 |
| It was Mix-Up day at school, so we sent Austin like this. He was so proud! He hasn't wanted to take the glasses off since! |
 |
| This is my new life. Relief Society is a lot, but look at my cute little Lancer playing Legos while I work. I love it. |
Greg and I went to the temple for date night. It was cold and dark outside, but warm and cozy in the temple. We had eaten sticky finger tacos at Winger's before coming to the temple, and I'm sure we totally smelled of onion and garlic. I had a pocketful of mints for us, but I doubt that helped! The taste lingered in my mouth all night!
But that didn't stop me from enjoying the temple so much. Tears were glistening my eyes for most of the session. I just felt the spirit so much, and my emotions are so near. I guess I had to cry my way through the beautiful presentation. I loved being there with Greg. He is so dear to me. We grabbed a quick ice cream cone as we visited on the way home.
We came home to find that Julia had gotten all the little boys to bed. Emma was out enjoying her new freedom. She had driven herself to the movies to meet her friends. But she came in the door shortly after we did. I hugged her and kissed her goodnight and sent the girls upstairs. Then Greg and I climbed into our big bed together and spent the evening in each other's arms. So in love.
When Greg and I were engaged, my family gave me a bridal shower. It was out in the yard in the early days of summer, and all of my aunts and cousins and neighbors came to "shower" me with love and gifts. I actually didn't enjoy being the center of so much attention. But I was so grateful for the kindness and generosity of everyone. At one point during the party, we invited Greg to come out and sit by me. He was up visiting for the weekend from BYU. He especially didn't enjoy being the center of attention among all of these women he didn't know.
I don't know if we were playing a game or what, but people started asking us questions. I can only remember one question, and the answers Greg and I gave. I suppose I'll never forget it! Someone asked us what were our favorites things about each other. I'm sure we blushed and giggled and my face was red from all the attention as we tried to come up with a good answer.
To be completely fair, we really didn't know each other that well. Greg and I had only dated for a few months. We were in love, but as the years have passed and that love has deepened and matured, I am amazed that we were brave enough to marry each other with only a small inkling of what was to come. I am still learning more about Greg each day. And now that I really know who he is, I can look back and see that we hardly knew each other that summer day sitting together on a bench in my mother's flower garden. I'll be forever grateful that we knew enough. And that we were led to one another.
I finally answered that I loved the way his eyes lit up when he smiled. We looked at each other and smiled when I said it. My heart went all aflutter. Then it was Greg's turn. He squirmed a bit and then said, "My favorite thing about Rindi is her good looks." I think we all laughed a little! I don't think that was the ONLY thing he liked about me, but at least he was honest! I remember one of my aunts rolled her eyes at that. And she sarcastically said, "Yeah, well what happens when that goes out the window!?!"
I've thought so much about this whole exchange. Why did Greg say that? Was that really a shallow response? Didn't he like my smarts or my athleticism or my personality? Didn't he like the way I treated him or the way I laughed at his jokes? Wasn't I sweet and kind? And what WOULD happen when my good looks went out the window?
Well, nearly twenty years have passed since that summer day when I sat next to a handsome boy I was about to marry and heard him say to a whole crowd of people that he loved my good looks. Growing up, I never felt that confident about my looks. I always felt that my other qualities were better, and that if a boy could just get to know me, he would start to like me. And here was Greg, proclaiming that he thought I was beautiful. And that it was his favorite thing about me.
Through all these years, with all of our ups and downs, whether I've been sick and pregnant and emotional, whether I've been tired and cranky and overwhelmed, or whether I've been happy and busy and distracted, one thing has remained constant in our marriage. Greg still likes my "good looks." He's never stopped trying to grab me and pull me close. He's never stopped coming home each night to see me. He's never stopped trying to love me.
Hopefully my looks haven't flown out the window as quickly as my aunt so dismissively anticipated. But if they have or if they do, it's going to be okay. Because now our love has deepened. And it isn't based on some fleeting physical attraction. That may be what got it started. But now it is so much more. And I am so grateful that our attraction is stronger than ever. There isn't a face in the world that looks as good to me as my husband's. That's what true love is. I'm so grateful that I'm still so beautiful in my husband's eyes. He may be the only person that sees me that way. But it's the best gift ever.
 |
| Greg and Rindi, honeymoon 1999 |
All of the other things Greg could have said about me are actually more fleeting than my physical appearance. Sometimes I'm not that smart. Sometimes I act pretty dumb. Sometimes I'm not athletic at all. I'm just soft and out of shape. Sometimes I don't treat him well. Or laugh at his jokes. And there are a lot of days when my personality leaves much to be desired. Sometimes I'm not exactly sweet and kind. But every day, when Greg looks at me, I can see that he still likes the way I look. I must have been meant for him. I'll take it.
No comments:
Post a Comment