How It Started...

From Sadee's perspective 

It all began on December 10th, 2024. Johnathan was sick, and I just happened to find out in the most roundabout way. The night before, I was at our ward’s Family Home Evening activity, ice skating, when I ran into one of his roommates. He mentioned he was running late because he’d just given his roommate a blessing. Naturally, I asked, “Oh, which roommate?” He replied, “Johnathan. But don’t say anything.”

Well… if you know me, gift giving is my love language, so even though I barely knew him, I showed up the very next night with a little care package. 

Flashback time:

I actually remembered seeing Johnathan long before this moment. It was in a meeting after church with the Bishop, Relief Society, and Elders Quorum. He was the E.Q. secretary, and I was in the R.S. presidency. I distinctly remember him sitting against the wall, talking about how he was heading home for the summer to work on the ranch where he grew up. Immediately, I thought, hardworking cowboy vibes. He also casually mentioned what they farmed, and for some reason, I filed that information away like it might matter someday. (Spoiler: it did.)

Fast forward to January 5, 2024. I was sitting in Sunday School with zero intention of developing a crush on anyone in the ward. (In fact, I was so confident I wouldn’t be crushing on anyone that I  made a $250 bet with my boss two weeks prior that I would be single by the end of 2025. Oops.) But that’s when the teacher started splitting us into groups. Johnathan was sitting right behind me, and the girls next to me didn’t want to join in. So, I made friends with him and maybe, just maybe, flirted a little.

Before I knew it, class was over. I turned around and cheerfully asked, “Johnathan! How have you been doing?” I think I caught him off guard, but soon we were chatting away. I even picked up my chair and turned it around so I could face him better. We talked straight through until the next ward started coming in for Sunday School. We eventually carried our conversation into the hallway, where people kept interrupting us. He waited so patiently while I spoke with a few people, then finally said, “I’ve got to go, but it was good talking to you.” Without missing a beat, I told him, “We need to finish our conversation!” And just like that, I knew I wanted to talk to him again. 

After that, I started inviting him and his roommates over. Movie nights became our thing. But here’s the funny part: I started getting so frustrated with him. We were hanging out all the time, but he wasn’t making a move. Not even asking me out! One night, I went to bed completely defeated, deciding, Fine. I’m done. He clearly isn’t interested.

The very next morning, I woke up to a text from Johnathan: “Hey! Would you want to go on a date?”

And that’s how it all started.