“So, I think you should become a Johnson…” were the first words Eve said to me when she got in my car. Apparently she had been trying to get Matt to ask me out since before her wedding over a year earlier! (Remember when I asked for directions?) We went to Cook Out, and of course, they saved an empty spot beside Matt, but it wasn’t awkward at all. We had a blast and I hit it off immediately with him and his siblings.
The next part of the story is my favorite. You know when you were in high school and you had a crush on someone and you would imagine scenarios with you and that person hoping that he asks you to this or that or that you get a chance to talk? It was just like that, except it actually happened. The next day after choir rehearsal he asked me and our sweet choir director and my former piano teacher (and his current piano teacher), Mrs. Davies over to his house for dinner with his family. I was elated because I would get to meet his family in a non awkward situation and see if I could sense that he liked me.
That night at his house with his family was one I won’t soon forget. Through high school and college, one of my best friends, Eleanor, lived less than 10 minutes from me. I came over to her house multiple times a week to hang out with Eleanor, her sister and her parents. I always felt like I could be truly myself there. I felt loved, accepted, and welcome. I didn’t have to try to be someone else. Eleanor got married a couple years ago and moved to Kansas. While I was so so happy for her and her sweet husband, I knew that those nights at her house were over, and I lost that safe haven of their dinner table. Well, dinner at Matt’s house I felt the same exact feelings that I used to feel at Eleanor’s. It was the first time I felt like I could be myself and be accepted in a long time. At that point, I didn’t know if Matt and I would date, but I knew that I wanted to be friends with this family and stick around for a while.
The next night I had a party with some of my school friends and I invited Matt and his siblings, and the next night Jon and Eve invited me to their house for dinner and games. Later, we decided to invite the Johnson siblings over (I think they had planned this all along). They showed up and we had a blast, and as I was leaving, Matt came out and asked if we could “get together sometime.” Remember those high school crush feelings? Yeah, that was happening. I could hardly contain my excitement.
The next day we went to lunch at our now favorite hangout, GB&D and we had the best first date I have ever had. I really can’t explain it, but I just knew that I wanted to see him more. We had so much in common, we had similar beliefs, values, and upbringings, but what really struck me was his genuine kindness and care for others. The more time I spent with him the more I saw that he was the kindest man I’ve ever met. I knew before we were even “official” that I wanted to be with him forever.
We hung out every single day for the next 11 days. Some alone, some with his family, some with friends. All of it wonderful. On Christmas Eve he invited me to his family get together. His family is BIG so they rented out a school gym to eat and play games together. One of his sisters and her family lives in NYC, but they were down for the holidays so I got to meet the entire family. His 4 older sisters are all drop dead GORGEOUS. They are all genuine, caring, down to earth. They immediately made me feel welcome. I cannot describe how at home I felt with his family, even with all of the 18 nieces and nephews running around.
I got him a Christmas card and dated it at the top and wrote “I’m super sentimental and like to date things.” We didn’t see each other on Christmas, which was the first day in over 2 weeks that we didn’t see each other, and to be honest it was torture! All I could think about was wanting to spend more time with him. I was head over heels. The next day he took me out and before we left he gave me a Christmas present. It was a super thoughtful gift, but the card was the best. He wrote about how much fun the last two weeks had been and at the bottom he said, “so, since you like to date things, how would you like to date me?”
Our first photo. December 23, 2016, right after seeing Rogue One. We went with my sister and four of his siblings + a brother-in-law. 🙂