The Engagement ...

When was the last time we saw each other before the new millenium?
June 19, 1992 at the Holiday Inn at Mopac and 183 in Austin, TX. Jon Robertson and I went to the bar to watch the Holyfield vs. Holmes fight (Evander won) and Jen was our waitress!

This also happens to be the place where we have blocked off rooms at a discounted rate! And it's close to the church!

How did we get back in touch?
Two friends we grew up with, Stacy McDonald Young and Danny West ran into each other in a convenience store in the Heights, in Houston, Texas. They exchanged email addresses and two days later Danny got in touch with Greg who got in touch with John and Stacy got in touch with Jen...

Our Story...

In the beginning…

[She said] John and I first met in the sixth grade, in Ms. Edna Davis’ English class. We were brought together by fate… well, really by our ability to read at a young age. Little did we know that we would be spending the duration of our secondary education in each other’s hair. We fell into a group of “Gifted & Talented” students… and this group would become like a family of same-aged siblings, complete with the companionship and conflicts one might associate with such a collection of rambunctious youths. Alright, we were the nerdy kids… but I’m telling this story.

[He said] 20 years ago… I met Jennifer in the 6th grade, where we had our G/T English class together. I actually went out with one of her best friends for a week, until I realized that I still enjoyed BMX bikes way more than girlfriends…

[She said] As the years passed, we all got to know each other… some better than others, as we shared most of our classes. We were raised in the same neighborhood, taught by the same teachers, influenced by the same social structure and fed the same cafeteria food. We competed against one another voraciously, and we worked on important projects together with total dedication. We experienced our first dances, first romances and first heartbreaks before each other’s watchful eyes… not to mention all the uncomfortable occurrences associated with puberty. I was John’s first “real” kiss…

[He said] One year later I realized that girls could be more fun than BMX bikes! Jen was my first kiss, 7th grade, it was in Stacy McDonald’s backyard… wow… of course we hung out and talked for half an hour before… we were friends… we were always friends…

[She said] As we progressed through high school, I remember John teasing me about most everything… my hair, my attitude, my taste in boyfriends, my choice for college. He was the outspoken jokester of our class. Our Senior English teacher loved me… he drove her nuts. If something goofy was going on… you knew John was involved. We both graduated at the top of our class… I was the highest-ranking girl and he was the highest-ranking boy. We parted ways…

[He said] I remember very clearly in 10th grade World History class, while working on a history project together, I developed a real interest in her. I knew she had a boyfriend, but I really enjoyed spending time with her, hanging out, talking, and laughing. But, I moved on and didn’t pursue anything, out of respect and fear of rejection. It just made me tease her more, as the years passed! She was our Valedictorian and it never-ever bothered me from a competition standpoint that she was ahead of me, the first boy… I mean, how could I ever be upset with such a beautiful, brilliant friend that I grew up with? Sure I teased her at times in school, ok, more than her fair share, but I always liked and respected her, she was Jennifer Arrowood!

The rest of the story…

[She said] I ran into John a few times in college at the University of Texas at Austin. I remember joking with my girlfriends that it looked like John had “finally hit puberty.” He was a good-looking young man… but he was still John Nassar… the “funny-guy” from high school who thought he knew everything [dramatic eye roll].

[He said] I remember running into Jen at college in the most unprepared times, and being still pretty young, I never really knew what to say other than “Hey, what’s up!” I always noticed her beauty and always felt something special for her in a place in my heart…

[She said] It wasn’t until last Fall that I reconnected with John. A friend had run into another friend at a convenience store in Houston… (one of those stories). She had kept in touch with me, and he had kept in touch with John. Within days, we were all emailing each other… about fifteen of us. The first night that John and I spoke on the phone, we talked for over four hours. It was amazing… how our life experiences since high school were so similar… in parallel. We laughingly referred to it as the “marathon conversation”… it would prove to be the first of many. As the days and weeks progressed, we talked about everything… relationships, politics, children, families, hobbies, finances, education, lifestyle, career, emotions, fears, goals, religion… our faith in God. As I live in Austin, and John lives in Denver… we were limited to telephone conversations and online correspondence. Our first face-to-face meeting came in November… I felt very awkward. I was meeting a man who I had known for almost 20 years, but who I hadn’t seen in eight… and who I had never known as a man. Yet, we had really connected in our multiple late-night conversations. I wondered if I would even recognize his face.

[He said] October 2000… the four hour phone call… after four hours, I couldn’t wait to talk to Jen again… the defining moment in my life where an opportunity presented itself and I made the best decision ever! I left a message the very next day … I was giddy, I admit it… I felt lonely and directionless for years, and in one fell swoop, I felt like “King of the World!” After a few weeks of intense conversations on the phone and by email, I couldn’t wait to see her again in person.

[She said] I can’t explain the mixture of excitement and nervousness that I felt when I saw John again. I liked what I had experienced in our communications, but I didn’t know what to expect when I saw him in person. I knew I was in trouble when I saw how handsome he was. I couldn’t stop smiling…

[He said] I didn’t even feel nervous or anxious, this was one of my longtime friends, at the very least we had that. Our face-to-face encounter in November was so RIGHT. She just smiled and smiled and smiled… I could tell the timing was finally gonna be perfect, for both of us… I can still picture her smiling when I got off the plane…

[She said] The next couple of months were filled with airports and emails and a lot of long-distance phone calls… I went to visit him in Colorado, he came to visit me in Texas… it was so incredible. I have to tell you now that I thank God every day for bringing John back into my life. I can’t help but think that this was “the plan” all along… that we go out into the world to learn the lessons necessary to allow us to truly appreciate each other when we would be brought back together.

[He said] I saw her again when Jen flew in for my birthday, December 6th… Best birthday present ever! She got to meet my friends up here in Denver, who immediately loved her... How could they not!

Rocky Mountain High…

[She said] Approximately four months into our new relationship, I went to visit John in Colorado. We were going to spend the weekend skiing. On our way to dinner one night in Breckenridge, John pulled off the road to “show me something.” It was an overlook… you could see the entire town of Breckenridge from this spot. It was beautiful. I love Breckenridge and it’s lights and quaint shops and warm, casual restaurants. But, it was soooo cold outside that evening…

[He said] It was a special spot to get a perfect view of a beautiful Colorado mountain town. How could I not show her?

[She said] We got out of the car and looked at the town spread below us… we both took a few photos and admired the twinkling sight (while shivering). I looked over to John… he smiled at me and went back to the car. He had a strange look on his face and I thought, “he must be very cold.” I snapped one more photo and went back to the car to join him. As I got in, he pulled a ring box from the door… and proposed.

[He said] I visited Jen at Christmas time for 2 weeks. I knew then I would ask her to marry me… It had only been 2 and a half months, but I had known her for almost 20 years! I wasn’t planning to ask her to marry me until we were at least about 6 months into the relationship. I just couldn’t wait…

[She said] I will never be able to explain how I felt at that exact moment. I had imagined in my mind a thousand times what I would do when proposed to… but that moment, looking into John’s eyes, will stand still in my heart forever… a treasure I am incapable of sharing.

[He said] I’ll never forget her look of PURE excitement…indescribable…I’m too selfish to begin to share that moment with anyone but her!

Snow carving contest in Breckenridge on display that very night...

Dinner after the proposal at Bubba Gump's in Breck...

The Ring... she even skied with it on... :)

Two Hearts, One Soul…

[She said] I cannot imagine ever knowing anyone who will understand me like John. We are not just similar, we are cut from the same cloth. The way we think about things, desire adventure, analyze situations, love to laugh, approach problems, view the world in general… it’s the same. While I have grown to be more expressive and extroverted, John has become a thoughtful, reserved man. We are able to communicate with one another in extraordinary ways… we know innately what the other craves. We understand the other’s needs, for they are the same as our own. Do you know how easy it is to talk to someone who thinks the same way that you do? Do you know how easy it is to understand the idiosyncratic needs of someone who was raised to appreciate the same things that you were? It is not that we agree on everything (puh-lease!)… it is that we are capable of appreciating each other’s opinion… and we have fun together. We aren’t perfect people, but we are a perfect match…

[He said] Sure, we have some slight differences, she is female! But it’s really amazing how we think so much alike… I have found my soul mate… I am not only the luckiest man in the world, I am the most fortunate man… It’s amazing to be loved so deeply by someone that understands everything about me… It’s also the little things… little things like… little things like the way she looks at me when I drive down the road… the way she giggles on the phone when I say something soooo goofy only she would understand… the way she trusts me when I take her skiing down steep unfamiliar terrain… the way she pays attention to me… all the time…

[She said] As excited as I am to begin my marriage to John… when our hearts will melt together and our soul will become one… I look forward to every day until then as well… he is my soul mate and my one true love…

[He said] [smiling and beaming] What else can I say? Jennifer is my lover, my soul mate, my best friend!