Jun 05, 2007
Happy Anniversary!
Today is my three year anniversary with the love of my life! I always enjoy hearing the stories of how people meet and fall in love so I thought it might be fun to share our story. The story starts out with my mom. When I was in high school, my mom started working part-time at our church as an event coordinator. It was the summer before my senior year of high school and she was hosting a small luncheon for some of the church staff in our backyard. I happened to drop in and saw a new face (the face of my future husband!). She introduced me to Jon, the church’s youth intern for the summer. He was attending Northwestern College in Orange City, IA working toward a degree in Youth Ministry. I said hello and chatted with him a bit (just to be polite). He said that he played basketball in college and liked to play tennis as well. I promptly told him I’d school him on both the basketball court and the tennis court! Then I left the luncheon and headed on with my very important plans for the day… sunbathing and painting my nails! LOL! A couple weeks later my mom asked me if I would drive around with Jon to deliver some T-shirts to church members who were volunteering for an upcoming event. She said that since I grew up in the area and Jon wasn’t very familiar with it that he would need help finding his way around. YEAH RIGHT! I ended up getting us more lost than he would have on his own! It was fun and purely platonic. The summer ended, but that wasn’t the end of our friendship. School started in the fall, and with it started my senior season of volleyball. To my surprise, Jon started showing up at my volleyball games and sitting with my parents. He would have to drive about an hour each way for the games so it’s not like he was just in the area and dropping by. He’d stay until after the game and chat with me a bit. At first I thought he just liked my parents. He always seemed to be hanging around with my mom. At one point I playfully asked my mom “What’s up with all these lunches and meetings with Jon… is something going on?” She responded, “Taylor, are you that dense!?… He’s here to see YOU!” I thought Suuuuuure…. a college guy doesn’t want to have anything to do with me! But, the more he kept hanging around, the more I saw it as a possibility. Before the end of the year he had asked me on a date and it was official!
I ended up attending Northwestern College on a volleyball scholarship while he played basketball. We were only in college together for one year. He was a 5th year senior and I was a freshman. After he graduated he decided to take a job in Michigan, leaving me in Iowa. I thought that might be the end of it, but we held strong for three years despite the long distance! On a beautiful summer night overlooking Lake Michigan, he asked me to marry him. Of course I said YES! And the rest is history!