number) Joshua decided to text me a couple of days after we met and asked me if I wanted to go on a date with him sometime before I left for the 7 week break.  I was leaving on Wednesday, the 23^rd of July, so I told him I’d probably be able to do it on Tuesday or Wednesday since I was too busy with finals on Monday.  We then talked about it a bit and decided Tuesday night would be perfect.  Tuesday came and it was a bad day for me for many reasons, one of them being that I had tons of stuff to move and I wouldn’t be able to go on the date that night.  I told him we’d have to do a rain check and he asked if we could still go out for lunch for just an hour on Wednesday to give me a break between cleaning and packing.  I told him that would be fine since I knew I probably would want a break. 

The next day started out in a rush.  The plan was for Miranda and me to leave for Utah by 5:00 that afternoon so we could get a good start.  That morning Miranda was on a date, I went to a friend’s birthday breakfast, and I came home frantic trying to get everything done.  I was so busy going back and forth to drop of f stuff at the storage unit my roommate Miranda and I had rented for the break.  I had just enough time to put my contacts in, put my hair up, put on a t-shirt , shorts, and tennis shoes.  Miranda came home from her date and furiously started to clean the apartment while I packed the rest of my stuff.   The date was scheduled for 1:00 so I was in a rush to get most of it done by then.  Before I knew it the time was 1:00 and I still had no makeup on and I looked like a scrounge and Joshua was calling me to see where my apartment was.  Most people had a hard time finding my apartment so I wasn't very surprised, especially since he wasn't very familiar with the area as it was.  He did find it but when he got there Miranda and I needed to move some stuff to the storage unit.  Joshua was very polite and offered to help us, and us being very smart girls took him up on it. 

We were back to the apartment soon and Joshua opened the door for me to get into his big white suburban.  As soon as he got in I apologized about how I looked because I’d never been so dressed down for a date, much less a FIRST date.  He looked at me and said very sincerely, “What are you talking about, you look fine!”  I thought he must be lying or he was just a very nice boy.   We spent some time talking about where to go and I was impressed when he said that he’d asked quite a few people where the good places were in Rexburg.  We finally decided to try Gator Jacks and were on our way.  We got there and it was pretty good and we had a good time just talking some more and enjoying our food.  I still remember him getting 2 straws for his soda, telling me he didn't know why he liked it but he did.  It was fun but a typical first date experience – a bit awkward as we tried getting to know each other.   Joshua was very much into rock climbing and I remember him talking about it a lot and trying to explain different things about holds, ropes, and belay devices.  I was impressed but at the same time concerned because I didn’t know if I liked or would like that sort of thing.   Randomly he said, “So, you got off your mission a year and a half ago right?”  I told him I had and he replied, “So, I figure you’re either 24 or 25 is that right?”  I smiled a bit and said, “Yeah I’m 25.”  He just nodded and said, “Huh, that’s not too bad.”  I had heard that line many times by different boys but from him I was surprised by the sincerity in the way he said that.  It also surprised me that he would take the time to try to figure out how old I actually was and not minding that I was a bit older than he was. 

True to his word he took me back an hour later to finish packing and cleaning.  He came up to my apartment for a bit and offered to help us finish.  We told him it was okay and then he made the 45 minute drive back to Firth.  I am still amazed that he would drive all that way just to take me out on a date that lasted an hour.  I did feel really bad about how dressed down I was and was convinced that was the end of that.  To be honest I didn't think much of the date and didn't think he’d try to contact me after that.  Boy…was I ever wrong.

To be continued... :)