Your Love is Better Than Chocolate

(10 points to whoever can name the singer of this tune…one of my favorite songs of all time.)

I just had a “Whatchamacallit” candy bar. It seems rather an odd sort of craving, doesn’t it? I can’t tell you the last time I had one, or even if I’ve ever had the distinct inclination to buy one. I don’t think it’s ever happened. But there was a reason for it today, and it seems kind of strange, but I thought I’d share it with you anyway. You see, the “Whatchamacallit” is the favorite candy bar of Alex Murphy. Some of you may know who Alex is, others may not. Alex is the grown up daughter of my visiting teacher and friend, Teresa. And she is so cute, and spunky, and makes me laugh almost every time I talk to her, or Teresa tells me stories about her. She was our ward chorister for a long time before she went off to BYU-Idaho and I always loved watching her lead the music, mostly because I was always interested to see what daring outfit she had chosen for the day. (Did I mention she is really spunky?) She is always full of color and light. (I kind of half designated Alex as a girl that if given the opportunity, I might arrange a date with my equally darling and spunky nephew, Collin. Alas, he is on a mission for two years and kind of out-of-the-dating-scene.) Well. Like I already mentioned Alex went off to BYU-Idaho in January of this past year. It was her first semester of college and her first time flying the coop. She had a great time, and while she was there…mere weeks, or maybe months after getting there, she did what many young Mormon girls do when offered a plentiful smorgasbord of RM’s to date…she got engaged! And her wedding is set for December of this year. Whewee, right? I think Teresa is slowly coming to grips with the fact that her first-born is actually getting married, and is now furiously trying to assist and plan with preparations. And I have to admit, I’m quite fascinated with the whole thing. When I found out that she was engaged, I was thrilled and delighted for her (albeit a little disappointed for my nephew Collin). And I loved hearing the details of how it all played out. Well, my wonderful visiting teacher Teresa graced me with her presence last night, and I got another slice of voyeuristic romance through the latest goings on of the “Alex and Lawson” engagement story. So I hope they don’t kill me for sharing this (I doubt they would), but I couldn’t help but just get all those giddy butterfly-ish feelings when I remembered what “young and engaged love” felt like. Anyway, this is the story:

Apparently when the semester at BYUI ended, they agreed to both go home and work and save lots of money and prepare for their wedding in December. (They said their goodbyes in July…that’s over 5 months of apart-ness.) They had planned a rendezvous at the halfway point…the beginning of October. And pretty much that’s what they’ve been living for ever since. Alex is so smitten. It’s all she can think and talk about. It occupies her every breath, it seems. If you are on Facebook, and she is your friend you will see that Lawson is about every other word and her profile is loaded with sweet love notes and other momentos of his affection for her. It’s so cute, it’s sickening. Anyway, she’s been a trooper to hear her Mom and Dad talk about it. But the thing is, her Mom and Dad are really cool, and hip, and totally in love themselves. And they remember what it was like when they were young and engaged, and how being apart felt like you were dying a slow, tragic death. I guess Alex was having a little talk time with her Daddy a few weeks ago, and trying to put on a brave face. The conversation went something like this, (insert heavy sigh) “oh, Daddy, I miss him soooooo much. I just don’t know if I can go on like this. I love him sooooooo much.” And her Daddy, being her “Daddy” melted, and on the sly, he devised a plan to reunite his love-sick daughter and her far-away prince. He bought a plane ticket and made arrangements with his future son-in-law. He exclaimed to his wife after making the purchase, “I just can’t stand it anymore!” Isn’t that adorable? Then he called Alex’s boss to get the day off work for her. So the whole thing went down yesterday. I guess Alex was at work when Lawson’s plane landed in Detroit, and he was met by Teresa, Darrin, and Lauren. (The little brothers were not told about the plan, because well, they’re little brothers and surely would’ve foiled the whole thing.) They met for the first time and hugged and drove him back to their home. After visiting for awhile, Dad suggested they go do something nice for Alex while they waited for her to get off of work. (She still didn’t know he was there.) Lawson picked up a Whatchamacallit (her favorite) and placed it on her dashboard, along with vacuuming and washing her car. I guess when she got in her car at the end of the day and saw it, she thought of him and how he was the only one who knew it was her favorite and thought, “maybe, just maybe, it was from HIM!!” She drove home and walked through the front door, and her charming young groom-to-be turned from the couch and said, “hi honey!” And Teresa said Alex’s mouth dropped, and her eyes filled up with tears, and she could barely squeak out “what are you doing here?!?” as she charged into his arms. And the whole family giggled and squealed with delight. It was just so stinking sweet.

And it is, isn’t it? Just about the sweetest story you’ve ever heard? Doesn’t it just make you swoon? And long and yearn for the days when you were so young and so in love and so obsessed and hopelessly useless to anybody or anything other than HIM? Being apart was tragic. You needed him to “complete” you. HA! I totally remember the days.

It reminded me of a roommate I had at USU (Cindy Robertson…Diane will remember her). She was engaged and she and her fiancée would hide behind the couch to play their shmoopy love games. They’d crouch down so nobody could see them and sit facing one another, touching and caressing each other’s faces. It was disgusting to me, and I (was not dating or engaged at this time) vowed NEVER to act like that when it was me.

And I didn’t, gosh darnit. I don’t think Mark and I ever sat across from each other and caressed each other’s faces during our engagement. (We were too busy doing other things…ahem!! Just kidding!!) But all those same feelings that I know they must have had that caused them to want to do that…well, I could relate. I wanted to be with him 24/7. We lived in different states (Utah/Idaho), and it was grueling. I remember doing irrational things, saying and writing sappy things on the phone or by email…the whole bit. And her “Whatchamacallit” candy bar reminded me that Mark did the same thing…bought me boxes and boxes of Junior Mints every time he saw me, just because he knew they were my favorite. Awww.

Not like things have changed that dramatically from then (10 years ago this year). I guess it just takes seeing it manifested in somebody so young and fresh to be reminded of it. It’s fun to watch and live vicariously. And remember what it was like. If anything, it’s a good way for us to celebrate our own engagement coming up in a couple weeks. (I’ll write the whole sordid tale later.)

So go buy yourself a Whatchamacallit or some Junior Mints or whatever is your favorite, and remember your own sappy love story today. And if you see Alex and Lawson at Church on Sunday, don’t tell ‘em I told you!!