How I Came to be a Wichitan...

Johnie and I had discussed many details about the future of our relationship before that fateful weekend in September.  Despite what my ex-boyfriends might say about me, I was very willing to find workable compromises.  Of course there was the issue of where to live and when to get married.  Johnie would have liked to marry me Labor Day weekend 2006.  I didn't mind waiting.  We were both pretty open about where to live.  I loved Kentucky, but was willing to uproot, and Johnie wasn't attached to Kansas but was reluctant to give up his job. 

I was open to moving to Kansas, but a priority for me was finishing my degree.  I felt honored to be able to study at the University of Kentucky with a teaching assistantship, and two years of work seemed very doable to me after the four years I had just finished.  I could have even taken summer classes and finished the work by December 2007.  I suggested we plan the wedding for after my graduation and then we could live in Kansas.  That would give us plenty of time to work out all the details.  Of the wedding, of the move, and of our relationship.

Turns out Johnie was much more concerned with our wedding date than his residence or his place of employment.  He wanted to marry me much sooner than December 2007. 

Our compromise was to marry before I finished my degree, but to make our home in Kentucky to allow me to finish my studies.  My mother likes to remind me often of our original plan that didn't involve me moving.  But, as is more often the case than not, things didn't go as I had planned. 

Johnie began looking for jobs in Kentucky in late July or early August.  I have to give him credit, he really did try.  He called up local cable companies, and even applied for positions that both of us knew wouldn't make him happy.  There were no job leads.

One morning in October I woke to my phone ringing.  It was Johnie. 

Those of you who know me know that this is a mistake.  It is really best to never call me during my potential sleeping hours, 10 pm to 10 am, just to be on the safe side.  I have reduced people to tears for such an offense.  I gave him grief about waking me up, but he apologized saying he forgot I was able to sleep in, blah, blah, blah... 

Those of you who know me also know that it takes me a few minutes to fully wake up. 

In my half-sleeping state, Johnie told me he had something to talk to me about.  I asked if it could wait.  It couldn't.  He proceeded to tell me that his boss felt Johnie was ready to be promoted to a senior level technician.  Johnie was excited about this, but didn't see a need in applying if he was just going to leave the company in a couple months. 

So, he asked me, "If I apply for the job and get it, can we live in Kansas?"

I blame my lack of judgment for not being fully awake.  There was a part of me that assumed Johnie wouldn't get the job anyway.  He had been on probation earlier that year for a low performance review.  He had worn me down over months of talking up Cox and not being able to find any employment at all in Kentucky. 

If he were to get the promotion, it would make his good job even better.  And, we were starting to consider what it would be like to begin our marriage only on the earnings I made in my part time job and as a teaching assistant.  Those meager wages would have provided for our basics, but it wouldn't have been ideal.  Plus, I had wanted a husband who was a provider. 

Not fully understanding the ramifications of what I was about to say, I agreed.  And so, a seemingly little, seemingly meaningless, gesture went on to change my life forever.

You all already know the end.  Johnie did receive the promotion and several more to follow, and we made our home in Kansas. 

I did try to renegotiate our wedding date, but Johnie wasn't thrilled with the idea.  He won me over by pointing out the opportunities I would have in Kansas to finish my degree. 

I didn't realize then just how hard it would be to live so far from my home, nor how attached I was to it.  I didn't realize then that I took a lot of things for granted about my home and my friends there. 

But, Johnie and I decided to begin making our life in the flatlands.  God has blessed our efforts far more than we imagined or could take credit for on our own. 

While I still miss Kentucky, and my people there, I do not regret the decision to move.  I have met and developed relationships with some amazing people, been afforded wonderful opportunities, and grown up more than I even knew I needed to.