Marriage: My Story

I want to tell you a story.

I met my husband exactly two weeks before my sixteenth birthday and we clicked instantly. When he found out I was turning 16, he proclaimed,"In two weeks, we are going on a date." And we did. It was my very first date, and even though I had to admit that I was about to throw up (he bought me a Sprite and I was okay!), it still ranks as one of the best dates I have ever been on. From that point on, we spent a lot of time together. We went to prom together, we built gingerbread houses, cooked, danced and played Just Dance on the Kinect. But throughout high school and much of my college life, we didn't date. We were just friends. In fact, I considered myself to be "one of the guys" because most of the time we were hanging out with our families or with his friends, Jacob and Jacob. We have always been extremely close and open with one another, even when we were dating others.

I didn't realize that I was attracted to Richard until May of 2014. He was living in El Paso, Texas, and I was living in Provo, Utah. We began to talk for hours every day. One night, we began talking around seven and we didn't hang up until seven thirty the next morning. The only reason we did hang up was because I had a breakfast date. I think that's how I knew I had feelings for him - it didn't feel like we had been talking all night. It felt like just a few hours. We never ran out of things to talk about. We still haven't.

I went to visit him in El Paso over the fourth of July. Three hours after getting off the plane, he asked me to officially be his girlfriend, and of course I said yes. Three days later, we were sitting on the couch in his apartment, and he told me that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and that he loved me. I told him that I loved him too and that I also wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. We moved on to some other topic (probably food, knowing us). About an hour later he said, "So we're engaged now, right?" It caught me completely off guard and I had no idea what he was talking about. I recalled him saying the he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, and realized that that was an indirect was of proposing. I sat there, continuing to think. I'm sure the silence must have terrified him, but I didn't want to answer unless I was sure. I realized that I knew Richard better than almost anyone else, and that the past few days dating had been no different from our friendship in high school except that we were holding hands and kissing. I felt so good about marrying him (and it was more than hormones - I can't explain it). It felt obvious. So I said yes. We were engaged for almost six months, and were married on December 20, 2014.

Now we are living in Provo. I have just two semesters of school left, and Richard is a mentor at one of the best boys' treatment academies in the nation. We have been through medical and financial disasters, long nights of homework, and backlash of others regarding our marriage. But we love each other more than ever.

Everyone thought we were insane, and without knowing all of the details, I can completely understand why. It does sound crazy. But it has been one of the best decisions we have made. Richard has helped me grow in ways I didn't believe were possible. I am a much better person, and it's been really exciting to watch Richard progress as well. I am so glad that he picked me. I know that there have been many comments made about Richard and I's marriage, but I hope you know three things:

1. We have a happy, holy and healthy relationship.
2. The disrespectful things people have said have cut us and our families deeply.
3. It is time for you to be happy for us. Our marriage has nothing to do with anyone else (except for God) anyway.

Sorry about the little lecture at the end. We are just so happy and want everyone else to be happy for us too. So there's our story. Personally I think it's kind of a cute one.