2010 has been a bit of a year so far. This can mostly be summed up by the fact that many from my church small group have been teasing me about being a world jetsetter. It's true that, although I tend to meander about Europe with a reasonable regularity (this year, despite everything else going on, I've still made it to Prague and have just returned from a school trip to the Schwarzwalde in Germany), my travels this year have been of a more far-flung variety. First of all there was the fantastic return trip to Kuala Lumpur in April. It was great to return to a place that now is firmly lodged in my heart, and my two weeks there had a wonderful feel of returning to family, which made leaving more of a strain than I had first realised. Of course, there was more than one way that statement could be taken - Icelandic geology has never featured so highly in my thoughts, and offered the opportunity to see more of Abu Dhabi than I'd ever really thought I would!
After finally managing to return to the UK, the jokes started with guys at work about finally needing to stay put. I then said I was off to the US in May. They laughed, I laughed, then slowly they realised I was serious. They asked where abouts I was going, expecting my answer to be Boston, New York, Washington D.C. or some other large metropolitan centre. My answer generally involved having to draw a map to try and show where on earth Idaho is... So what causes an already jetlagged man to pack up on another long haul flight to the middle of nowhere?
Well many of you now know the answer. Carolyn and I were introduced to each other in Easter of 2009, through what can only be described as the machinations of my good friend Daniel and his then fiancée, Brooke. Carolyn had travelled to Oxford to see Brooke, and while here I had been summoned (again, I feel this is the correct term) to share Easter lunch at Brooke's host family. It was a pleasant enough time, and I thought she was a nice girl who I could get on with. But nothing could happen - after all she lives in Washington state and I in Bristol. It would never work...
I met her again briefly at the wedding of the aforementioned friends, and again conversation sparked and we talked until the sheer exhaustion of that particular day overtook me - the details of my insanity on that day are enough for another story at another time. However, rather than drifting of our separate ways as we had last time, this meeting led to a series of e-mail exchanges and various comments on Facebook. Over the next few months, this became a regular and established feature, and to use the vernacular, I began to fall for this American lady. She is beautiful, considerate, very funny (in a good way), and we realised we shared a passion for learning and teaching, as well as for travel and things historical, and most of all earnestly pursuing a knowledge of the Lord and a life that pleases Him. So in November of last year we began courting. I'll not lie, it was an odd experience, as in the time that we were courting we only met face to face once, when she came to the UK for her break in February. We were both warned, and in what little way that we could prepared ourselves for, that because of the unusual nature of our relationship, meeting each other as a couple could feel somewhat awkward. I am truly thankful that this was not the case, and we seemed to pick up where we left off, and enjoyed a lovely week together.
We kept communicating for the few months that followed, and I booked a ticket to fly out to the US for the away leg. Over this time, I was able to reflect on the week that we'd had together, on top of letters, e-mails and phone calls that we'd had with each other, and became more and more convinced that I wanted to marry this lady. And so, jetlagged as I was already, I happily compounded that on a trip to the Northwest, and on a bench in the University of Idaho Arboretum, in a section where plants from the Western North America lie beside those from Europe, I asked Carolyn if she would be my wife. I am pleased to announce that she said yes.
For those who have felt left out of the process, I hope this fills in some of the gaps! We are both looking forward to the 28th August which will be our wedding day (God willing) and for the life together that lies ahead of us beyond that. Your prayers for us will be appreciated, and thanks to all who have already offered their words of encouragement and congratulations!
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