About 20 years ago on our anniversary, Scott and I started telling our kids the story of how we met. After a few years of that, the kids thought it was a pretty boring story, so Scott made up a new story. It involved my being in a motorcycle gang, wearing tight black leather pants and halter top, playing in a rock band, and having a really ugly dog named Butt--basically all the things I hate. It was the anti-Paula. The kids thought it was hilarious and it's definitely way more popular than the true story. But for posterity, I'm going to tell the true story.
In the fall of 1987, I started my second year at BYU and Scott was in his third year. We were both studying music. In addition to orchestra, we had a daily class together with only 20 students but we didn't know each other. In September near my birthday, my friend Judy asked him to go play happy birthday on his trombone at the Student Employment Office where I worked. But he wouldn't do it because he didn't know me.
We finally spoke to each other early in October, when we saw each other coming out of the Testing Center on the way to our music class. We recognized each other as classmates and walked together. On the way I happened to see basically every guy I knew and Scott was disgusted with my perceived popularity. He had this idea that popular girls were full of themselves and therefore, he dismissed me as a potentially interesting girl. Nothing came of that!
Then on Halloween, the Philharmonic had a party at the home of our conductor, Clyn Barrus. I got my food and sat down with my good friend Judy, and Scott came over to sit down by me. His ulterior motive was that he wanted to set me up with his roommate Bryce and he would ask out Judy for a double date. Scott and I started talking and I came away from that conversation thinking Scott was a pretty cool guy that I wanted to get to know better. He also found me much more interesting than he expected. He never did set me up with Bryce.
I had always sat near the front of my music theory class with Judy while Scott sat back in the corner with his friends but now I started moving closer to where Scott sat, and, of course, laughing at his jokes. I would see him around the HFAC and talk to him. Once we were doing some music theory homework together just outside of Ray Smith's office. Scott knew Ray because he was in Synthesis with him. I knew Ray because he was in my neighborhood when I was in high school and babysat his children. We had a difference of opinion about one of the answers to our homework so I suggested that we ask Ray what the right answer was. Scott started to introduce me to him but Ray said, "Oh, I know Paula. She was one of the few girls we trusted to babysit our children." Apparently that made my stock rise quite a bit. Scott decided maybe I was a little more down-to-earth than he thought and not full of myself.
After a couple of weeks, Scott finally asked me out to a faculty jazz concert. I knew nothing about jazz but I was happy to be there. Afterward, we went over to the Cougareat and talked. We had a long and interesting conversation. He told me how he had almost gotten engaged at that same time the previous year to a girl from his mission but she dumped him for someone else. He was very open and easy to talk to. During our conversation, I had the thought, "I could marry this guy!" This thought came out of nowhere. I didn't recognize it at the time, but now I can see it was a spiritual prompting. For the next few weeks, even though I was dating another guy and also writing a missionary, I had this conviction that I was going to marry Scott. It was this little secret that I didn't tell to anyone. He didn't get that message though because he didn't ask me out again for several more weeks and wasn't even sure I liked him.
In the meantime, I broke my wrist kind of badly. I was running down the stairs of my apartment in high heels and I tripped and reached out to catch myself. It was ugly. My roommates took me to the emergency room and I ended up having to get a surgery to make sure I healed correctly. This injury actually made me more approachable to Scott and he finally asked me out again. I remember us going to a nursing home with another couple and playing our instruments (except I couldn't play because of my arm so I just watched) and then having lunch at Tommy's Burgers--which is still in business in downtown Provo. I remember smiling at Scott the whole time and feeling so happy but he still didn't think I liked him that much.
We discovered that my roommate and good friend Melanie was in Scott's chemistry class so they decided to study together one night. I went home that evening to Orem to make some cinnamon rolls to give to him. I gave my roommate strict instructions not to let him leave until I got back. But my roommate was something of a practical joker. She got a rose and laid it on the table and gave Scott the impression that some unknown guy had given it to me. She also didn't tell him I wanted him to stay until I got back. He was gone when I got home and I was pretty mad at my roommate. I did find him the next day and gave him a cinnamon roll or two.
Right before he left for Christmas, he came to my work in the Student Employment Office to say goodbye. I gave him a present which he was pleased about. But then he tried to give me a hug. Unfortunately, I felt incredibly self-conscious because everyone in the office was watching, so I didn't give him much of a hug back. So he once again thought I didn't like him.
He went home for Christmas and over the break he decided he wasn't going to ask out anyone he had dated previously when he came back, including me. He arrived back in Provo late one night and right before he woke up the next morning, he had a dream about me. He dreamed he was camping with my family (whom he hadn't met) and that I had super short hair. When he woke up, he decided to call me and we went out that night to a Chinese restaurant. We had a great time and he decided maybe we did have a future together. I like to think of that dream as a nudge from God not to give up on me.
After that fun night, he overcame his insecurities. We started seeing each other basically every day and at the end of the semester he proposed. Despite my certainty after our first date, it took me 5 months after the proposal to decide that yes, I did want to marry him. We got married on April 27, 1989, about 17 months after our first date.
Here we are, 32 years later. Neither of us are perfect but from the beginning, we have been willing to be influenced by each other and the Lord and it has made all the difference.
A rainbow appeared in the sky just as we took a picture together tonight!
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