10 Years Ago

The other day, Mike & I realized that it was 10 years ago this month (January 1999) that we first saw each other. It's a pretty amusing story, so I figured I would tell you all about it. This picture is actually the first picture that was taken of Mike & I. It wasn't taken in January 1999 though, it was taken in April 2000 (the day I graduated from BYU). Why don't we have any other pictures of us during the first year that we knew each other, you ask? Well, we pretty much HATED each other that year. Let me explain...

I saw Mike for the first time at church. It was the new semester and he had just moved into Sparks II Townhomes, where I lived. He walked into Sunday School, looking all snazzy in his cute little suit & I just remember thinking how good looking he was. He sat down & started looking around the room. I thought he was checking out all the girls, to see what his prospects were...and I was bound & determined to be one of those prospects. I was actually dating someone at the time (Mike Lovell, for those of you who were there...he was sitting right next to me in fact) & I had a missionary out, but I could have cared less at that moment! His eyes were still scanning the room & as his gaze came to me, I TOTALLY made eyes at him...just to let him know I was interested. I would love to say that his eyes lit up & it was love at first sight...but, unfortunately...no. He looked at me for about half a second & then moved on to looking around at everyone else. The following is a recount of the thoughts that went through my mind, "Did he just blow me off?!? Oh my gosh! He TOTALLY BLEW ME OFF!!! WHAT A PUNK!!! Who does he think he is? He's good looking, but he's not like 'Ricky Martin good looking' or anything (again, remember, it was 1999...Ricky Martin was totally hot back then)." I decided then and there that I would NEVER give "that guy" a chance.

Later that night, my boyfriend at the time (who was the Elders Quorum President) went around to meet all the new guys in the ward & introduce himself. After he was done, he came over to my apartment & told me, jokingly, that I wasn't allowed to go over to Apartment 36. When I asked "why", he told me that there were too many good looking new guys in that apartment; therefore, I just needed to stay away. Well, when I found out "he" (meaning Mike) lived there, I told my boyfriend he had nothing to worry about.

After that, I didn't talk to or look at Mike for almost a year! In my mind, he was a punk who thought he was too good for me, so there was no way in you-know-where, that I was going to give him the time of day & make his ego even bigger than it already was! If I ever had to pass him on the sidewalk, I would act like I was looking in my bag for something or I would pretend that I was really into the conversation I was having with the person I was walking with. I would do ANYTHING before I looked at him. Mike, in turn, thought I was totally stuck up & did the same to me in return.

Eventually (as in almost a year later), Mike moved to another apartment in the complex & we were forced together in a Family Home Evening group. After a few weeks, I realized he wasn't an egotistical punk; he realized I wasn't a stuck up diva & we became great friends...and, eventually, started dating. (That's a story for another day!) When we started dating, I asked Mike about the first time we saw each other in Sunday School. He remembered it as crystal clear as I did. He told me that he had seen me right as he walked in the room & automatically thought I was really cute, but...at the time, he had a girlfriend that he had left up at Ricks (where he had transferred from). So, he had taken a half-second look at me & moved on. A few months later, Mike & his girlfriend ended up breaking up. At that point, he thought about asking me out, but then decided not to because I was acting like I wanted nothing to do with him. Pretty dang funny, eh?

So, Mike & I always tell everyone that when we met, it was love/hate at first sight. It's not exactly fairy tale material, but I wouldn't change any of it for the world! I love Mike to bits & pieces and I'm so glad we ended up together (eventually...after a LONG misunderstanding). Pretty hard to believe that was 10 years ago! In some ways, it seems like it was yesterday & in other ways, it seems like it was a million years ago! Love ya Mike! --Lindsay