An Ending to the Charmer's Story

2/16/2019 The Charmer 0 Comments



Well, my dearest readers, it certainly has been a while. A long while. In fact, I checked and I haven't posted on this blog in over two years...and my last post was about using Tinder.

Like I said, it has been a while.

I don't know how many people (if any) still frequent this blog. Probably very few. However, I didn't like the fact that I left you without any ending to my story. So, for those who might still peruse these pages, curious about whatever happened to the former Austens, I decided I'd come back once more to give you an ending to the Charmer's ever entertaining and dramatic love life.

And the ending is this: Tomorrow is my 9-month anniversary of being married to the one man on earth who is an utterly perfect match for me.


Yes, the never-ending stream of suitors and awkward first dates finally came to an end! The Charmer was finally wooed and won over and she couldn't be happier that things turned out the way they did.

It's amusing to think back to my time on this blog, when I'd give advice and share tales of all the men persistently chasing me. Even though everything was 100% true, I think I would laugh at many of the things I wrote because I (incorrectly) thought I was such an expert on dating and relationships. I'm sure I would cringe at the things I shared about past boyfriends and flings. I enjoyed the chase. I enjoyed the drama. I definitely enjoyed the free meals. But I don't think I ever realized what it meant to be completely emotionally open, vulnerable, and 100% myself in a relationship until I met the man who would become my husband.

I say "met". I should say "finally collided with." Because, ironically, he & I crossed paths probably a dozen times before we finally went on a date. Even when I was writing on this blog back in 2012, complaining about my terrible on-again-off-again relationship with Mr. Director, the man I would marry was metaphorically bumping into me. He attended the play I was in at BYU where Mr. Director earned his moniker. My future husband was with me as an EFY counselor in Tacoma, WA right before I received my mission call. I snuck his best friend into my high school's prom. Our dads served their missions together. WE ARE FROM THE SAME CITY and I am convinced that we danced together at a stake dance (although he is also convinced that we did not because "he would remember me"). And for those of you who doubt that dating apps work, well, that's actually what finally brought us together--good old Mutual, the LDS dating app.

But I guess it's not really the process that matters so much. Probably the most important thing I learned was that when the timing was finally right, it happened. We collided. I went through years of heartbreak and subpar relationships, wondering if maybe I was the sort of person who wasn't cut out to be married, wondering if there was actually a man out there for me...and hilariously, I'd probably danced with him in a church gym when I was 14.

But there were so many things that had to fall into place before it was right. I remember praying in my younger years that God would make it "obvious" when I finally crossed paths with the man I was meant to marry, hoping for some kind of big revelatory reveal. But that's not how He works...and thank goodness! If I had received some incredible revelation during those weeks of EFY in 2012 that the counselor playing soccer with me was my future husband, what would that have done for me? Absolutely nothing! I was fretting over Mr. Director and getting ready to go on a mission. My future hubs was engaged to someone else. We both had a long way to go before we were ready for each other.

But we eventually got there. And I've discovered that the old cliche is true: there really is nothing as wonderful as being married to your best friend. Sure, marriage is sometimes frustrating and challenging, but it is also so much more fun and rewarding than I'd ever imagined.

There's so much I could say about him but I won't overdo it. Thank you, readers, for letting me share my journey with you. If I'm not mistaken, it's been almost 9 years since I first penned a post on this blog. Thank you for giving me an outlet to vent, to laugh, to share, and to finally find my way into a perfectly wonderful romance. I wish each of you the best of luck on your own love-filled journeys.

With deepest sentiments,
--The Charmer

(PS- One last thing you might enjoy. My record for dates in one week was 15. His is 17. We are so perfectly matched it borders on being ridiculous)

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