We had lived in Texas about six months when I heard a handsome, 20-something man, speak in church. He had been asked during a Mormon Sacrament meeting to share his testimony. While I don't remember exactly what he said, I was impressed and a still, small voice in my head shouted, "Melissa! Melissa!"
I knew that my youngest sister, Melissa needed to meet him. She was a beautiful, single, nurse practitioner who I knew was a catch and deserved someone amazing. I hoped this guy was it and felt he could be her match. The only problem was that I did not know his name. It took me a few weeks to find out that his name was Joseph Bassett. His parents were in my ward and he had been away at college, but was home for a visit that week. Since I was relatively new in the ward myself, I barely knew his family, but knew that I liked what I had seen.
For weeks, I wondered exactly how to find out more about this Joseph Bassett and how to get my sister to meet him. Melissa and I traded emails for a few months and I would tell her when he was home for the weekend. I tried to get them together through email, but for some reason, he never got her email address.
Finally, in May of 2008, I had a playgroup at my house. Ironically, the one mother who came knew Joseph's mom, Janet, really well since they served together in the LDS Young Women organization. She gave me his mom's email and phone number. I was so excited, but still a little intimidated since I did not know Janet very well. At the same time Melissa called and said she wanted to come visit in a few weeks.
A few days before Melissa came, I thought about calling Janet and nearly didn't, but again the still, small voice in my head said, "Do it for Melissa." Nervously, I picked up the phone and called Janet Bassett. We connected like old friends both conspiring to do some matchmaking. When Melissa arrived in town, I told her she had a date!
In the mean time, Joseph's dad, Del, went to pick Joseph up from school in College Station, Texas and bring him back home to Houston for a date with Melissa. (I think Joseph's car was in the shop or for some reason not working.) Melissa and Joseph finally met on a blind date the next night when they went to a Houston Astros game. Afterward, Joseph took her home to meet his parents who she connected with right away. My sister was only in town for a weekend, but it was enough time to light a spark between them.
For the next month, they connected any way they could: phone, skype, email, and text message to get to know each other. About the 20th of June, I had a family reunion in Las Vegas, where my parents and other sister lived at the time. After my family's airplane tickets were purchased, my husband, Brandon, got a new job working in a pharmacy, and had training that week. With Brandon unable to go, he opted to give his ticket to Joseph. Now Joseph could be reunited with Melissa and meet the rest of my family!
My family loved Joseph and the rest is history. Melissa and Joseph were married about a year later in May 2009. It just added to my Texas experience to witness their relationship develop from the first spark into an everlasting flame.
No comments:
Post a Comment