Happy Dozen Years Baby!

first posted here three years ago.

I didn’t really know it at the time. When we met, he was well disguised as a dirtbike racing, country music fan that was six months off his mission. He was on the five-year undergrad plan because of his indecision on a major and a wasted semester at Weber State that left his transcript with a few “F”’s and “Incompletes”. I, on the other hand, was on the three year undergrad plan. From my Freshman year of high school, I knew I wanted to be a Fashion Designer. So I packed my classes in, eager to get all the G.E.’s out of the way so I could concentrate on what I loved and then enter the real world ASAP.

The two things that made me first notice him in that BYU country dance class were
1. He laughed at my sarcastic, under-my-breath comments and
2. He wore these horrible American flag Converse hi-tops (even now, when Converse is actually making a comeback, these shoes would be considered an abomination).

And while I am sure most people can understand the initial attractiveness of #1, for a fashion design major, #2 could be seen as the ultimate deal breaker. But for me it wasn’t. It was totally endearing. I loved that he wasn’t afraid to make a fashion statement amid the sea of brown braided belts, plaid button-up shirts and Dr. Martens (though a totally misguided statement it was).

So fast forward a bit– I graduated with a degree in Fashion Design, got rid of those American flag Converse shoes at a family white elephant gift exchange, and ended up married to a guy with an academic pedigree similar to everyone else on the T&S blog (philosophy undergrad, ivy league graduate degree– in law nonetheless). And the longer we have been married the more I have come to realize the wide divide between our academic interests. He is now an appellate Lawyer and I am a Fashion Designer. It seems our worlds are in two different universes yet we make such a great team. We have learned to appreciate each others talents while becoming each others “biggest fan”.

The way we approach the gospel is also very different. He is very logical. I am very emotional. He spends a lot of time wondering about how to balance God’s foreknowledge with the doctrine of prayer. I don’t. But, I think that we have been able to learn and grow from each other’s strengths because they are our weaknesses.

This last post of mine on T&S doesn’t really have a good point. I guess you could just call it a love story. I love it how people can be so different in opinions, in dress, and in the gospel. I hope we can all learn from and value our differences and not count anyone out because they might choose to wear American Flag Converse shoes — or make an illogical argument.

I love you Honey.