My Story - the conclusion

When I got off of work that night he was waiting outside for me, It was September 16 1995. Looking at him made butterflies in my stomach like I had never had. He asked me to go for a drive with him and I accepted. We drove around for about 2 hours talking about everything from our goals in life to the strange man walking down the sidewalk. He made me feel like a different person when I was with him… in a good way. Like I could just be me and that was ok. He asked me that night when he dropped me off at my car “Come watch me ride bulls tomorrow in Bruneau.” I thought that sounded exciting and told him I would be there.

The next morning Nicole and I headed to Bruneau to watch him. I was exhilarated and nervous all at the same time. When he came out of the chute on that bull I knew he had me. I love the bad boy dangerous guys and that is definitely something Josh was… but he was also so sweet and good natured. He was the perfect guy in every aspect of the word. That night before we left for home he asked me if I would like to date him exclusively, of course I said yes.

Over the next few months I fell harder and harder for him, which was an issue with my mom because she did not approve of him at all. I am honestly not sure why but the fact was she didn’t so that made it tough. Eventually though she got used to the idea of him and I and got past it. Josh and I became very serious , very fast. But considering the past we had it was not all the surprising. We had already known each other and been friends for so many years. We spent every moment we could together and very quickly I fell head over heels in love with him. He made me feel so different then anyone else had, he was such a good person I felt good being with him.

The summer between my Junior and Senior year was the best summer of my life… to this day. Josh and I were together all the time… cruising town or hanging out with all our friends, watching movies or just sitting in the Frosty Palace parking lot talking for hours. He was so perfect to me. That summer was the first time he said “I love you”.

We started our Senior year together and it was about ¾ of the way through our Senior year that Josh told me he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and asked me to marry him when we got out of HS. I said yes right away… I knew I did not want to live the rest of my life without Josh and I knew he was the one for me. Just like I knew in 6th grade he was the one for me. I do not believe in soul mates but I believe in true love and I know that is what Josh and I had and still have to this day.

We graduated together in May of 1997. My grandpa was Governor at this point and I really wanted him to marry us. In order for that to happen we would have to get married before his term was up, which was in 1998. But I didn’t want to marry Josh a few months out of high school. I didn’t want to be “that girl”. I wanted us to live our lives in the adult world and make sure that we could do it. And I wanted to go to and finish college, which I knew would be hard to do once we were on our own. So I went to Cosmetology school and finished in October of 1998. Josh and I then moved in together in January of 1999.

It was September of 1999 when we got married. My grandpa was not able to marry us but that was ok… we had such a beautiful wedding. To me it was perfect… everything I had always dreamed of when I was little. We honeymooned in McCall for 3 days and just enjoyed being “us”. We knew we did not want kids right away, I feel bad for couples who get married and have kids within the 1st year. That time with just you and your husband is so important to build a solid foundation of marriage before bringing kids into the picture. Your whole life becomes about your children once you have them and I think you need to have a very solid marriage to withstand that. So many people do that and then get divorced when the kids leave home because they don’t know how to be a married couple without there whole focus being on kids. Josh and I waited 3 years to start having kids and it was the best decision we ever made.

When I look back at the last 20 years of my life with Josh I know if I had it to do over again I wouldn’t change one single moment. I think Josh and I have such a strong marriage and such a deep love for each other because of the many years before we actually became a couple. We have had many ups and downs but I couldn’t imagine my life without him… not for one single moment.

And whatever happened to Matt Freelove… well he and Josh are very good friends and he lives 3 houses down from us with 2 boys of his own and a wonderful girlfriend. Him and I have remained very good friends.