Beginnings and Sunsets

So... I heard that a lot of great blogs' first post begins with "So...". Actually, that's not true in either regard; this isn't the first post on this blog, and I don't know if that's true. But, it's the only thing I think of writing for a while after sitting down and thinking about what to write, so that's what I put. And this is my first blog post ever.

Btw, this is Kyle.

Jess is to thank for that acronym entering my vocabulary. She is also responsible for "totes", "presh", "holy moses!", ":*" (although I did invent the slightly more used ":*+*+*+*+*+*"), "kthanksbye", and a host of other vocabulary, both verbal and typed. I just realized as I wrote that, that my word choice has been unalterably changed forever.

Which hints at what I wanted to write about here.

I realize that this blog is about us. But seeings as how this blog used to be dedicated to her life, a lot got written about me. So I wanted to take a moment and write about the Love of my life (yes, that's a capital "L"). I don't think there are words to truly describe how I feel about Jess. I remember the first time that I saw her, in our chemistry class. It was my first BYU class, my first college class after my mission, and of course I was checking out my options in all my courses. The selection wasn't as awesome as I remembered it, and I was thinking I was maybe going to have to make some lifestyle changes in order to meet a few more "friends" I'd be willing to go out with (yes, ladies, if there is a single guy in your sewing class, I'd bet he's not there because he actually enjoys sewing).

Then I got assigned a chemistry partner and my life changed forever.

Our friendship was not a love at first sight thing. Yes, I'd seen Jess in my class, but that didn't mean that she was aware of me. In fact, unless she was uncannily good at hiding it she had no idea I was in there, not with all the other guys available in that class. I was an RRM ("recently" returned missionary) and my brief experiences with the ladies since my mission had led me to believe that as soon as they discovered the extra "R" in my title, my future in their life had a big "X" put on it. Luckily for me, this had jaded me somewhat from being so much an eager beaver in my dating life, and allowed Jess and I to become good friends before either of us even considered dating the other.

Allow me to digress to make a point. I like sunsets. But when I was little, sunsets had no appeal to me. I didn't see what the fuss was about--they weren't that pretty, not compared to other stuff. But over time, I began to appreciate a truly beautiful sunset when I saw one. I began to see why so many were in awe of the way the colors combined and swirled. They weren't just reds, oranges and yellows; they were scarlets and crimsons, tangerines and peaches, dandylions and marigolds. It wasn't that the sunsets changed, just my perspective. I remember well the day that I spent 45 minutes photographing a sunset on a campout in my socks in the snow while the rest of the scouts ran around throwing snowballs and riding ATV's. Obviously my perspective profoundly changed. But it was a gradual change. 

So it was with Jess. When we met, neither one of us had anything on our mind except for getting done with our lab assignments as quickly as possible so that we could run off and finish whatever else we had going on in our lives. Little by little however, I began to see so much more that just a pretty girl. I started to see a woman with many sides to her--an intellectual, a pianist, a homemaker, an interior designer, a medical doctor, a clown, a dreamer, a realist, a disciple, a mother. So many other hues than what first met my eye. She is now everything I have ever dreamed of in a woman, and she's my wife. I love her more than I thought I ever could, just like the little boy who never thought he could find the beauty of a sunset. I love her with all my heart. I never thought I could love this way. And I'm as I grow older, I will appreciate still more sides of her. Most of all, I love the way that she has given me eyes to see still more sides of my own life, and love in ways I never knew I could. As I reflect on our beginning, I realize that if it is any indicator of things to come, our relationship will certainly continue to color our lives and bring more joy to the both of us than what we possibly could ever have imagined.

Thanks Jess. Love you.

--Jessica and Kyle Tuft--

December 20, 2011