Our Story, Part 7: Finale
Denise stayed a few days in Calofornia, and then came back to school. On her way home, she took a day and stayed with her Aunt Jill and Uncle Gill in St. George, Utah. When she got back, I was there waiting for her, anxious about her decision.
I reiterate that I was doing the best that I possibly could to let her make this decision on her own. Up to this point, the most affection I had really shown her (except for the marriage proposal) was a small kiss on the cheek the night before she left. I found out later on, that she was very frustrated that I wasn't a faster mover in this area. She said "If this is his idea of kissing, this isn't going to work out."
Somewhere in these few days (between St. George and the first days back), Denise decided to go on a mission. She had already received her call. She had already met with Bishop Lindahl, who she desperately wanted to talk to about me, but was rushed out of his office before she could get a word in edgewise. All that day she felt confused, and had a hard time concentrating. It became pretty clear that this was the "stupor of thought" that we all hear about. This scared Denise because she knew what the alternative was.
Later that night, she prayed to know if it was right to marry me. She got her answer. She said "OK, Lord, I'll do this, but I want you to know I'm doing this on faith." That night, we talked on her porch again, and as I was going to leave, I gave her another kiss on the cheek. She turned to me and asked "Is that all I get?". Never had sweeter words entered my ears. Up until this point, I had been desperately trying to figure out what was going, on, and this was my first clue that things were going my way.
We kissed for a bit, and then we had a good talk about other things - like me asking her to marry her, but never telling her that I loved her. I quickly repented of that, and told her that I loved her very much. At this point she said "Good, because I've decided to stay home and marry you." I was overjoyed. I immediately insisted that we call the temple first thing early in the morning. (Sidenote: Denise still thinks this is one of the funniest parts of the story.) I had 4 engaged roommates, and if I had learned anything, it was that summer temple schedules fill up fast.
We agreed on the San Diego temple and talked about a date, and agreed on the weeknd of August 15th. Ben was getting married on August 22nd, so we couldn't have it that day, and school would be starting after the weekend of the 29th, and that wouldn't leave time for a honeymoon. We called the temple the next day, and the San Diego temple was to be closed for cleaning August 1st through August 17th. Although it was pushing things much closer than we had anticipated, we decided we absolutely didn't want to wait for a Christmas wedding, and decided on July 31st.
We were glad we did. We had beautiful weather. For both the reception in the Rose Garden at the Courthouse in Rancho and the backyard reception in Turlock, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees compared to previous days. One of the most memorable moments for me came during lunch when the Bjarnason cousins (I remember that Leon's children were particularly exuberant) sang some silly song about rootbeer (introduced by Liz - see comment). It was wonderful - the epitome of Bjarnason family gatherings. Fun, singing, comraderie. It was a spectacular day for all involved, and I was pleased to share it with everyone who decided to be involved.
More than anything else, I was so very happy to have married Denise. She was a gorgeous bride and a has been a wonderful wive and mother. I made the right decision in choosing to spend my eternities with her.
This is the last thread in this post. As I've posted, Denise had helped me correct some of my fallacious recollections. As that has happened (when I've agreed to be corrected), I've gone back and changed the post. If any of you have contradictory memories, please feel free to share them as you see fit. This forum is intended to be open to all those who have memories of these same events, and I welcome your comments.
I reiterate that I was doing the best that I possibly could to let her make this decision on her own. Up to this point, the most affection I had really shown her (except for the marriage proposal) was a small kiss on the cheek the night before she left. I found out later on, that she was very frustrated that I wasn't a faster mover in this area. She said "If this is his idea of kissing, this isn't going to work out."
Somewhere in these few days (between St. George and the first days back), Denise decided to go on a mission. She had already received her call. She had already met with Bishop Lindahl, who she desperately wanted to talk to about me, but was rushed out of his office before she could get a word in edgewise. All that day she felt confused, and had a hard time concentrating. It became pretty clear that this was the "stupor of thought" that we all hear about. This scared Denise because she knew what the alternative was.
Later that night, she prayed to know if it was right to marry me. She got her answer. She said "OK, Lord, I'll do this, but I want you to know I'm doing this on faith." That night, we talked on her porch again, and as I was going to leave, I gave her another kiss on the cheek. She turned to me and asked "Is that all I get?". Never had sweeter words entered my ears. Up until this point, I had been desperately trying to figure out what was going, on, and this was my first clue that things were going my way.
We kissed for a bit, and then we had a good talk about other things - like me asking her to marry her, but never telling her that I loved her. I quickly repented of that, and told her that I loved her very much. At this point she said "Good, because I've decided to stay home and marry you." I was overjoyed. I immediately insisted that we call the temple first thing early in the morning. (Sidenote: Denise still thinks this is one of the funniest parts of the story.) I had 4 engaged roommates, and if I had learned anything, it was that summer temple schedules fill up fast.
We agreed on the San Diego temple and talked about a date, and agreed on the weeknd of August 15th. Ben was getting married on August 22nd, so we couldn't have it that day, and school would be starting after the weekend of the 29th, and that wouldn't leave time for a honeymoon. We called the temple the next day, and the San Diego temple was to be closed for cleaning August 1st through August 17th. Although it was pushing things much closer than we had anticipated, we decided we absolutely didn't want to wait for a Christmas wedding, and decided on July 31st.
We were glad we did. We had beautiful weather. For both the reception in the Rose Garden at the Courthouse in Rancho and the backyard reception in Turlock, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees compared to previous days. One of the most memorable moments for me came during lunch when the Bjarnason cousins (I remember that Leon's children were particularly exuberant) sang some silly song about rootbeer (introduced by Liz - see comment). It was wonderful - the epitome of Bjarnason family gatherings. Fun, singing, comraderie. It was a spectacular day for all involved, and I was pleased to share it with everyone who decided to be involved.
More than anything else, I was so very happy to have married Denise. She was a gorgeous bride and a has been a wonderful wive and mother. I made the right decision in choosing to spend my eternities with her.
This is the last thread in this post. As I've posted, Denise had helped me correct some of my fallacious recollections. As that has happened (when I've agreed to be corrected), I've gone back and changed the post. If any of you have contradictory memories, please feel free to share them as you see fit. This forum is intended to be open to all those who have memories of these same events, and I welcome your comments.
posted by ronny at 21:09
1 Comments:
I'm so glad that I made it into the story! Twice! Especially since I was clueless. By the way, the second time was the rootbear account--I led that song. I brought it with me that weekend from Aspen Grove. "Dough--some money to buy some rootbear. Ray--the guy who's serving rootbeer. . . ." Congratulations, guys! You made it to the end of that crazy ordeal.
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