Unexpected Love

I was going through old files on my computer tonight and found this. I actually wrote it for an english class I was taking my junior year of college. Lizzy and I were engaged at the time and we had to write a story about a moment in life we never wanted to forget. I edited the ending and added pictures to update it for today but the rest is untouched.

Unexpected Love

Cow cutting isn’t really considered a “rodeo” event. However in high school rodeo we get to compete as “rodeo” contestants. Most of the rodeo contestants felt that we didn’t belong and it showed. Cutting was not a part of the normal rodeos you see on tv or at your local fair so we never hung out with those kids or got to know any of them until that summer at nationals. Finally my friends and I were starting to get to know the rest of our teammates from Washington, and boy did it turn out to be life changing.

            It was the first night the “cutters” were hanging out with the rest of the kids, and as we were running around the campgrounds doing things that teenagers do, I saw her.

Her name was Lizzy and she was the most hyper girl I had ever seen. She was a bundle of energy and everybody knew her. She was bouncing around, talking and joking with everyone, and it was obvious that she was in her element. Not only was she full of energy but she was also incredibly cute! Little did I know, on that warm summer night in Farmington, New Mexico, I would meet the love of my life.

            It wasn’t until the next day though until we actually met. It was my birthday and my family and friends were all going out to lunch to celebrate. My good friend and fellow cutter Andrea showed up and standing next to her is Lizzy. Even though it was supposed to be just family and friends, I didn’t mind her coming with us because as I said before, she was really cute!

            As we got into the cars to leave for lunch, Lizzy jumped right in the car and sat right next to me. It was about that time that I realized, not only is she really attractive and full of energy, I think she likes me! During lunch she sat by me again and we got to know each other. The entire rest of the week we were practically inseparable. We went to the dances every night and hung out during the day. We discovered that we both liked to ride horses, snow ski, play basketball, and we even both wore number 25!, Best of all, she only lived 45 minutes away.

            When the week ended, I hadn’t made the finals, but her brother was going to be competing for the national title in steer wrestling. My family decided that we were going to leave for home before the finals started so we could get home early. Lizzy wanted to ride home with us, but her parents wouldn’t let her. We said our goodbyes and I couldn’t help but feel that I was leaving someone really special behind. Even though she only lived 45 minutes away, I wasn’t sure I would ever see her again. About halfway home, I noticed that she had left her purse in our motor home. I have never been as excited to see a purse in my life! To this day she still claims that she did not intentionally leave it in there. I now had a reason to see her again and boy was I excited.

            As soon as I got home I called her told her I had her purse, we set up a time and date for me to return it, and I made sure to get a date out of it. My friend Tyler and I drove up to Tri-Cities to take Lizzy and her best friend Carli out on a date. However it wasn’t that simple, first I had to meet her mother. Now that sounds simple right? Lizzy’s mother is like nobody I have ever met. She had only one mission to achieve during our conversation, and that was to strike as much fear into me as possible. Though my intentions were pure, I had just turned 19 and Lizzy had just turned 16, so I knew that she was a little uncomfortable with the age difference. So as she procedded to lay down the law, I nodded my head and said yes ma’am a lot, and by the end of our conversation, I was not even aloud to put my hand on Lizzy’s knee much less kiss her.

            From that day on we continued to hang out quite a bit the rest of the summer. I was leaving for college that fall and wasn’t sure if I wanted to do the whole long distance relationship thing. After a good conversation with a friend I decided to give it a shot. So on September 1, 2003, at a team roping in Benton City, Washington, I asked Lizzy to be my girlfriend.

             Almost four years later our families went camping and horseback riding in the mountains. My sister and I went up early to “save a place to camp”, however that was not our intended plan. We rode up the trail and found the perfect place for me to ask the biggest question of my life. Later that day Lizzy and everyone else arrived for the weekend. The next morning we rode up the trail and when we reached the spot my sister and I had found the day before, I got off my horse and  waited for Lizzy to find the note tied to the tree then, in front of our friends and family I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me.

For those of you that don’t know she said YES! After a gigantic hug and a kiss later I told her to turn around. Carved in the tree that she had to walk by to get up to the spot where I was waiting for her was carved AJ + Lizzy 2007. We have since been back to see our tree and just like our love for each other it has continued to grow. After the tears and screams of joy we celebrated with a glass of wine that I had hidden behind a log the day before and continued to ride up to the very fitting “surprise lake” and enjoy the rest of the day with our family. We have been happily married now for almost 2 and a half years and he has been quite the ride. We of course have had our ups and downs like any married couple but God continues to strengthen our love for each other. We have laughed together, cried together, celebrated together, prayed together, grown together and loved together. I look back at everything we have done and shared TOGETHER and I am so amazed at how great God is and how so incredibly blessed I am. If you have someone in your life like that remember to tell them you love them every day and kiss them goodnight every night. If you are still searching for that perfect person for you. Remember that God has a plan and trust that he will fill any void you may feel, trust in him and he will take care of you.

PS: I love you lizzy!