Together Forever

The story of Matt and I getting together actually starts with my mom attending a Sunday school class. Matt was the new teacher and he was telling a little about himself. He said he had just recently moved to Bangor for a job, and he wasn’t quite sure what he was doing in Bangor, Maine. My mom thought to herself “I know why you’re here, you’re here for my daughter”. She thought that was weird since I was already married, so she dismissed the thought.
The day I called my mom to tell her I was leaving my husband, she said to me “Oh I have the perfect guy for you!”…what? Did I just hear her correctly…I hadn’t even left yet and she was already setting me up. I moved home a few months later and heard a lot about Matt from my mom. My mom pointed Matt out to me at church, but she never introduced us. My mom and I went to the mall one evening shortly after I had filed for divorce. I got my ears pierced for the second time…it was celebration time…do something wild and crazy! Matt happened to walk by, so my mom talked with him while I got two new holes punched into my ears. I hoped that my mom wouldn’t say anything that would embarrass me. I remember she did go into more detail about some things than I would have liked her to, and I’m sure I rolled my eyes at her a few times, but telling Matt that I had filed for divorce was the best thing she did. Matt decided that since I had filed for divorce, it was time to ask me out. He called me on October 9, 1996 to see if I would like to go see the movie “Emma” with him. I said yes. This is an easy date for me to remember because it is also my older sister’s birthday. I told Matt we were going to have dinner and celebrate my sister’s birthday, but he said he would rather pick me up for a late movie after the celebrating was over. Before Matt arrived to pick me up, I stressed over what I was going to wear, the joys of dating! I had noticed that Matt always wore khaki pants when I saw him (which was mostly at church) so I wore khaki pants thinking that I wouldn’t be overdressed or underdressed for our date. I was surprised when Matt showed up in jeans. He looked good in jeans…let the date begin! Matt called me a few days later for our second date. We drove to Bar Harbor (an hour and fifteen minutes from where I lived) to eat at a restaurant. We stayed up most of the night talking and enjoying each other’s company. We spent our third date looking at wedding rings…and we bought my ring. There was never a formal proposal, although Matt teases me that he had prepared a candlelight dinner, romantic music playing in the background, and he got down on one knee to propose, and I just don’t remember it …I don’t remember because it didn’t happen. It was more like, so we know we’re getting married, let’s pick a date. My divorce was final on November 27, 1996. We were married in our chapel on a Tuesday evening, December 10, 1996 with our families present. I was in college at the time and I had a class that morning. I was talking with a friend after class and she asked me, “so what are you doing this evening” and I replied, “getting married”. It’s not an answer you get to say everyday, especially on a Tuesday!, and this would be my last time to say it. Matt and I were sealed in the Salt Lake temple one year after we were married, and now 9 ½ years, and 4 children later, Matt and I are still living “happily ever after”…with a few minor bumps along the way. But that's what makes marriage fun, right?