A Hack

This is Jake.  Jordan is asleep.  She is rightfully exhausted, as she has literally worn herself out serving our family.  So I hacked her blog to give her audience further confirmation of how wonderful she is and how grateful I am for her.

Long before I met her I made a mental list of all the things I wanted in a wife.  Here's what I can remember of the list:

- Smart;
- Ambitious;
- Strong in the faith;
- Good with people/has lots of friends;
- Athletic and appreciates sports;
- Physically attractive;
- Strong believer in family and good with kids;
- Good with money/not overly materialistic; and
- Someone who inspires me to be a better person.

I got to know Jordan in fall 2001 in Washington, DC where we were interns in BYU's Washington Seminar program.  The better I got to know her, each item on the list got checked off.  What follows is a chronological account of how each item on the list got checked off:

All it took was one look at her in her running outfit when she stopped by my apartment to say hi to me and my roommates to get the ball rolling.  Physically attractive? Check. Athletic? Check.  I knew she was ambitious because she was the student leader for the interns that semester.  I also found out that she was on scholarship, had a much higher ACT score than me, loved learning, and laughed at my smart [aleck] jokes.  Smart? Check.  On our outings she was always careful with her money. (I didn't know her dad at the time, and now I know where she learned to be judicious with her cash).  She also had one nice, smart jacket that she wore every day. Good with money/not too materialistic? Check.  Also, the way she talked so glowingly about her parents, brothers and sister made it obvious that family was very important to her.  When Jordan's sister Claire came to visit, I could see the excitement overcome her because she could experience DC and New York with her sister.  Strong believer in family? Check.  She also talked a good game about how important BYU football was to her and her family, although she didn't stay until the bitter end of all the games.  She even arranged for us to go to one of her friend's house for a game that I couldn't get at my my apartment.  Appreciates sports? Check.

I also remember wanting to be so good, among other things, to impress her.  I went to a Sunday night fireside at the church instead of watching the World Series.  I opted out of an intimate Sunday night John Mayer concert at the 9:30 Club, which was right as he was starting to break it big.  (I later briefly regretted that act of righteousness when I learned about the Amy Grant concert--a story for another day.)  Throughout those months in DC, I found myself wanting to be better to be worthy of her.  Someone who inspires me to be a better person? Check.

I was  disappointed when I learned that she had decided to go on a mission after the Washington Seminar was over.  I knew she would be great, but I was hoping that I would have the chance to woo her.  We kept in touch casually through letters during the 18 months that she was gone.  Over that time, my feelings gradually faded.  When she got back, I went to an open house the Saturday before she gave her report in church.  I gave her a hug, and all the feelings came rushing back with a vengeance.  The next day, as she gave her talk, I don't know if it was the Spirit or manly hormones flooding my body, but I was overwhelmed with the feeling that I needed to make a move.

One thing led to another and 10 months later we were sealed for time and all eternity in the temple.  It was a beautiful spring day almost 10 years ago.  At that time, the one thing I hadn't checked off the list was "good with kids."  I felt like I knew her well enough that it wasn't a worry for me because I saw her mom in action.  I saw that she had been trained by an expert mom, one of the best.  It didn't take long after we were married for her expertise in children to manifest itself.  We were asked to team teach a class of five-year olds in our first church.  She was so sweet and so kind with the children.  The kids absolutely loved her.  There was one cute, blonde painfully shy girl whose mom told us that Jordan was the only reason that she would go to class.  She would go sit by Jordan the whole time she was there.

I hope Jordan doesn't mind me saying this, but I've already hacked her blog so she has no choice.  When we were first married she was a little skeptical about having children.  She was on scholarship in a Master's program, and children weren't in her immediate plan.  After a very powerful spiritual experience when we had been married about a year, she reset our course.  Watching Jordan love, nurture, instill confidence, teach, discipline, guide, and train our children over the past eight years has been one of God's greatest mercies in my life.  Words simply cannot do justice to the beauty of a mother's sacrifice and true love of her children.  That said, Jordan's gift with children goes beyond ours.  Kids of all ages are drawn to her and  love her.  Of her many gifts, this one might be the most important because she is affecting generations to come.

Jordan has many other qualities, talents and abilities that have emerged beyond my "list," surpassing my hopes and expectations.  It hasn't always been rose petals for us.  We've had to learn to live together, but at the end of the day, I feel beyond fortunate to have found such a wonderful companion, lover, help meet, and best friend.

Jordan, sorry if this embarrasses you, but you had it coming.  You've taken such good care of me and done so much for me.  Love you.

PS, loyal readers, feel free to give an amen in the comments section if you're so inclined.  She already embarrassed me by soliciting comments about me when I was in surgery.