How we met part 2
Since it's Valentines Day, and since so many of you asked, here's part two of how I met my husband, Adam. (For part one, click here: http://www.stephaniehock.com/blog/2016/1/22/nine-years).
So, the concert was in January and then I didn't see him again for weeks. I saw my friend, Joe, all the time though. I remember mentioning to him a couple times that it would be fun to hang out with his friend Adam, and he agreed but never did anything about it. To be fair, though, Joe had just met a great girl named Kim (who would later become his wife) and was understandably distracted.
In March I went to a church activity and was surprised to see Adam there with Joe. We got talking and had fun getting to know each other better. I remember being surprised by (and loving) his curly hair. He had a beanie on last time and I had no idea. I remember laughing a lot (again) and being impressed as I learned different things about him. At the end of the conversation I said I should get his number, cause my roommates and I were planning this party. He pulled out his phone to get mine too. But then apparently I took too long putting his number in (cell phones were new to me! and "Hock" wasn't spelled the way I thought! plus predictive texting...) so he ended up putting his phone away without getting mine. He figured I'd call him and he'd save it then, but I thought it meant he wasn't interested. And so our story goes... you'll see this is a running theme here.
My roommates and I did have the fun party, but when it got closer, we already had way more guys than girls and since Adam didn't know anyone else, I thought he wouldn't feel very comfortable, so I never invited him. And another month went by...
One Saturday, at the end of April, I woke up and thought, "I should text that Adam guy." It seemed like a ridiculous thought-- this guy I'd only met and talked to twice. I pushed the thought away and went on with my day. But it wouldn't leave my mind. Finally I thought, okay, fine, I'll text him, he won't remember me and won't write back and at least I'll have done my part and can move on. So I sent him a funny text and made an inside joke about the concert and went off to play tennis with my sisters. When I was done, I checked my phone and he had written back! But even better than that-- he was playing along with my joke and joking back. I remember feeling elated that he had a sense of humor that matched mine and giddy that he was flirting with me. He mentioned that he was coming to church with Joe the next day (Joe and I went to the same ward/congregation) and would I be there? YES.
I spent way too much time getting ready, and headed to church nervous and excited. I ended up sitting next to him for most of church and we spent a lot of time whispering. I remember feeling equal parts thrilled and comfortable-- a strange sensation. After church we walked to our cars together (randomly parked right next to each other... fate) and talked and talked. Every thing I learned about him seemed to fit me so well. There was a church activity they announced for the next night and we made plans to meet there. I was really starting to like this curly-haired, funny guy.
The meeting place for the activity the next night was right by my apartment, so my roommates and I just walked over. I looked up anxiously every time a new car pulled up, but no Adam. He never showed and I was really disappointed. Turns out, that he drove over, but didn't see my car, so he didn't pull in. His only other friend in this group, Joe, wasn't going that night, so he didn't want to show up if neither of us were there. He drove past a couple more times for good measure, but still didn't see my car so he went home.
A week went by with neither of us talking. A week is kind of an eternity in single life, and I was hanging out with other guys. I was disappointed Adam didn't come or call, but I had learned that if they're interested they call, if they're not they don't, so I just figured maybe I was more interested than he was and tried to push it out of my head.
So I was surprised to see him at my ward again the following Sunday. But...he was sitting by another girl and I was like, well great, that explains it, he's pursuing someone else. I still might've tried to talk to him, but I had two of my siblings with me and we had to leave right after. For his side of it, he had come to my church again hoping to see me. He didn't spot me at first but saw a friend of his from work (who had a boyfriend) who invited him to sit by her. He finally did see me, but saw my brother with me and assumed it was my boyfriend, so he felt the same disappointment. Ha. Our story, right?
My siblings and I left right after church cause we had tickets for a church speaker (Fireside) that night downtown. Even though nothing much had happened with Adam, I was feeling disappointed that it didn't look like it was going to happen. He seemed so great and I had been excited. We met up with the group we were going with to the fireside and they mentioned they had a bunch of extra tickets and we could invite more friends if we wanted. All I really wanted to do was invite Adam. But I was also wary of pursuing too much (especially if he was in fact dating someone else). So I sent the appearance of a group text, but really only sent it to Adam and Joe and Joe's roommate (since I knew they were the only ones Adam would talk to). "Hey, I have a bunch of tickets for the fireside tonight if anyone wants to come!" So casual and breezy. I didn't hear from Joe or the roommate, but Adam wrote right back. He said he'd love to come and said he'd meet us downtown.
He was relieved to meet my brother and realize he wasn't my boyfriend. I was relieved he showed up and wanted to spend more time with me. Sitting next to him was so distracting, I felt so much electricity. Every time he turned to whisper something to me, I was so aware of how close our faces were and it sent butterflies all through me. I was falling. He still thought I was 30, but was getting to the point that he was going to ask me out anyway cause he liked me so much.
After the fireside, we weren't ready to go home yet. My siblings were there with their friends too, so we decided the whole group of us would go back to my parents' and make waffles. I rode back in Adam's car and he made me laugh the whole time. As we pulled up to my parents' we realized no other friends decided to come. So now it looks like it's just me bringing this guy home to meet my family. But surprisingly, I felt really comfortable about it (I can't say the same for every guy I brought home). My dad was out of town (luckily for both our nerves), but my mom was sweet and accommodating and my siblings loved him from the get go. As the waffles were cooking, we got into a conversation about high school and he learned what year I graduated. He started doing the math in his head and thought, "Either she got held back a bunch of times, or maybe Joe was wrong about her age..." (I didn't learn about this whole conundrum until much later, ha ha).
That night was the beginning of the end for us. We met up the next night at another social activity and talked through the whole dinner, talked as everyone else left the table and played a game, talked as everyone cleaned up the whole thing, and talked as they pushed us out of the building and locked up. We texted every day, all day after that, while both of us were at work. I was supposed to go camping that Friday, but I ended up canceling because I was hoping Adam would ask me out. Sure enough, he did and we had our first official date. And then we went out again the next night. I actually don't think we've gone a day without talking since that Sunday. It might've taken us awhile to get together, but once we finally did, we fell in love fast and easily. We had both dated enough other people that we knew what we were looking for and recognized it when we found it. I remember both of us saying, "How long do you date just to say you're dating?" We were so happy to get engaged and married and move forward with our future, and from the minute we made each of those decisions we've never looked back. It's been amazing to see so many qualities in my husband that I didn't even know I was looking for, but they have fit me so well. He's the best one I could imagine being married to. We aren't perfect people, but we work together and keep trying and we've found that we can live with each other's quirks. Better than that, we sincerely enjoy each other's friendship and humor in the same ways we did when we first met. Marriage rocks and I'm so happy I get to live my life with Adam.
