Our (extremely complicated) Story

I was 16.
Jake was 15.
I was sophomore.
Jake was a freshman.
My best friend was Melissa Bisset.
Jake had a crush on Melissa Bisset.

The 3 of us had PE class together.
We had a 2-week segment on dancing in PE.
During one of the dance partner rotations, Jake was 1 person off from dancing with Melissa.
Instead he got me.
I prodded for juicy details about his crush on Melissa.
We all went bowling for Melissa’s birthday.

Time elapses.
I’m a junior.
Jake’s a sophomore.
We have mutual friends and begin to hang out.
More. And more.
We date.
We break up months later.
I don’t remember why.

I begin to re-date a guy I had already dated all freshman year.
We dated almost another year.
But I still liked Jake.
Finally, Jake told me he loved me at a church camp under the stars.
I broke up with the other guy.

Details/timing gets blurry, but we break up before I ‘leave’ for college.
I wanted to be single.
Meet my husband at a Christian college. He wasn’t there.
A year later we started dating again.
A few months after that we broke up.
Jake wasn’t ready.
I was crushed.

My last year of college (my 3rd year but a senior).
Loving my girlfriends. Always missing Jake.
My heart missed a beat when he showed up on my cell phone caller ID.
"Jacob"
I cried. Prayed. God show me. Is he the one?
My heart and mind were at odds.

Months before graduation.
Jake invites me over to watch a TV show with him (The Contender)
My housemates were cautiously excited for me.
Jake professed his love again.
He prayed for us in the glow of the fireplace.
I melted.
I knew.

I graduated and traveled around Africa and the UK.
1 week after my return, Jake proposed.
2.5 months later we were married, Sept 3, 2005, at Jake’s mom’s house.
Moved to Madras for a year.
Moved to Eastern Washington for 8 months.
And moved back to where it all happened: Newberg.

I wish my memory was crystal clear.
I could go back through my journals.
I documented everything.
But that’s the extremely short version of Jake and I’s story.
As you can see, it's complicated.

But it all started with a freshman boy and his crush's best friend.
... 9 years ago.