How I Met Love, Utah Trip, Part 3

Saturday, June 14, 2008

We started the day off right by going to the Salt Lake Temple then touring the Conference Center. It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed spending time together, ever grateful for the great blessings that God continued to place our lives.

That evening, we met up with a few of my good friends and their husbands/dates and my brother, Drew. Red Robin was Bre and my's favorite restaurant because of their steak fries, so it was a no-brainer as to where we would all meet up. :) Bre was excited to meet Shanam for the first time and I was excited to see that she had asked Mark to be her date for the evening. She and Mark had been good friends for about a year and had just returned from a cruise with all of their friends. By the way she talked about their trip, I new there was a romantic interest and I was glad to be a part of their first "real" date :)

It was so great to get together with everyone and for them to meet Shanam. I felt like each time I introduced him to someone that was important in my life, my attraction and love for him grew. This evening was no different :) 

After dinner, we split off from the group and Bre, Mark, and Drew came with us to the bowling alley for a little friendly competition. 

Drew challenged Shanam to a race. 

If Shanam won he could keep dating me.

He won :)

Thank goodness :)

 Bre always brings out a goofy side of my personality and I loved that I could completely let go and not be afraid of what Shanam would think of me. He not only liked it, but he joined right in, making the night enjoyable for everyone :)

Most importantly, I got the two thumbs up from my best friend :)
She loved him.

How I Met Love, Utah Trip, Part 2

Friday, June 13, 2008

Thanks to Shanam's meeting, I was able to skip out on skiing that day :) He still went skiing early that morning, but then went straight over to his new "friend's" office and spent a couple hours with him. I had told Shanam to call me as soon as he was on his way home.

"Hey, hun. I'm done, but I can't really chat." He said. "I'll see you in a little bit and I'll tell you all about it."

"Oh, okay. I'll see you soon."

I was a little disappointed, but he sounded preoccupied, so I just let it go and focused on getting ready for that evening. He and his family were coming over to meet my family...and not just my immediate family. Since I wasn't able to make it home to visit very often, the whole extended family was invited to come over for dinner. This included my grandmother, my aunt and uncle with their four kids and my other aunt and uncle with their three kids. It was going to be quite the get together!

I was hoping Shanam would come over early so I could get some alone time with him, but he showed up with his parents at the same time my whole family was arriving. This didn't really give us a chance to talk at all and I was starting to feel a little disconnected. I could tell something was on his mind the minute he arrived, but both families were very engaged in introducing themselves and getting to know one another. Shanam and I were of course the "main attraction," so it wasn't until about an hour later that I was finally able to pull him aside.

"Hey, you." I said smiling, as we walked outside to the patio, holding hands.

"Hey, hun." He said, pulling me in for a tight hug.

"That wasn't so bad, eh? I told you my parents would like you."

"How do you know they like me, already?"

"Oh, please. First of all, how could they not like you. And second, it's a good sign when you and my dad already feel comfortable bantering back and forth." I laughed. "So, tell me about your morning. I've been waiting all day to hear about it."

"Well, skiing was great, of course, and the meeting went really, really well." He paused for a second and then said something I was almost expecting to hear. "They offered me a job."

"A job?! Wow!" I wasn't really sure what to say next because in that moment all of the implications and possibilities and unknowns bombarded my mind.

I didn't get a chance to say anything, though, because one of my younger brothers flung open the porch door and shouted for us love birds to come in for dinner.

We managed to make it through dinner, but the weight of what was just revealed was so heavy that it was hard for me to focus on anything else. There were so many questions I wanted to ask.

Was he thinking of taking the job?
Does that mean he's moving to Utah?
What will he be doing?
Is this a risk worth taking?
What does this mean for our relationship?
What part do I play in this decision?
We'd only been dating a month. Do I even have a part in this decision?


When dinner was over, the party moved outdoors onto the lawn where we set up chairs and pillows in a circle. It was fun to be with my family and to see our two families interact, but all I wanted to do was talk to Shanam. I could tell he felt the same way because he kept looking at me and giving my hand a comforting squeeze, as if to tell me everything would be alright and we would talk through it soon. I appreciated that and was able to relax a little and enjoy the evening breeze as we all chatted with each other. My Aunt Jamie was moving around the circle giving each person a shoulder massage and didn't even think about stopping when she got to Shanam and his parents. That make me laugh a little inside and I was grateful our families already felt so comfortable with each other. The evening turned out to be a great success.

After everyone left, Shanam turned to me and said, "How about we go for a walk."

"That sounds like a great idea." I said, sighing a breath of relief.

The sun had set, already, leaving behind a breathtaking sunset and the warm summer air smelled of freshly cut grass. We decided to walk along the path by the water canal that ran behind my house.

I started the conversation with, "So, a job, eh?" I figured I'd let him tell me what was on his mind first.

"Ya. Pretty crazy, huh?" He squeezed my hand. "They want me to be part of their business development team. It sounds like the perfect opportunity to see how a successful start up business runs. I get to learn from another company's successes and failures without having to take the hits myself. Then, when I start my own business, I'll have some experience, and hopefully avoid a lot of the mistakes normally made. The company seems pretty stable and I'd be working with some great guys."

"It does seem like a great opportunity. And it sounds like you're leaning towards taking the job. Does that mean you'll be moving to Utah soon?" I asked, hesitantly.

"Well, I don't really know if I'm going to take it, yet. I wanted to talk with you and see what you thought. I would be moving, but I'd first be going to Texas to learn the operations there, then to Wyoming to learn there, then finally I would be in Utah working with the management team. It's a big decision and I needed the afternoon to think about it. I also talked it over with my dad. That's why I didn't come over sooner. Sorry."

"Totally understandable...wow, I still can't believe it...I mean...how many people get offered a job like this?! Meeting the CEO at the airport, being invited to his office and then being offered a job! I really don't see how you could pass up this opportunity. You've been wanting to move out of Florida for a while, now, and here's your chance. You'd be by the mountains and could go skiing and mountain biking whenever you wanted!"

"Well, what about you?" Shanam asked.

"Me?" I gathered up my courage and decided to take the vulnerable route. "Well, I don't want to stay in Florida forever, either, you know. I would love to move back to Utah and live closer to my family...and closer to you."

"You would move for me? You would leave your job at Disney? But you love working there!"

"Shanam, I never planned on staying in Florida past my first six month internship, two years ago. But every six months I would fast and pray to know if I should stay or go somewhere else and every time I received the answer that I should stay. Things would always work out, even miracles would happen, to provide a way for me to stay in Florida." I took a deep breath and continued. "I believe I needed to stay so I could meet you."

Shanam stopped walking and drew me into his chest for a long embrace. He didn't say anything. Our heads were turned in the same direction looking towards the night sky, when all of the sudden a shooting star shot across the sky right in front of us!

"Did you just see that!!" I asked, pulling away so I could see his face. "Was that seriously a shooting star!"

Shanam laughed and looked just as shocked as I was. "It sure was! I guess we got our answer!"

How I Met Love, Utah Trip, Part 1

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Unfortunately, we weren't able to get flights to Utah together. I had arrived in Utah the day before and Shanam's plane was due to land that evening. At 8:30 pm, I got a phone call letting me know we were now in the same state, again :)

"I've got some pretty interesting stuff to tell you about." He said, about half way into our phone conversation.

"You do? What about?" I asked, wondering what he possibly had to tell me.

"Do you want me to tell you now, or when I get to your house?"

"Well, you might as well tell me now! You've peaked my curiosity!" I said.

"Okay...it's not really that big of a deal...but it could be..." He began. "While I was waiting for one of my connecting flights, I struck up a conversation with the two guys sitting next to me at the airport. They were flying on business, one was the CEO and the other the CFO of a company based out of Utah. We started talking about what the business was, how it got started and where it was headed. I mainly just asked a bunch of questions. Since I've always been interested in starting my own business, I felt it was a great opportunity to kinda pick their brains. Our discussion continued once we were on the plane. Of course we talked about other stuff, too, but it was mainly about the business. Well, when we parted ways at the airport, the CEO gave me his business card and told me to come by his office tomorrow. I thanked him and told him I would love the opportunity talk to him more. And that's it."

"Wow, pretty cool!" I said. "I've always been impressed with how you can start up a conversation with anybody. So, you're meeting with him tomorrow. That's awesome! He sounds like a great guy to learn from."

"Ya, they were both great guys. I'm excited to meet with them again."

"Well, I'm excited to hear how it goes."