12.1.2007

it was a pretty average winter's afternoon in chicago. the day was saturday, december 1st, 2007. i remember it like it was yesterday. liz and i were sharing our pilsen apartment on 18th street. she had to work at trader joe's on ontario. i planned to do the reverse commute (again) out to wheaton. both normal events in our respective lives. the only glitch was the snow, and a lot of it. we boarded the 18th street pink line together, planning to split ways when i went to the ogilvie metra station and she transferred to the red line north to work. after what was normally a one minute trip to the next pink line stop at UIC took over an hour, we realized we would have to revise our plan. we battled the snow, wind, hail, ice, and intense cold as we cautiously walked down ashland to find a bus or taxi that was able to drive through such intense weather conditions. liz made it work, late, and after hours of busses and trains i finally arrived in wheaton. although frustrated, cold, exhausted and hungry... i'm so glad i stuck out the trip all the way to the college ave. station and that familiar light, blue honda waiting for me. rather, for that dark haired, exuberant, and tender-hearted boy who was so often waiting at the other side of the sliding metra doors. i didn't expect this to be any different from the countless hours we had spent together since we re-connected at our then job at quest. i expected an afternoon studying for my urban studies degree alongside a person who was becoming a very dear friend. when i remember those first few months together, laughter, games, conversing, and a lot more laughter come to mind. i don't remember very much about dec 1, except that neither of us wanted the day together to come to an end. that was happening more and more often. finally, after hours of playing cards in his parents' basement, we decided reluctantly to call it a night. the drive to the csukor's (where i was privileged enough to sleep over at so frequently) was peaceful. i remember listening to christmas music and admiring the moonlight, snow covered trees. after a few minutes of saying goodbye in their driveway, i reached over to open the door when jason stammered something like..."uh..eh...ahh....argg.....ummm...can we talk for a minute?" sorry, hope the sound effects come across clearly, it's the best i could do :) he said something about how much he was enjoying our friendship, and how he was surprised how easy and enjoyable it was together. he told me how he was guarding his heart because he valued our relationship so much, and so had been watching for "red flags" during our months hanging out together to warn him from pursuing anything anything more than a friendship. he told me it had been two months, an no red flags. then he realized that he should start recognizing reasons for us to pursue more in our relationship. the list of reasons pretty much made itself. that's when he asked me if i wanted to be his girlfriend and try something more. he told me he didn't want me to consider it unless i was sure it was something i wanted, our friendship was potentially at stake after all. well, the rest is history... tomorrow, december 1, marks four years learning all about jason. what makes him laugh. what he likes to eat. how he is with family and friends. how to communicate care in ways that he needs. i am learning to love jason, my husband, more and more every day. i consider him a specific and purposeful gift from God in my life. he challenges me. he irritates me. he tries my patience. he looks out for my needs. he fills so many minutes in my day. but ultimately, he is making me better. a better friend, daughter, sister, teacher, christ follower. i love you jason and celebrate the many twists and turns our relationship has taken from our junior high youth group days, to working together at quest, beginning to date four years ago, vowing our futures together two and a half years ago, and today four months into this journey. i can't tell where we're going, hopefully it's not another dead end in the mangroves... but even if so, there's no one else i can imagine spending my days with. i'm so glad you asked me to be your girlfriend. and i'm so glad i was smart enough to say yes :) here are some pictures from our early days together...