The Jon and Carrie Love Story, part 26

Now it was my grandma's turn to start dying.

My mother's father had recently died, but now my father's mother was about to be diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas. This it the grandma I had grown up living 1/4 a mile away from-- I saw her almost daily, in between feeding cows on the farm. She loved our visits, and she was very special to me.

Being so far away, hearing how she wasn't doing well, was extremely hard. I couldn't be there for her. And she couldn't share in my current joy. I just hoped that she would be well enough to come to the wedding.

The wedding! We needed to pick a date. My sister was due with her third baby at the end of May. So we needed to get married in early April or July or later. Jon wanted April, I wanted July. It was already March, and I simply wasn't ready for marriage so quickly. So Jon let me have July. We decided on the Boise Idaho Temple, since most of my family lived around there and it's fairly customary for the bride to choose the temple. We called and they were going to be closed for two weeks in early July. Somehow we picked July 23. It was a Friday, and it was as good a date as any. In the end, it would mean we would be engaged for six months.

If you know many Mormons, you know that sometimes dating/engagement/weddings happen quickly. Sometimes weeks or just a few months. For us to be engaged for an entire six months was probably longer than is typical. But I needed that time. I was still learning about Jon, I was old and set in my ways, and I wanted to have time to adjust before we were man and wife. Looking back, that time was wonderful, fun, and a growing experience for both of us.

My mom always said there were two things you should experience with a potential spouse before getting married-- 1. go on a long road trip and 2. see each other sick. In the weeks to come, I would experience both of those things with Jon.