I'd just given my number out to a random lady I didn't know.
I was starting to question my sanity. I'd never been set up by a friend before, much less a total stranger. Ugh. My mom would never let me hear the end of this.
A few days later Alex was hauling feed to cattle. While waiting for a trough to fill, he looked around. Cows...grass...cows... No women.
He figured he better give my number a try since it wasn't like he had any other options at that point.
He sent me a text about how awkward the situation was...I agreed. He claims he was only going to text me the first day, and if I didn't start the conversation on day two he'd never text again.
Lucky for him, I must have said "Good morning" or something witty to keep him interested that next day. We texted for about a week before he got serious and called me. I chickened out and let it go to voicemail, because that's how I roll.
I listened to his message and thought, "His accent is something...and holy smokes, he talks loud."
I told him I wasn't going to leave my job to meet him so he'd have to wait for my week off, which wasn't until halfway through the summer. We'd talked for close to two months before we met face to face. Thankfully he was patient.
Finally, in July, we were going to meet. He'd planned on coming up to Pierre but the day he was supposed to come I chickened out again and wondered if maybe he was a serial killer. I think my parents were getting a lot of entertainment out of the whole ordeal, so my dad told me I better reschedule. I told Alex I'd meet him the next day.
Now, my dad had always told us never to marry a guy that didn't open our car door. I was pretty sure he was counting on no one doing that anymore, ensuring that his daughters would stay single forever.
Alex pulled up, hopped out of his pickup, smiled huge, and stuck his hand out for a shake.
What the heck was I doing?
To my horror, out came Dad. I think he wanted to see me squirm...which I did. As awkward as I felt, I found comfort knowing that if Alex turned out to be a serial killer at least my Dad would know what he looked like.
We turned towards the pickup and Alex opened my door. I picked my jaw off the ground and jumped in. We went for supper at Jake’s and then for ice cream (of course) at Zesto. I remember running into someone from high school and she asked who this guy was as she winked and gave me an elbow. I just shrugged and said, “Alex.” She waited for details, and I just stared at her because I’m awkward and had no idea how to describe the situation.
I did know one thing - I liked him. He did three things that impressed me that night.
1) He opened all of my doors.
2) He asked me to pray before we ate.
3) After he finished his massive milkshake, in record time, he opened his window and threw his cup in the air. It landed perfectly in the box of the pickup. Daaaaaaaang.
We saw each other twice that week then went back to our phones. We talked about everything we wanted in life and everything we didn't. It was the most honest, peaceful, easy relationship I'd ever been in. No drama, no guessing, no nonsense. It just felt right.
We saw each other once more before I went back to college.
I got to Bismarck and told my friends about this country bumpkin that always wore plaid that I was starting to fall for.
Some friends laughed when they imagined me as a ranch wife. Some friends said he better come up and be interrogated, which he did. All my friends said, "Wow, that accent is something!"
In December I told him he had to meet my Grandma. I knew things were getting serious and I wanted to get her two cents. She was also a city lady who fell for a country boy - I needed to know if I should run for the hills.
She loved him. She was so excited I was thinking about being a ranch wife. They talked about genetics and artificial insemination and other stuff I didn’t understand.
In February, Alex found some land to rent about a half hour from his parents' place. He told me about the land, the working facilities, the water situation, and the house.
All I cared about was the house - the land could have been 10 acres or 100 acres and it wouldn't have made a difference to me.
I asked him how big the house was, what it looked like, what the kitchen was like...etc. He just shrugged and said, "It's small. It's not fancy..." Heck, I didn't care. That was going to be my first house someday, I just knew it!
I came down that month to check it out - I had a feeling he was going to propose, so I picked out a cute outfit, curled my hair just right, and perfected my makeup (gotta take that after proposal picture for the world to see, or it didn't happen, right?)
I met him in Vivian and jumped in his pickup. He knew if I drove myself I'd end up lost or roll my precious little Suzuki all the way down the gravel highway.
We drove south...and further south...and further south...
Finally, he said it would be the next turn.
He whipped into the driveway and told me he forgot to get the mail, so turned around and asked me to grab it. I opened the box and found flowers - I looked at him and grinned. Oooo I liked this boy.
We got to the house and I was so excited! I walked into a laundry room with a million and a half cupboards. On my right was a kitchen with a window that looked out towards the driveway. The living room was on my left, it was super narrow and small; I wondered if we'd be able to get a couch and a Christmas tree in there at the same time. I walked down the hall and saw two bedrooms on the left, one on the right, and a bathroom at the end.
"This is place is perfect!"
I didn't mention how the floor was so warped that the dining room chairs rolled from the table. I didn't mention the huge cracks on most of the walls. I didn't mention the stains on the ceiling. He thought I was being kind - I'm really just not observant.
"Let's go see the rest." He said.
He pulled out some tattered coveralls, a coat, and some muddy rubber boots for me.
I bundled up and jumped on the back of his four wheeler. It was chilly and misting a little, but I was cozy as I squeezed him tight and buried my face in his back.
I can't tell you the description of the land like I did the house. Even after living there - I have a second grade level of understanding on all things related to section lines and stock dams.
We came over a hill and saw a trough that was upside down. He asked me to help him flip it back over.
We lifted it to find flowers and a tiny box. He got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.
My brain said, “YES! Wait...you left this ring in the middle of a pasture all day? What if a wild cow came and knocked the trough off of it? Or a bandit came and stole it? Do bandits still hang out in cattle country? Oh gosh, my hair is a mess and there's mud on his face, so there must be mud on mine. This isn't the outfit I'd had planned for this...but YES!"
Luckily, my mouth just said, "Yes!"
Seven months later we were married and poor Alex was stuck with me.
Then the real adventure began...
Your prayers were so powerful today - please keep us in your prayers tomorrow - especially at 11:00
I was starting to question my sanity. I'd never been set up by a friend before, much less a total stranger. Ugh. My mom would never let me hear the end of this.
A few days later Alex was hauling feed to cattle. While waiting for a trough to fill, he looked around. Cows...grass...cows... No women.
He figured he better give my number a try since it wasn't like he had any other options at that point.
He sent me a text about how awkward the situation was...I agreed. He claims he was only going to text me the first day, and if I didn't start the conversation on day two he'd never text again.
Lucky for him, I must have said "Good morning" or something witty to keep him interested that next day. We texted for about a week before he got serious and called me. I chickened out and let it go to voicemail, because that's how I roll.
I listened to his message and thought, "His accent is something...and holy smokes, he talks loud."
I told him I wasn't going to leave my job to meet him so he'd have to wait for my week off, which wasn't until halfway through the summer. We'd talked for close to two months before we met face to face. Thankfully he was patient.
Finally, in July, we were going to meet. He'd planned on coming up to Pierre but the day he was supposed to come I chickened out again and wondered if maybe he was a serial killer. I think my parents were getting a lot of entertainment out of the whole ordeal, so my dad told me I better reschedule. I told Alex I'd meet him the next day.
Now, my dad had always told us never to marry a guy that didn't open our car door. I was pretty sure he was counting on no one doing that anymore, ensuring that his daughters would stay single forever.
Alex pulled up, hopped out of his pickup, smiled huge, and stuck his hand out for a shake.
What the heck was I doing?
To my horror, out came Dad. I think he wanted to see me squirm...which I did. As awkward as I felt, I found comfort knowing that if Alex turned out to be a serial killer at least my Dad would know what he looked like.
We turned towards the pickup and Alex opened my door. I picked my jaw off the ground and jumped in. We went for supper at Jake’s and then for ice cream (of course) at Zesto. I remember running into someone from high school and she asked who this guy was as she winked and gave me an elbow. I just shrugged and said, “Alex.” She waited for details, and I just stared at her because I’m awkward and had no idea how to describe the situation.
I did know one thing - I liked him. He did three things that impressed me that night.
1) He opened all of my doors.
2) He asked me to pray before we ate.
3) After he finished his massive milkshake, in record time, he opened his window and threw his cup in the air. It landed perfectly in the box of the pickup. Daaaaaaaang.
We saw each other twice that week then went back to our phones. We talked about everything we wanted in life and everything we didn't. It was the most honest, peaceful, easy relationship I'd ever been in. No drama, no guessing, no nonsense. It just felt right.
We saw each other once more before I went back to college.
I got to Bismarck and told my friends about this country bumpkin that always wore plaid that I was starting to fall for.
Some friends laughed when they imagined me as a ranch wife. Some friends said he better come up and be interrogated, which he did. All my friends said, "Wow, that accent is something!"
In December I told him he had to meet my Grandma. I knew things were getting serious and I wanted to get her two cents. She was also a city lady who fell for a country boy - I needed to know if I should run for the hills.
She loved him. She was so excited I was thinking about being a ranch wife. They talked about genetics and artificial insemination and other stuff I didn’t understand.
In February, Alex found some land to rent about a half hour from his parents' place. He told me about the land, the working facilities, the water situation, and the house.
All I cared about was the house - the land could have been 10 acres or 100 acres and it wouldn't have made a difference to me.
I asked him how big the house was, what it looked like, what the kitchen was like...etc. He just shrugged and said, "It's small. It's not fancy..." Heck, I didn't care. That was going to be my first house someday, I just knew it!
I came down that month to check it out - I had a feeling he was going to propose, so I picked out a cute outfit, curled my hair just right, and perfected my makeup (gotta take that after proposal picture for the world to see, or it didn't happen, right?)
I met him in Vivian and jumped in his pickup. He knew if I drove myself I'd end up lost or roll my precious little Suzuki all the way down the gravel highway.
We drove south...and further south...and further south...
Finally, he said it would be the next turn.
He whipped into the driveway and told me he forgot to get the mail, so turned around and asked me to grab it. I opened the box and found flowers - I looked at him and grinned. Oooo I liked this boy.
We got to the house and I was so excited! I walked into a laundry room with a million and a half cupboards. On my right was a kitchen with a window that looked out towards the driveway. The living room was on my left, it was super narrow and small; I wondered if we'd be able to get a couch and a Christmas tree in there at the same time. I walked down the hall and saw two bedrooms on the left, one on the right, and a bathroom at the end.
"This is place is perfect!"
I didn't mention how the floor was so warped that the dining room chairs rolled from the table. I didn't mention the huge cracks on most of the walls. I didn't mention the stains on the ceiling. He thought I was being kind - I'm really just not observant.
"Let's go see the rest." He said.
He pulled out some tattered coveralls, a coat, and some muddy rubber boots for me.
I bundled up and jumped on the back of his four wheeler. It was chilly and misting a little, but I was cozy as I squeezed him tight and buried my face in his back.
I can't tell you the description of the land like I did the house. Even after living there - I have a second grade level of understanding on all things related to section lines and stock dams.
We came over a hill and saw a trough that was upside down. He asked me to help him flip it back over.
We lifted it to find flowers and a tiny box. He got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.
My brain said, “YES! Wait...you left this ring in the middle of a pasture all day? What if a wild cow came and knocked the trough off of it? Or a bandit came and stole it? Do bandits still hang out in cattle country? Oh gosh, my hair is a mess and there's mud on his face, so there must be mud on mine. This isn't the outfit I'd had planned for this...but YES!"
Luckily, my mouth just said, "Yes!"
Seven months later we were married and poor Alex was stuck with me.
Then the real adventure began...
 |
| We got to the ring before the dirty bandits |
Oh my goodness, that was so wonderful, no wonder I love you both.
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