Once Upon a Time...23 Years Ago

A cheerleader from Aberdeen married a wrestler from Elma.

But their story started a year earlier when the cheerleader caught the eye of the wrestler while they were at a drive-in movie. Mutual friends introduced them and then left them to talk the night away on the tailgate of a pick-up truck. The meeting occurred at the end of their senior year of high school.

The spent all summer spending time together. They went for hikes. They went on picnics. They went to church together and then took naps in the sun spot that was created by the sun shining through the skylight in the wrestler's living room. They went boating and skiing. Basically, if they weren't working, they were together. The cheerleader knew pretty quickly that her previous judgments about this wrestler were all wrong. He was anything but the conceited athlete she thought he was. He was kind and thoughtful. He made her laugh. He could wrap her up in his arms and make her feel safe and loved.

Summer days weren't long enough and soon it was time to say good-bye. The end of August brought the start of the fall semester at BYU and that is where the cheerleader was attending. The wrestler had heard that BYU was a marriage factory and he wasn't sure that he could live without this cheerleader. So one summer day in August as they were sitting on the shore of Flathead Lake, he asked the cheerleader if she would save the ring finger of her left hand for him. The cheerleader said of course.

And that is how the wrestler proposed to the cheerleader.

That school year was tough as they were separated by quite a distance, but they made it through. And before they knew it, it was August again. This time when August ended, they wouldn't have to say good-bye because now they were married.

The years have rolled by. There have been a few college graduations (that cheerleader really liked going to school). There have been a few moves and a couple of homes. Two children have joined the cheerleader and wrestler. And many happy memories have been created.