Zach McAllister. I first heard of Zach a few weeks ago when Hannah called me. She let me talk about my life for a good 20 minutes before telling me that she had something to tell me. Actually, she had something to tell me about someone. Three weeks prior, she had gone on a date with a boy that she had met over Mutual, the LDS dating app. Hannah's friend, Jill, had come over and wanted to see how the app worked (she already has a boyfriend), and since Hannah has an account (but didn't have the app on her phone at the time), they downloaded the app again and started "playing". Yes, that's what Hannah says it is--more of a game than anything. I guess they swiped on a few boys that they thought were attractive...and one of them happened to be Zach.
For Hannah, height is the first qualifier. If he's short, he's out. Zach is 6'3". And she saw he was from Michigan and thought that could be fun. Shortly after "matching", she got a message from him.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Donut.
Donut who?
Donut you want to go on a date with me?
From what Hannah told me, she didn't think much of him either way on the first date. He was good. He was so nice. Yeah.
Zach has since told me what he thought on the first date, and it was starkly different from Hannah's feelings.
He showed up at her door, and he couldn't believe what she looked like when she opened the door. As he put it, her pictures on Mutual didn't do her justice. And because of that, he all of sudden got really nervous!
He took her to In-N-Out for a burger which of course he had no way of knowing was the very wrong choice. We have actually conducted a Kennedy taste test of In-N-Out burgers versus Five Guys, and there was seriously no comparison. And we openly mock those people who wait in the long drive-thru line for one.
As he tells the story, he didn't have time before the date to get gas in his car, but he actually figured out how many miles he had to drive and knew he would be okay....except for the long drive-thru line that started to chew through his gas. So after getting their burgers, he pulled over into the gas station next door to fill up the tank. As a point of habit, Zach always checks his oil level when he fills up his tank....but this time, with Johannah in the car and watching, he couldn't get the hood of his car open! He says he was so embarrassed that this beautiful girl was sitting in his car, and he looked like a goof. Hannah says that she turned her head to the side and looked out the window so he wouldn't feel so much pressure ;-)
Anyway, he got a second date a week later, and by the third date, they held hands. He says that she was so good with her hand all ready to be held so that when he reached for it, there wasn't any question about it.
On the fifth date, there was a perfect moment for him to kiss her on the couch, but he just leaned in and kissed her on the cheek to which she responded, "That's it?"
It was on the sixth date that he finally kissed her.
At some point along the way, he took her stargazing and asked her if they could date each other exclusively, and it was a week later that he told her he loved her. She was relieved to finally hear it, because she had been wanting to say it for the past week.
I asked her to take a selfie with him just so I could see him. I probably played this photo LIVE a million times because it was just too perfect:
And this is the second picture I got. I could've just died:
All of this happened between the middle of May and the second week of June (about three weeks?). In a strange turn of events, my one child who basically never leaves Provo or school had a week-long trip planned to Alaska with her brother followed by three weeks at home. OF ALL TIMES!
I could sense that Hannah was worried about missing Zach, so I did what we Kennedys always do: I flew him home to be with her. Yes, Zach came and spent a day and a half with us, and a day and a half with his family over on the western side of Michigan. I figured it would be good to meet him, and it would be nice for his family to meet Hannie. He showed up at our house with yellow roses for me--a definite sweet thing for him to do! And he didn't leave without writing out a thank you note. I mean, where did this kid come from??
It was fun to see pictures of all the places he took her on his side of the state--places that mean something to him.
When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me
Man, he was a good sport, playing all of the traditional Kennedy board games (and man, he's smart as well), and keeping up with the competitive Kennedy swimmers. We found him smiley, and happy, and positive, and intelligent, and confident, and completely wonderful. And this wasn't the only time Hannah spent with him--it was at least two hours on FaceTime every night. In fact, when Hannah finally went back to school, I missed hearing his happy voice emanating from upstairs.
Throughout July and most of August, I heard the cutest stories about him from Hannah. Things he did to tell her he loves her, and things he did to show her he loves her. I worry about her sometimes because I know she is extremely sleep-deprived, staying up late with him but still getting up at 4:45 for her work shift, but love doesn't care, am I right? She sends me pictures occasionally of him doing different things, and I can tell she just full-out loves him.
And you know what I love seeing? Hannah is 100% ALL IN. As she told me, he's reaping the love that she's had stored up for a man for the past six years of being an adult. She has wanted to love a man like this for so long, and he's getting all of that love...and MORE! All those suckers who ignored her or treated her badly? Yeah, who's laughing (and kissing) now???
So this past week, while helping the girls move, I got to spend more time with Zach. It's difficult not to put all of my eggs in one basket and assume he'll be part of our family one day, because if I've learned nothing else through the love lives of my boys, things don't always stick, but it's difficult to imagine that she could ever find anyone better than him.
And things are always more complicated than they need to be. Hannah is moving on with life. She graduates in four months, and she's applying to PA schools. She can't sit around waiting for him to decide if he wants to marry her or not, because if he decides he doesn't want to, she'll have lost valuable time in moving forward with her life (let's not think about Mark spending a summer in Utah, wasting his life for Nikki), but at the same time, Hannah is of the mindset that compromise is key to marriage.
I was sitting in the pool with Hannah when she was here in June, and I remember her telling me that when she finds her man, she will be the one to follow him. Her goals will be secondary to his. I was so proud of her in that moment, because it takes a huge amount of security to say and think that, and I think it's a necessary component to a successful and selfless marriage.
So with that in mind, she wants to support him in his career plan, but until things are set in stone, she needs to keep moving on with hers.
This past week with Hannah and Zach was kinda magical. It was a new experience for me to see my daughter completely and totally in love with a man, and it was the first time I'd seen a man in love with Hannah. They are inseparable when they are together. They laugh constantly. They are sincere when they talk to each other. Hannah lays her head on Zach's lap, and he brushes her hair with his fingers. They take naps together (sitting up, of course), and are like the proverbial peanut butter and jelly.
Hannah is house-sitting for one of her friends, and seeing the two of them in the house (along with Kobe, the cat) gives us all a small glimpse into who they could be together. (He even told Hannah the other night how nice it is to come home to her <3)
I've told my kids before, and it comes around again and again, but I love whom they love. It already feels like Zach is part of our family, and we welcome him sincerely with open arms. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that he gets a move on and puts a ring on it already ;-)
For Hannah, height is the first qualifier. If he's short, he's out. Zach is 6'3". And she saw he was from Michigan and thought that could be fun. Shortly after "matching", she got a message from him.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Donut.
Donut who?
Donut you want to go on a date with me?
From what Hannah told me, she didn't think much of him either way on the first date. He was good. He was so nice. Yeah.
Zach has since told me what he thought on the first date, and it was starkly different from Hannah's feelings.
He showed up at her door, and he couldn't believe what she looked like when she opened the door. As he put it, her pictures on Mutual didn't do her justice. And because of that, he all of sudden got really nervous!
He took her to In-N-Out for a burger which of course he had no way of knowing was the very wrong choice. We have actually conducted a Kennedy taste test of In-N-Out burgers versus Five Guys, and there was seriously no comparison. And we openly mock those people who wait in the long drive-thru line for one.
As he tells the story, he didn't have time before the date to get gas in his car, but he actually figured out how many miles he had to drive and knew he would be okay....except for the long drive-thru line that started to chew through his gas. So after getting their burgers, he pulled over into the gas station next door to fill up the tank. As a point of habit, Zach always checks his oil level when he fills up his tank....but this time, with Johannah in the car and watching, he couldn't get the hood of his car open! He says he was so embarrassed that this beautiful girl was sitting in his car, and he looked like a goof. Hannah says that she turned her head to the side and looked out the window so he wouldn't feel so much pressure ;-)
Anyway, he got a second date a week later, and by the third date, they held hands. He says that she was so good with her hand all ready to be held so that when he reached for it, there wasn't any question about it.
On the fifth date, there was a perfect moment for him to kiss her on the couch, but he just leaned in and kissed her on the cheek to which she responded, "That's it?"
It was on the sixth date that he finally kissed her.
At some point along the way, he took her stargazing and asked her if they could date each other exclusively, and it was a week later that he told her he loved her. She was relieved to finally hear it, because she had been wanting to say it for the past week.
I asked her to take a selfie with him just so I could see him. I probably played this photo LIVE a million times because it was just too perfect:
And this is the second picture I got. I could've just died:
All of this happened between the middle of May and the second week of June (about three weeks?). In a strange turn of events, my one child who basically never leaves Provo or school had a week-long trip planned to Alaska with her brother followed by three weeks at home. OF ALL TIMES!
I could sense that Hannah was worried about missing Zach, so I did what we Kennedys always do: I flew him home to be with her. Yes, Zach came and spent a day and a half with us, and a day and a half with his family over on the western side of Michigan. I figured it would be good to meet him, and it would be nice for his family to meet Hannie. He showed up at our house with yellow roses for me--a definite sweet thing for him to do! And he didn't leave without writing out a thank you note. I mean, where did this kid come from??
It was fun to see pictures of all the places he took her on his side of the state--places that mean something to him.
When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me
Under the lamppost back on Sixth street
Hearing you whisper through the phone,
"Wait for me to come home"
Yeah, Zach found a lamppost on sixth street, and they took this picture:
Man, he was a good sport, playing all of the traditional Kennedy board games (and man, he's smart as well), and keeping up with the competitive Kennedy swimmers. We found him smiley, and happy, and positive, and intelligent, and confident, and completely wonderful. And this wasn't the only time Hannah spent with him--it was at least two hours on FaceTime every night. In fact, when Hannah finally went back to school, I missed hearing his happy voice emanating from upstairs. |
| Eating chocolate and learning Camel Cup. I think this might be the ONE time he and Hannah weren't connected at the hip....although they ARE still touching arms ;-) |
Throughout July and most of August, I heard the cutest stories about him from Hannah. Things he did to tell her he loves her, and things he did to show her he loves her. I worry about her sometimes because I know she is extremely sleep-deprived, staying up late with him but still getting up at 4:45 for her work shift, but love doesn't care, am I right? She sends me pictures occasionally of him doing different things, and I can tell she just full-out loves him.
And you know what I love seeing? Hannah is 100% ALL IN. As she told me, he's reaping the love that she's had stored up for a man for the past six years of being an adult. She has wanted to love a man like this for so long, and he's getting all of that love...and MORE! All those suckers who ignored her or treated her badly? Yeah, who's laughing (and kissing) now???
So this past week, while helping the girls move, I got to spend more time with Zach. It's difficult not to put all of my eggs in one basket and assume he'll be part of our family one day, because if I've learned nothing else through the love lives of my boys, things don't always stick, but it's difficult to imagine that she could ever find anyone better than him.
And things are always more complicated than they need to be. Hannah is moving on with life. She graduates in four months, and she's applying to PA schools. She can't sit around waiting for him to decide if he wants to marry her or not, because if he decides he doesn't want to, she'll have lost valuable time in moving forward with her life (let's not think about Mark spending a summer in Utah, wasting his life for Nikki), but at the same time, Hannah is of the mindset that compromise is key to marriage.
I was sitting in the pool with Hannah when she was here in June, and I remember her telling me that when she finds her man, she will be the one to follow him. Her goals will be secondary to his. I was so proud of her in that moment, because it takes a huge amount of security to say and think that, and I think it's a necessary component to a successful and selfless marriage.
So with that in mind, she wants to support him in his career plan, but until things are set in stone, she needs to keep moving on with hers.This past week with Hannah and Zach was kinda magical. It was a new experience for me to see my daughter completely and totally in love with a man, and it was the first time I'd seen a man in love with Hannah. They are inseparable when they are together. They laugh constantly. They are sincere when they talk to each other. Hannah lays her head on Zach's lap, and he brushes her hair with his fingers. They take naps together (sitting up, of course), and are like the proverbial peanut butter and jelly.
Hannah is house-sitting for one of her friends, and seeing the two of them in the house (along with Kobe, the cat) gives us all a small glimpse into who they could be together. (He even told Hannah the other night how nice it is to come home to her <3)I've told my kids before, and it comes around again and again, but I love whom they love. It already feels like Zach is part of our family, and we welcome him sincerely with open arms. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that he gets a move on and puts a ring on it already ;-)
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