The Chiara's: Established...

December 23, 2000. Today is our anniversary. Seven years! I thought it only appropriate to share how the Chiara family came to be. A lot of you know the story, but I've never written it down, so for posterity, here goes...

It was April, near finals of my Sophomore year at BYU. A bunch of girls from the softball team went to a friend's house. She introduced us to a group of guys who came over. I remember spotting Joe immediately. He was the quiet guy that stood by the kitchen, far from the middle of every one and everything. He wasn't the shy kind of quiet though, more the confident, cool, James Dean sort of quiet. He wasn't in the thick of things demanding attention from everyone, but he had certainly captured mine. We never spoke and I forgot his name.

About a week later at BYU's Spring Fling we ran into the same group of guys. I remember saying to him that we had met before, but I couldn't remember his name. He told me again, and again I forgot it.

Finally, a few days later the semester was over. We had to stay in Provo for another two weeks to finish out the softball season. We were there for two weeks, with only a 4 hour practice each day and two weekends full of games. Most of the days were filled with lots of time. The first day, the same group of girls decided to go to Salt Lake to see the "Testaments". We met at my friends house where she had asked some guys to join us. I ran inside to get her, and as I was coming in, he was coming out. Crap! What's that guys name again? Joe, my friend reminded me it was Joe. How could I forget?

Finally, after truly meeting him, it took mere seconds for me to know I liked him. He was charming. Good looking. Buff- he had to be as Fight Club champ ;). He was hilarious. We joke now, that really he just has 4 or 5 really really good stories, that he's mastered the telling of and rotates them to win over crowds. We joke about it, but it's true. I've heard those stories so many times, but they make me and everyone laugh every time, so I still think he's hilarious.

He simply blew me away. I had never met someone who captured my attention so quickly and so fully. We were always in a big group, but he could only ever remember my name. If you know Joe, he's terrible with names, so knowing what I know now I am flattered beyond belief. The next day, we all hung out again. This time, he caught my eye and winked at me. Winked for no reason. Just winked at me. My stomach filled with butterflies. He swears he has never winked at anyone ever, just me that one night. How lucky am I? Major points Joe, major points.

The rest of the two weeks were filled with him, every second I wasn't practicing or playing and he wasn't pretending to finish his last Spring class for graduation. Then it was time for me to head back to California for the summer. Ironically, he was coming to California six weeks later to enjoy the rest of the summer with his friends before heading off to medical school in August. To our surprise his friends and I only lived 20 minutes from each other.

I have never experienced time move slower. For six weeks, we talked on the phone for hours and hours. My parents made me pay the phone bill that month and a half. It was outrageous! I really liked him, but I was 19 and he was leaving for St. Louis. I wasn't expecting any of it. During those long phone conversations he told me he had decided to defer going to medical school and put it off a year while he saved money and took a break. He had gone to school, gone on a mission, and then finished school and was just burned out. I believed him, that being sick of school was the reason. Little naive me.

Finally he came to California. I was so anxious to see him. To see what two short weeks of getting to know each other in person, and six long weeks of getting to know each other not in person meant. I knew it would only take a second to know. All I had to do was open the front door and either there was going to be something there, or there wasn't. That made me anxious for weeks before he came. Once that day came, I opened my front door and the butterflies came fluttering back. I knew exactly what that meant.

The rest is pretty much history. We spent the summer falling in love. That's pretty cheesy, but it was just that simple. Perfectly simple. We went back to Provo, were engaged in September and sealed in the San Diego Temple on December 23, 2000.

Obvious to every one but me, I was the reason he deferred medical school. Good thing I didn't know, my little 19 year old self would have headed for the hills. His family planned an intervention before he wrote his letter of deferment to try to get him to still go. I guess they didn't know the real reason and were worried he was never going to go. He just knew, long before I did, that if he left for school, we wouldn't be here together now. I am so grateful that 4 weeks into our "relationship", he was in tune enough to make such a critical decision. He took a leap of faith that changed our lives. That is pretty powerful!

Right now I am happier than I ever thought possible. I married the best guy. I am so blessed and so in love. I still get butterflies when he winks at me. I can't believe it's only been 7 years. It feels like Joe's been in my life all along. We're perfect for each other and I only imagine life getting better and better with each passing year!

I love you Joe, Happy Anniversary!