I got married at 23. Not exactly an old maid, right? Well, I'm going to tell you a little secret about me: I didn't like being single.
To me, singledom did not equal freedom. Yes, I had a college education, owned a condo, had a career, and could pretty much come and go as I pleased. But I always felt like it was incomplete. I did what I was supposed to. I went to the single's ward, I was involved in activities, I made friends. But I still didn't date.
I tried internet dating. I met a lot of creeps (yes, even on the LDS websites).
I went on blind dates. I met a lot of creeps (yes, even friends of friends).
I asked my mom for advice. She didn't know what to tell me (she married my dad at 19, in her first year of college).
I tried to let people know (without being obvious, of course) what a great catch I was. I was smart! Funny! Driven! Unique!
Still, no success.
I think part of my problem was my directness. I didn't play the games. If I was interested, I'd let you know. Likewise if I wasn't interested. I didn't wait around to be chased. If I wanted something, I went for it. I was open, honest, and maybe a little bit "in your face."
I asked my husband on our first date. Even after spending hours in his car talking (yes, really talking) after our date, he informed that he wasn't interested in me the way I was in him. Even when we started spending 3 or 4 evenings a week together, just as friends of course, he still wasn't interested in me "that way." He spent Christmas Eve with my family, but we were still in the Friend Zone. However, looking back at things, we actually moved rather fast: first date in November, officially together in February, engaged in April, and married in August.
Sometimes I lie awake at night in bed, looking at my sleeping husband, and wonder how I finally got it right. How did I finally catch this crazy, funny, greasy, tattooed man? How could I have ever doubted that someone this perfectly flawed could be waiting for me? He gets me in a way that no one else does. He lives with my emotional outbursts. He is patient with me, even when my crazy is showing. He lets me rant and rave and be angry, and then he changes the subject and we move on. He loves me unconditionally. I really, truly think that I have the best husband out there.
For me, anyway.
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Annicka, also know as Pippi Longstocking, is a nurse, wife, sister, and daughter. She and her husband, Curious George, are currently in Act 2 of their life together, in which they are attempting to multiply and replenish the earth.*Image courtesy of Google
