How we met, the LONG version - Part I

I'm sure all of you are excitedly clapping your hands at the prospect of this post. The short story is that he saw me from afar, and had to have me. So we got married and that's that. But this is not the short story!

I suppose it all began (before it really began) when my brother Nathan started dating a lovely young woman named Lisa, way back in late 2000. She had just returned from her mission in Texas, and they were a perfect match for one another. Shortly afterwards, Nate McBride and Lisa Harrison (note that last name) got married. Yeah, Lisa is Bryan's older sister! Fate would have it that he had just left for his own mission (Santiago Chile) a few months before their marriage, so I had not met him yet. I know that the timing was so perfect, though. I was dating another person then (whom I will refer to as the 'other' Brian), and I was very involved, so even meeting another person at that time in my life wouldn't have phased me one bit.

I sent off the 'other' Brian on a mission (Malaga, Spain) the same time that I myself served a mission (Brasil, Porto Alegre Sul. O maior missao na planeta!). After I returned, I was really busy with church callings, work, and waiting for the 'other' Brian to get home in six months, so we would have our happily ever after. My life was so wrapped up in this cute little package! :)

Anyway, Bryan at this time was working for my brother Nate in his dental lab. And his dental lab happened to be inside my dad's dental office. So, since I had nothing better to do (hey, I was still a crazy pseudo-nerd who just got home from a foreign country!), I would go there to hang out sometimes (in my own defense, I was simply still adjusting). One day, Bryan and I crossed paths in the back of the office, and I said, "Hi! Aren't you Bryan?" I'm sure I really shocked him! I was still so extroverted, it was truly scary. So he and I made each other's acquaintance, and he asked me if I was hungry, and if I wanted to go to Taco Bell. I laugh so hard thinking about that! It had been a long time since I was even allowed to be in close proximity to a male, and heaven forbid without a COMPANION! So it was a little awkward. But I remember him being so nice about me being strange. He totally understood all about it.

Then about a week (or so) later, I saw him in a correlation meeting at our singles ward. I remember him having such an air of authority, but not in a staunchy overbearing way. It was like he knew what was going on all the time, and he was totally on top of things. He and I actually had a few callings that required working together, so we ultimately became fast friends. But 'friends' was about it for me. I was so CLUELESS!! I mean, really bad. He even told me one day "Sarah, you need to find me a girlfriend". So what did I do? I pulled out a ward list and went down the entire thing! But I skipped my name because I was waiting for the 'other' Brian. Seriously, I completely missed the boat on that one! I had to go back to flirting 1.0, I was honestly so hopeless! But thankfully, Heavenly Father knew what He was doing. At around the same time, Bryan was called to be Elder's Quorom President, and I was called to be the Relief Society President. It being a Single's ward, we spent countles hours together, planning events and getting less-active members excited about the gospel again, visiting/home teaching friendly competitions, FHE reminders, and everything else imaginable. That being said, we spent quite a bit of time together in a non-romantic way. That was really neat, because I got to see him in life situations without being "blinded by love". And he was really cool.

Meanwhile in my dating life, I was dutifully waiting for the 'other' Brian, while guys kept knocking on my door. I would tell them thanks, but not interested. Until one person actually DID interest me. So because of that guy, I ended my FOUR YEAR relationship with the 'other' Brian, and started dating - let's call him - the Air Force dude. Hmmm... how should I explain that phase of my life? I was lonely for companionship, I guess you could say. I knew that ultimately, much to his and my own dismay, I would not end up with the 'other' Brian. The mission had changed us both too dramatically to start again where we had left off. I wasn't even looking, and AF dude (whom I had known for several years, and had actually casually dated previously) pops into my view. And that was that.

Anyway, after re-establishing what I was really looking for in a potential mate, all of AF dude's greatest qualities were NOT what I was truly interested in. It took a car accident, many sleepless prayer-filled nights, and a stint with nasty mono to realize this. The relationship did not end well (both with the 'other' Brian, and with the Air Force dude. I'm grateful for simple miracles). So, what did I do? Tell Bryan all about it, of course! He already knew all about the 'other' Brian, so what did I have to lose? Not only that, but my thinking was that he could be my inside guy, telling me what stuff meant from 'enemy lines'. I'm sure that must have been really hard for him, but like I said, I was one clueless airhead. :) He never let on that he was even interested in me. He was just biding his time until I got all the crazies out of my system.

So after Air Force dude was officially over and done with, I got a random call from...

TO BE CONTINUED