A Different Life

Right now, my wife and are having a Lord of the Rings (extended edition) marathon together. Just the two of us. And it's made me reflect once again that I really did choose the right girl. :) Our personalities are so perfectly matched, it's wonderful. We like a lot of the same things, but have just enough differences to make things interesting. I mean, how many guys can say their wives enjoy having a Lord of the Rings or Star Wars marathon with them? And I doubt there are very many people who have ever seen a wedding cake topper with HomestarRunner and Marzipan on top. Kristen made one for our cake.

But I was looking at some old pictures on Facebook, and wondering what my life would have been like if I'd made different decisions. About three years ago, a lot of new things began happening in my life. The two biggest things I did: I got into acting, and started dating again (after being in a committed relationship for about a year).

In the next two years, I was in 14 different theater shows - I made so many friends and gained so many great experiences. I also started dating a girl, and although we dated off and on for the next two years, my preoccupation with her made it impossible to really want to date anyone else during the "off" times. That's not to say there weren't opportunities. That there weren't other beautiful girls I met in whom I was interested. As I said, I was in many theater productions throughout that time, and drama people are well-known for being big flirts. :) But I just couldn't move on.

During those two years, I also graduated and got a job here in Utah. I now wonder whether if I hadn't still been preoccupied with that same girl, would I have even looked for a job here? After all, I never wanted or planned to remain in Utah after graduation. To be honest, I'd still rather be outside it and living somewhere green.

Anyway, eventually that relationship ended for good, and despite my belief that I'd never love again, I found the girl I never thought existed. The girl who makes me happier than I ever could have known. Guess where she's from: Utah. And how did we meet? Because her best friend/roommate and I were in a play together. :)

So what if I hadn't decided to keep performing (or never even started in the first place)? What if I had decided the on again-off again relationship was a dead-end earlier than I did, and moved out of state? Would I have found my Kristen? I hope so. But luckily, I don't have to find out. She's mine forever.