Shanda....the woman in my life

August 2, 2007

Each and every day I open our web browser to our home page, which has been recently switched over to Shanda's blogger page, and I have grown a bit tired of seeing the same old redundant thing. So here is my attempt at the unthinkable...that is right I am going to publish my own post. Read it quick because if it doesn't live up to Shanda's high expectations it might have a short shelf life. I feel like I am violating some unwritten rule as though I am invading the sisterhood of the traveling lap top in blogger land by creating a post from someone with more testosterone than estrogen. Although I would be the first to admit there are certainly male bloggers writing in obscure places about the pending doom of foreclosures and other manly topics to be sure. But a post by a male on a woman's blog isn't that akin to dressing in jeans and a t-shirt to attend a masquerade? It is not that men lack the ability...well actually it is because most men lack the ability. I do not have the writing proficiency of my sweet sister-in-law Kari, whose blog entries I read religiously because they are so captivating. My eye is not trained on the best colors or fancy styles creating master piece like my other sister-in-law Kendra, or Emily Shanda's friend, or many of the other blogs linked to on this sight. All of you are very creative. Still here is my if for no other reason than to get rid of that ancient picture of me sitting on my grandmother's lap with my cousin.

Since there is always two sides to every story I would like to share my side of our courtship. It is not that Shanda's side is boring it is just that this side forgets things so in place of that which I have forgotten I will make stuff up making this side more fun.

When I am asked, "How did you and Shanda meet" I always respond in the same way. We met at the airport in Phoenix, Arizona. Okay...okay that is not 100% true but even in today's modern world if I were to say, ' we met online' people would tend to look at me as though I was the inventor or Frankenstein. There is a lot of positive and negative in the whole realm of the online world, as we all know, but it just so happens that after years of dating women here in Colorado Springs I felt the need to open up more options. I was quickly becoming a menace to society, which in layman terms means I was rapidly getting "old", and the search for someone with more maturity both emotionally, personally, and spiritually had turned up empty. And so it came to pass that sometime around Christmas of 2004 I came across this....Ha! I know what you are thinking....with an incredible profile picture like that know wonder Preston was smitten....and of course you would be right ;) However it wasn't the picture that really caught my eye it was Shanda's well crafted entry about herself. Here is where the forgetting part comes into play I don't remember what she wrote...specifically but I do remember the essence it was spunky....Is that a word? Does that place me back in the 80's....spunky...anyway I said hi.

Here is my picture and I know what you are thinking... Shanda must have been smitten right away with that ruggedly handsome man.....and you would be right....of course....well sort of...okay maybe not. In fact I don't think there was any infatuation on Shanda's part until sometime after my first visit to Arizona but you might want to check with her on that one.

Sometime between Christmas and New Years of 2004 we began communicating on a regular basis and you know the sequence....First comes emailing then comes marriage ha....just kidding. First comes emailing, pages and pages of emails, then comes chatting online which of course leads to conversations on the phone...many of which lasted until way past my bedtime...then comes the significant first visit which of course then leads to marriage, children and the whole bit. Okay...okay that is an over simplification and has to be because the specifics are too numerous to tell, not to mention boring for some who already know the story, however let me highlight a few that from my perspective that are meaningful.

After weeks of conversing I wanted to meet this mysterious woman so I hitched a ride...on a airplane to spend a weekend together. This is a picture of us on my first visit to Arizona. Upon arriving a the terminal the nervous feelings were almost overwhelming. Shanda got lost...I had to give her directions to where I was...(wait a minute isn't that counter to gender stereotyping...oh I digress)...I mean seriously for those who haven't experienced the joy of the whole online thing it is difficult to paint a picture of what that moment is like. Something like buying a house across the country then investing a huge amount of time resources only to arrive at the front door, walk in, realize it isn't what you expected and turn around to go home. Of course a house isn't the emotional commitment any relationship is but that gives you an idea. To eliminate any concern for both of us I told her we would meet maybe grab a bit to eat and if that was it I could spend time seeing some of my cousins who live in Phoenix. Which was of course not entirely true I mean I do have cousins that were attending college there but just where that is I didn't know. No truth be known if things didn't work out I was spending a long weekend in a hotel room somewhere.

As she walked through that door that is a memorable moment in my life I will never forget her smile. I was smitten. Obviously things worked out otherwise I wouldn't be writing this today but don't get ahead of the story you'll ruin all the surprises along the way. Stay with me...okay....where were we again...oh yes first visit. We spent a memorable weekend together...at least memorable on my part even with the "guy friend" at the ice cream store lamenting that she didn't date local guys. I knew I had an in when Shanda sent me home with copies of piano duets that I needed to "practice" so we could play them next time we got together....next time....Score!!!!! I practiced those duets faithfully between that visit and Shanda's visit to Colorado. In fact those songs were practiced more than I ever practiced any time during the 10 years I had piano lessons.

She came to visit me shortly after that, at which point I let slip that I loved her which next thing I knew wedding plans were being made...pictures of potential wedding dresses started appearing in my email...serious all I said was I love you...three simple words. 6 months seems short but both of us had experiences in our lives that led us to ask the right questions so it didn't take long before I knew...we both knew. Peaches and cream after that right....not yet we still haven't gotten to the dramatic part...but my favorite part is coming up next.

This picture was taken moments after I proposed. There is actually a video preserving this moment between us forever... which sadly is a little too large to upload here.... About the time we knew this was right Shanda had a trip to Colorado planned where she figured we would get engaged. No surprises there come to Colorado and sometime during the visit a ring would pop out...what is the fun in that? The proposal needed to be a surprise...Shortly before her visit we were talking and without arousing any suspicion in Shanda I extracted not only the airline flight that she was on but also the seat number...Little did she know that at the precise moment I was also online...multitasking...purchasing a ticket for the seat right next to hers.

I then spoke to her sister Kendra and made arrangements to come to Arizona the day before she was scheduled to fly to Colorado. Next I started making a video and with some amazing help from my brother-in-law we put together an engagement video...which unfortunately is too big to put online. All I told Shanda is that there would be a package waiting for her when she got to Kendra and Barry's. I arrived in Arizona late morning. With a video camera I shot pictures going to the airport in Colorado, arriving at the airport in Arizona, driving up to Kendra's house, and walking up to the door. All of that was edited in with movie clips. Just before Shanda's arrival Kendra took me over to a neighbor's house who was a cook and was making a fabulous dinner. I didn't even finish the video before Shanda got there in fact Kendra made up some story about how she knew Shanda would want it so Barry had it...well Barry did have it after he stopped by to pick it up from me before going home. He gave me a two-way radio and we had it planned that at just the right moment he would give me the signal to ring the doorbell.

The package contained my lab top with instructions to just play the icon on the desktop. Now the video obviously tells its own story better than I can but since it can't be posted here it can't be shared. It contained video clips from movies with cuts from me reminiscing about our courtship. The climax comes with shots of the Denver Airport followed by the Phoenix airport followed by a shot driving up to Kendra's house and then....the battery died on the computer....I could hear the laments from inside while hiding by the front door. Barry rushes out saying he thought he might have a plug that would fit this computer in his car......Of course I rush back over to the neighbor's to get it and Shanda finishes the video with the shot of me walking up to their front door at which point Barry radio's "go" to me and I ring the doorbell. Let me just say the video got the type of reaction I was looking for. Once home in Colorado Foote edited the video to include the shots taken by Barry the moments after I proposed to Shanda and that picture is from that video.

I feel like I have said too much...and you are probably thinking he is right...and I haven't even told you the story of moving Shanda to Colorado or the dramatic story (I promised we would get to some drama) of how after moving her here with a month before the wedding she starts having cold feet and decides to go to Utah still uncertain about whether or not we are going to even get married...and all the wedding invitations, and planning that go in between....Thanks for letting me share this rant in some ways as a belated anniversary gift to her since we were apart for our July 16th anniversary. After all that has been said let me end by saying there is not a day that has gone by that I don't wake up and count myself blessed beyond measure for being married to such a beautiful, precious woman. She is so kind to me and to others. She is beautiful beyond my ability to describe. Most importantly she is the most amazing mother not only to Talia but to Gavin as well. The past two years have been the shortest of my life because of the wonderful marriage I am in, and the last three weeks, as we have been apart, the longest I have ever experienced. How did I ever get to fortunate to have married someone as special as she is I do not know, but I love her to death. She is practically perfect in every way and means the absolute world to me.