chapter three: becoming best friends

So. Now I'm in Connecticut enjoying my new job as a personal chef. I had worked in Greenwich before and in the fall it is extraordinary. I also loved the three children I was cooking for, as I had been their nanny in years previous. Life wasn't bad, and I was getting into the groove but I wondered in the back of my mind what might have been with Aaron if I had stayed home. I just really felt when I left that for some reason we weren't ready for something serious with one another. We needed to develop our friendship.

Aaron was good about sending texts throughout the day and calling every night. We talked about everything and anything on Facetime and it was nice to have someone call and check in with me everyday, even if from a distance...especially someone as handsome as he is.  We read the Old Testament and discussed Conference talks together. We challenged each other. Aaron had started a book club with me in the summer and we had read The Book of Mormon. As we completed books, we would reward ourselves with special dinners. A fun tradition. It was nice to have someone to discuss spiritual topics with, and to complete reading goals with.

We also started sending packages to each other, just for no reason. One of my favorite's that Aaron sent was based off of a quote that I posted on Facebook. The quote said, "Women aren't complicated. They just need to be told their pretty and eat chocolate!" Aaron picked up on that and sent me a large Hershey bar and a card that said, "You're Pretty".  He's very sweet, but why is he saying this to his friend that he's decided not to date because she lives 2500 miles away? This was in November 2012 and I started to wonder if we really had something more than just a friendship and a summer fling. Could this really be something special?

Earlier that week, Hurricane Sandy had hit the East Coast and the very town where I lived. That same weekend, my father was in the hospital with another stroke related problem and then suffered from a heart attack. Both the Hurricane and my dad being sick were heavy on my mind and heart. I ached to see my family, just to know they were ok and to be near them. I had a plane ticket for Christmas and was looking forward to that. Aaron was there to comfort me through all of it. He was quickly becoming my best friend.

Fast forward one month. It's time to fly home for Christmas, and I still didn't know what in the world was happening with Aaron. Are we just friends? Are the activities we planned on Christmas break dates, or are we hanging out as buddies? Why does he call me every single day if we are not in a relationship? Do all men do that? These were just some of the questions going on in my head as I boarded the plane.

Keep checking back to find out what happened next! 

chapter two: where it all began...

A month went by before I got to see Aaron and I got to see each other in person again. I traveled home to Salt Lake in-between jobs. We weren't established as a couple by any means, and I knew that Aaron was dating some other girls as well. Why shouldn't he have? I was moving back to Connecticut for an indefinite amount of time. This was what I was telling myself anyway...you know, those little walls we put up to protect ourselves. I told Aaron that I would not be upset with him if he wanted to date other women, but that I didn't want to hear about it either. In girl language this translates to, "I really don't want you to have eyes for anyone else but me, but I am not going to be a psycho chic that chases you around and tells you what to do cause I am smart enough to know that won't work". 16 years of dating will teach you that.

We went on a few dates while I was home in that two week period. One thing I really like about Aaron is his playfulness. We went to Gateway for dinner and looked around the shops one night. We decided to play a game at Sur La Table where we would close our eyes and guess what the kitchen tool that the other person put in our hand was. I decided to video tape it without Aaron knowing. Here's the video, our second date...and the night I knew I wanted something more to happen with this guy.

Another fun story from those couple of weeks is that Aaron and I both happened to be rushing to the Bountiful temple, not knowing the other person was likewise. We had called each other as we were heading there and realized that we were going to the same place. As we arrived at the temple, I got there first and realized that it was closed for cleaning. We decided to rush to the Salt Lake Temple. Aaron was ahead, and arrived first. I sped the whole way there and arrived about 30 seconds before they started the session, completely out of breath. This was a really fun evening. 


We also went to a Salt Lake Bee's baseball game. After all of this, we had a big talk on the day I was flying out to Connecticut. We decided that we weren't long distance people and that we'd just keep it as friends...for the time being.

To be continued...

chapter one: where it all began...

April 2012. It all started in a Boston apartment, on an Apple computer, and an online LDS dating site. I will be completely honest and say that this is not a choice way of meeting (there's a lot of frogs and dishonest men out there), but it happened that way and whatever means I needed to use to find a prince, at the ripe age of 31, I was willing to try it. We lasted on on the site a few days before I wrote Aaron and said, "I'm getting off of this dating site, but here is my e-mail should you wish to contact me further".

One week later...an e-mail from Aaron in my in box, changed our lives...forever.

Shortly thereafter, we switched from e-mailing to phone calls and Facetime conversations. Thank goodness for technology. My teaching job in Boston was ending and I had a summer position as a chef in New York. All I kept thinking is..."When do I get to meet this guy? We talk everyday!" It didn't take us long to book a flight for Aaron to New York, since he had never seen Manhattan. I was very excited to show him around, but also nervous that we'd just be friends or go our separate ways when the weekend was over. I had taken a personal chef job in Connecticut, and I didn't think we'd make it through the distance.

I picked up Aaron at JFK on July 13, 2012. He was even more handsome in person than he was on the phone (usually it's the opposite). I was immediately impressed by his chivalry.  Aaron is a true gentleman...the kind who opens doors not only for his significant other, but for strangers, his mother, his sisters, his grandma. He has a high respect for women in general, and I love that about him.

the only picture we took all weekend

We spent the first day gallivanting around Manhattan and hopping on and off a tour bus. Aaron grabbed my hand walking out of Grand Central Station (girls don't forget these things), and we shared our first kiss on the Staten Island Fairy while staring at the Manhattan Bridge over the Hudson water, romantic eh?. We visited the Empire State Building, ate lunch in little Italy and spent that warm summer evening at Central Park eating rare fruits we purchased in China town. It was perfect! Ironically. at the end of the night, when we were all alone in the park...BAM!...there were fireworks in the sky! I like to say that we definitely had a spark! We finished the night with a train ride and a hot dog from Gray's Papaya (yum).

The next day we drove up to Palmyra for the Hill Cumorah Pageant. We visited the sacred grove that afternoon and spent a good amount of time walking through the trees and sitting on the benches, Aaron is so considerate, and I remember the exact spot where I first thought, "this guy would be such a good husband". He was spiritual and kind, and I could see after only a couple of days that he was the kind of man that would do all he could to take care of his wife. This had a big impression on me!

I had to work the next day and it was brunch day at the camp. We'd arrived back at the camp extremely late, and I told Aaron to sleep in. I was just prepping the berries and cream when Aaron came into the kitchen, put an apron on, and kissed me on the cheek. I thought, "is this guy for real?"
He then whipped up over 160 pieces of french toast for the campers, and proceeded to start on the dishes when he was done. What? Who does that? Aaron does that. Since Aaron served his mission in Norway, and the campers are from all over the world...that night we teamed up with the Scandanavian campers and made Swedish meatballs, potatoes, cabbage. and added the lingon berries we'd purchased in New York. Aaron didn't skip a bit, and refilled the dishes before they were even empty. He's good like that.

Our last day of the weekend was spent at Six Flags New Jersey. Aaron and I both love roller coasters, so this was a perfect adventure for both of us. Afterwards, I took him to the airport and we said goodbye until my visit home in August. So many questions in my mind at that time...and I just remember thinking, "Crap! We had this amazing weekend...and now what?" I think I half expected it to turn out the opposite, and it would have been easier at the time if it did. I was committed to my job in Connecticut and the relationship was only in a beginning stage, not anywhere near the point where I could turn back and move home to Salt Lake for him. The only way I could make sense of it wasto tell myself, "If it's meant to be, and you miss each other, it will work out someday". It did!

Stay tuned...part two of this story to come!