Let's Take It From The Top....

jarrick and I have known each other since our sophomore year at JHS. We never were extremely close in high school, but became better friends our senior year. College led both of us to Dixie State where we became close friends. I remember going over to his apartment that he shared with Tanner Adams and Alex Blaisdell. There was a time at Dixie where Jarrick really helped me out of a pinch…he came and picked me up in the middle of the night out of pure friendship.

I can distinctly remember calling my mom the next day and telling her the story and how jarrick had become a close friend of mine. I remember her saying “Michelle, you need to date that boy!” I had always had a baby crush on Jarrick and the more I got to know him the more I liked him. However, Jarrick had a girlfriend for what seemed like forever. That plan foiled.

At the end of the sememster….EVERYONE I moved home….my roommate Meagan, Alex and most importantly Jarrick. I continued on my life in Saint George as jarrick served his mission out in Romania. I didn’t attend his farewell, nor were any emails exchanged through either of us through the extent of his two year mission….Well I’m getting a little ahead of myself, so here’s the full story….

The spring of 2010 I was torn between finishing my degree at Dixie or moving back to SLC and continuing my degree in Psychology at the U. Dixie was great, but anyone who has lived there at any point in time understands the small town dynamics of Saint George. It was a place I really loved and hated at the same time. I knew deep down inside I shouldn’t stay in Saint George, but I was so settled and comfortable in my little world. I had made up my mind that I was going to stay in saint George and there was nothing that could change my mind…a decision i knew was wrong. When I told my parents I was planning on staying at Dixie they voiced their concerns and I knew at that point I needed to move back.

I can still remember leaving Saint George, knowing that was closing a chapter of my life that I would never get back. It was almost as if I had a load lifted from my mind and as hard as it was to leave, I knew it was the right thing….if only I knew why!

Moving home was great and I knew that I had made the right decision! I felt so close to my family and was able to adjust my values and interests to a level that they should have always been. With summer approaching and all of my best friends from high school home for the summer I knew it was going to be the best summer yet. We had a large barbeque with friends the day after I moved home. Everything seemed to be perfect and complete. The last thing on my mind was getting myself into a relationship. I. Did. Not. Want. A. Relationship. There was nothing in my mind that was looking for anything to do with anyone in a relationship aspect of my life. I was happy being single and being with my friends. One day while looking for jobs in SLC online I logged on to Facebook (lets just face it, it is addicting) I saw that Jarrick was online and I decided to message him a simple hello. For some reason I was nervous he wouldn’t respond, or that he would think I was lame seeing as I never wrote to him, sent him packages and basically had no contact with him since he left May 2008. I realized he would probably be getting home soon, if he wasn’t already home. To my surprise he wrote me back and we talked for a bit. He informed me he would be getting back in about two weeks.

I was excited!

Bridget’s birthday (May 28^th) we were planning on a big birthday celebration to celebrate her 21^st birthday at Keys on Main. I was working earlier that day and had missed several calls from a strange number I had never seen. While at Bridgets house I had received yet another call from this number….i didn’t want to answer because I didn’t know who it was. I had BJ call the number back and to my surprise she said “jarrick?” he called me! I was ecstatic and quickly went outside to talk to him. Conversation seemed to flow as if he had never left. He offered an invitatioin for me to attend his homecoming. I accepted

Julianne said that she was planning on going to his homecoming and I asked if I could go with her. Perfect. It was a date. I remember picking a million different outfits and none seemed right. I kept thinking “Michelle, why do you care. You are seeing your FRIEND jarrick again. This should not be a big deal.” Julianne picked me up and we drove to the homecoming. For some reason I was extremely nervous. Walking into the chapel is a moment I will never forget. Jarrick was wearing a perfectly tailored grey suit and was no longer the Jarrick I knew back at Dixie…he looked older and all I could say was…..”Wow, he looks good.” Creep.

The homecoming was perfect and I was grateful that he didn’t give the usual “homecoming” speech I had been to a million times before. Something was different, but so familiar to me, and I liked it. We decided to go to the luncheon and sat and talked to everyone. I remember jarrick coming up from downstairs already changed out of his church clothes. I loved it. He came over and sat by me and showed me his new fancy droid phone and his waterproof/shockproof/fancy pants camera. He was witty and charming in the simplest way possible. The same Jarrick I knew before. We got our food and went outside and he set his plate right next to me at the table. I pretended I didn’t notice and acted like it was nothing…inside I was so glad. He told me he had seen my photography and had asked me if I liked to take pictures. I love photography and he expressed how he had taken a liking to it on his Mission. He then asked if I wanted to go take pictures with him downtown the following evening. I quickly accepted.

Was it a date? Was it a hang-out? I had no idea. I went into it thinking it was a hang out so I wouldn’t’ get my hopes down and I could completely be myself without the added pressure of a first date. He picked me up in his dad’s truck and we headed on downtown. He turned on Regina Spektor….now in NO WAY did I ever think that rap and country loving Jarrick would EVER turn on Regina Spektor. Added bonus. We walked all over downtown and took snapshots of the old Firestone building, apartment complexes and catholic cathedrals. We walked and talked all over downtown and realized that I loved it. It was never awkward, silent or dull for one moment. I couldn’t’ have imagined trying to do this same thing with anyone else on a date. It was so out of the ordinary from the basic dinner/movie/home date that I was so accustomed to. We walked past pioneer park and realized that we were both hungry. Jarrick spotted iggy’s and I stated I had never been. So iggys it was! He introduced me to this wonderful thing called a Wedge Salad. Yummiest thing ever. After we walked back to the car…I rapped lil wayne for him and sang songs like an idiot. But I didn’t really care. He dropped me off at my house, gave me a hug and said, “it’s so nice to have a good friend to hang out with now that I’m home.”

Bummed.

I accepted the fact that we were friends. I got it. But our “date” seemed so perfect! I knew there was a connection and I didn’t think I was crazy for thinking that. But maybe it was just me thinking this? Did he see me as only a friend? Was I not his type? I knew I was someone he never would have dated in high school based on the girls he dated previously. I didn’t wear buckle clothes and juicy couture sweatsuits. I was just artsy, eclectic boho michelle. How could he like me? I knew he was leaving for Myrtle Beach that Wednesday and that he would be gone for a week. Boo. Lame. I figured if he liked me I would push to see him the next day before he left. Failure…he was playing basketball with his uncle. I really thought at this point in time I was just a friend and that was all it was going to be. Deal, I could handle that. But, he pursued me. HE called me two days after he got home. HE asked me to go take pictures. There was still a little hope. While Jarrick was golfing in South Carolina we texted….CONSTANTLY. I really started liking him more and more the more I talked to him. UGH I didn”t want to cause any response from Jarrick included the term “friend.” Well gosh maybe I don’t want to be JUST your friend! On Saturday night I was downtown talking to my friend Greg, I wanted to get his opinion on the situation. We went and got some ice cream and he finally talked enough courage into me to tell jarrick that I liked him. I finally texted him and asked “what if I like you more than a friend?” to which jarrick replied, “well what if I like you more than a friend?” PERFECT!!! I was so so excited and I just wanted it to be Monday when he would be back again!

Jarrick got home on Monday evening and came right over to my house, he met my mom and dad again and my little brother Austin. We sat and watched his mission video that he made. It was a collage of pictures from Romania. We sat by each other, but not close enough to even touch…. Maybe it was a sign that he didn’t like me? I didn’t know. Jarrick said he had never seen the movie Pride and Prejudice. We decided to watch it and we laid down and cuddled. The whole time I wanted to kiss him…so so bad. There were times when it was close and then we would just watch the movie….finally I looked over at him and he kissed me. It was perfect and felt so amazing. Needless to say the movie ended really fast after that point and we sat and listened to Norah Jones on the laptop. Call it fate but it started raining outside….both of our favorites. We went outside in the pouring rain and kissed in the rain…..until we were soaked. By two in the morning jarrick went home. I was on cloud 9.

From that point on Jarrick and I were inseparteable. We spent every night together. I remember the first time going to his house I forgot which one it was because Julianne had driven us the previous time. I went to the wrong house, rang the wrong doorbell. (luckily no one was home!) I walked in to the same place I had been for the luncheon after the homecoming. It was decorated to perfection. Beautiful pictures and was perfect. I met his mom and dad and his little sister jentry and his brother Jaxson. I was so nervous, but just decided to be myself. It was a wonderful night. We did a lot of fun things over the next few weeks. Roasting mallows with Jentry and Jordyn, BBQ’s, late night tramp talks, laying on the grass, family parties. It was perfect, except for one little thing. Jarrick was going back to Saint George for Football. The place I was relieved I left. I couldn’t go back there. I wouldn’t go back there, and I was not about to have a long distance relationship. I informed jarrick that I wasn’t ready for a relationship, and that I wasn’t’ going to go to Dixie. He tried convincing me many times to go there…and he was pretty persuasive as well. I knew I liked Jarrick, but I wanted him to date other girls and make sure that he really wanted to date me. As much as I didn’t want him to, I knew it was the best thing at that point in our relationship. Jarrick was patient and gave me time to be ready for one. He worked hard to stay in SLC and was offered to play football at Weber. He was staying. I thought of him dating other girls and I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t want him to. I wanted to date him. We decided to become official….bf and gf. Loved it.

The more time I spent with him the quicker I knew he was the one I was supposed to be with. There is no one else in this entire world that understands me like jarrick. He found the little things about me the most endearing, took me for who I was and never tried to change that. I loved him. We both knew what we wanted the next step to be and started looking for rings. EVERYWHERE! I thought I had found just the ring I wanted. A round diamond with pave circled diamonds surrounding it. But it wasn’t THE one. We went the the Shane Co. and I knew I had found the ring I wanted. It was the most beautiful sparkly ring I had ever seen. It was perfect. On July 23^rd jarrick asked me out on a date to go see the movie inception after work. I had an awful day at work that day with customers being rude and I was dying for our date! We hopped in Jarricks ford focus and drove downtown to Gateway and went and saw Inception. Through the whole movie Jarricks hands were sweaty and he was fidgeting through the whole movie. After it ended Jarrick decided we should go to Iggys and take pictures at “our wall” (the SLC Pepper graffiti wall). We walked down to the wall and Jarrick whipped out his camera and took a picture…I looked ugly in the first one and insisted we take another picture….we did and then next thing I knew he dropped his camera on the grass, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I fell over myself…it felt like a big cannon of butterflies hit me in the stomach….i started crying (I couldn’t help it) and of course said Yes. I couldn’t stop smiling……and so our life continues.