Life has been busy...but I guess I owe it to myself, and to all you readers out there (um...there are readers out there, aren't there?) to send an update on that business into cyberspace. I could go on and on about how this semester has been full of graduate classes, rehearsals for the Spanish play I am directing, the tour we went on to BYU-I, my calling as activities co-chair in my ward, my social life, my sister's increasingly large belly with promises of finally becoming an aunt, etc, etc, etc, but, instead of boring you all to death, let's just get straight to the point.
On Friday, March 21st, 2008, Jonathan Clayton Leininger officially asked me to marry him in front of 100 people (the audience and cast of out sold-out show).
As the director of the play, I lead a Q&A session after each show, and that night, when I was about to finish the session, Jon's hand shot up and he announced that he had one last question. I told him to go ahead, naively thinking that he really had a question about the play, but when he got out of his seat, and started walking towards the stage, it clicked, and I did what any girl would do in my situation...I started shaking my head violently and saying "don't do it! Don't do it, Jon!". He completely ignored my pleas, and climbing onto the stage, took my hands, and started to tell me how he felt about me. What he said was pretty much lost on me though, because I don't remember a word of it. I was in a state of complete shock! But, at some point, he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. Amazingly, I said "yes", and he put the most beautiful ring I've ever seen on my finger.
Fortunately for him, I got over my anger and embarrassment over being proposed to in such a way pretty quickly, and things have been great ever since. We are getting married May 23rd in the Manti, Utah temple, and we will be having a reception in Provo that evening. I can't wait!
For those of you who don't know, Jon and I met a year and a half ago in Spanish 441, and both had crushes on each other, but he foolishly never asked me out. We got back in touch last semester, started dating, and voile! We are both graduating this April- he in electrical engineering and me in secondary education (theatre and Spanish). Our exact location after graduation is still to be determined, BUT it is looking like we will be in Baltimore (with Tucson coming in at a close second).
Jon is everything I could ever ask for, and more...he is handsome, charming, kind, righteous, courteous, fun, responsible, intelligent, hard-working, and, to top it all off, crazy about me (for some reason I have yet to understand). I couldn't be happier, and I hope that many of you will be in the Utah area at the end of May to share in our joy.
Further updates soon. I promise. :O)
It's official. We are done with BYU. Kinda hard to believe, after all these years. His parents came into town for the occasion, and got to meet my family, which was great. Also, his brother Chris, who will be graduating from the U next week, came down. We had a really fun, though tiring weekend. The commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center was packed, and the addresses were actually pretty good. I think what stuck with me the most was the importance of serving with the talents we have and the blessings we've received, and to make learning a lifetime endeavor. I think it was a lot more enjoyable to sit through with Jon by my side. Friday was a little longer, with two convocations to attend. Jon's was first, and the most impressive thing was the titles of the dissertations of those receiving PhD's. Since I graduated from the College of Fine Arts and Communications, I think my ceremony was a little more interesting, and a little more fluffy, with some cool performances and interesting talks. You would think that a theatre major would be totally at home on the DeJong stage, but I have to admit that I had some butterflies before walking across. We finished off the festivities with dinner at Ottavios with both of our families. I think they hit it off. If not, they're good actors.
