Text Messages from the Past

Yep, that's how it feels to get a text!

I am the kind of person who can't bring myself to delete anything. Yes, you read that right - delete. I usually end up saving my papers in at least three different documents so I don't lose any of my original quotes or outlines. I frequently go through old emails to read about and remember different phases of my life. As for text messages, though I delete as many of them as I can in order to preserve space to receive more messages, as of right now I have 126 messages that I can't bring myself to delete, for nostalgic/personal/emotional/girly reasons. All of them are from Matthew, and each one reminds me of a feeling or a moment in my life which I want to remember. If there were an easy way to conserve my text messages, I would do it in an instant. But at least there is a way - writing them down here!

And here follows 10 early text messages from Matthew that I saved, with appropriate following commentary (unintentional spelling errors have been corrected, because, yo, I'm an editor):

1.  Testing 1, 2, .......... Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3. If you can hear this, yell my name... And then message me cus I probably won't hear you yell. -matthew-

Sent: 11:15:23 pm, 9/17/2012

This was the first text message Matthew ever sent me. And the first text message I got from a boy that I liked and was cute and actually responded when I gave him my phone number. I think I knew from the very beginning that we had something special together. I am surprised in retrospect that this text was sent so late - but then, what girl wouldn't be excited out of all reason to get a text so late!!??? I loved knowing that he was thinking of me, and that he was manning up and being the first to MAKE A MOVE. If I remember right, I actually didn't find this text message until a week later (this was back in the days when I never used my phone), and he had to ask me if I had gotten it when we saw each other at church. After that, I became a regular and faithful cell-phone carrier/text message-er (I had probably sent under 10 text messages in my whole life before this, and could barely write a sentence). I owe it all to my hon!

2. Hey! I would just like to say that you're gorgeous! When you smile, it is as if the sun shines from your countenance (cheeziness totally unintended... but I am being serious).

Sent: 10:25:00 pm, 9/26/2010

This was a few days after our first date/weekend together, but it was still a little out of the blue to have a guy be so complimentary - before Matt, I don't think a guy had ever really told me up front (and yes, I'm calling sending a text message "up front") that I was pretty. By the way, WHY DON'T MORE GUYS DO THIS? Do they KNOW how much they would go up in a girl's estimation? I'm pretty sure I blushed or shrieked in delight or something. And then I showed it to Sarah, so we could giggle and squeal together for the next hour. I let him know right away that he got MAJOR points for this text message the next time I saw him again.

3. Either I never heard you sing by yourself before or you're in a bigger choir. But I heard you sing tonight and it was beautiful, just like you. Thank you. :)

Sent: 11:16:36 pm, 9/30/2010

This was sent after I had Matthew over for our family home evening on a Sunday night. We always sing a hymn or a primary song in my family before we have a lesson, and though I don't consider myself a really super singer or anything (in contrast to Matthew, who actually IS a super singer), I really appreciated that he complimented rather than criticized, and also found a way to call me beautiful again. Seriously, guys, call a girl beautiful. Do it!

4. Hey I hope you don't mind, but I've said you're my girlfriend to the entire world thru Facebook. So I guess we're official.

Sent: 12:57:11 pm, 10/4/2010

Obviously an important marker of our relationship officially being declared. And I was so tickled that he changed it first! To be honest, I hadn't been much of a Facebook user before Matthew, either (that changed pretty quick, ha ha), and I hadn't been stressing or worrying about the change at all (I mean, our first date hadn't even been a month ago at this point), but I still recognized that being "in a relationship" was, well, awesome. And it let me know that he was really serious about me. Which I liked.

5. I like your hair, and how it feels when you lay your head on my shoulder.

Sent: 5:38:01 pm, 10/5/2010

If you are gagging at this point, feel free not to keep reading. I mean, not everyone likes to coo over displays of cuteness made public, and that's fine. This text was in response to some exchange wherein we were talking about things we liked about the other person, and for some reason this one just struck me as superduper cute. Also, I have always wanted to lay my head on a guy's shoulder. Like, since I was 14. So there's that bit of evidence that I'll have to say to my 14-year-old self if I ever meet her again.

6. I love that you love your God. You show that in how you fulfill your callings, and I hope that you will always be able to choose him over me.

Sent: 4:50:00 pm, 10/6/2010

Sweet, sweet guy.

7. All joking aside, you know I would never do anything to hurt you. I would sooner cut off my right arm.

Sent: 5:26:56 pm, 10/12/2010

I can't remember what we were joking about, but I love this text. To me it said he wanted to protect and take care of me and treat me the way I deserved, and seriously, that just melted my heart. It still does.

8. Oh good. That will give me a chance sometime later on to buy you ice cream, calm you down and assure you that you did just fine. :D

Sent: 4:37:14 pm, 10/20/2010

This was right after I took the GRE. I wasn't sure how well I'd done, and I was pretty nervous about the whole ordeal, but it was a relief to know that I had Matthew (and ice cream!) waiting for me that evening.

9. I'm plenty manly and you know it.

Sent: 10:57:07 pm, 10/26/2010

This was sent after a flurry of teasing texts which involved my calling him out on his love for musicals, fashion, shopping for clothes, cooking/baking (all of which, by the way, I have now come to terms with as perfectly natural and humanly activities) and his distaste for or lack of interest in sports. One of the things I love about Matthew is how we can tease and banter with each other nonstop and still be crazy in love.

10. Ahhhhh, I love you. And I will never say it again, so listen closely: I kinda like it when you mess with me.

Sent: 9:50:22 pm, 11/4/2010

Lest you get the wrong idea, "messing" with Matthew at this point included a lot of teasing, fake-pouting, and general silliness. But I always wanted to marry someone I could goof off with, and just enjoy being whoever I felt like being at the moment with. He has proven to me time and time again that he is the perfect match for me and that he will love me no matter what mood I'm in.

Sorry if that was a little too sugary for y'all. Congratulations if you made it to the end!