Rus Wednesday

(You almost thought I was going to miss it, didn't you...)
Winter 2002, MLK Day Weekend.
Rus, boyfriend of less than one month, his cousin Tom and I loaded up in the truck and headed east. It was a three-day weekend, why not go visit/meet Rus's parents? When we got to Albuquerque Rus said, "It's only another thirty minutes now." I was introduced to the mess called the Big I, a really big mess at that time because it was still under construction. I saw the tall downtown buildings and the mall and I'm sure I noticed Target. We drove under the shadow of the Sandia mountains and I learned that Sandia means "watermelon" and at sundown the range catches fire and resembles the deep reds and greens of a watermelon. We drove through the canyon, turned off, and found ourselves on a stretch of two lane highway where Rus promised that the police rarely are out because it's the border of two counties. He drove eighty in a forty-five to prove it, I'm sure. (Cop's kids. Hmph.)
We turned off again on an even narrower road that took us up a sharp hill. "Heartbreak Hill," Rus informed me. A mile away we turned off on a dirt road, and a mile after that we turned again onto his family's property. You know that "you know you're a redneck if?" joke? (If directions to your home include, "now turn off the paved road and...")
Honestly all I remember about that first night is how cold I was - I slept like a frozen frost bitten log. I don't remember greeting his parents or sister or brother, but man, oh man having been a part of his family for years now I'm sure I could tell you verbatim how it all went. Rus did tell me later that everyone was on their best behavior because they didn't want to scare me off.
Now the part you've been waiting for - the good stuff - the dirt - Rus's parents had this saying that they offered readily almost like a greeting - "Back rubs lead to front rubs!" Rus told me about this before we went on the trip, probably while I was giving him a back massage (where no front rubbing was present, I promise), and he was determined to rub my back in his house in front of his parents. I think I even played along just for grins and giggles and so Rus could get the evil-eye-looking-over-the-glasses from his dad. And of course for the massage.
The best part of the trip came when we went to meet Rus's uncle Spencer. Spencer was a big man. Big. He had really poor health stemming from diabetes and was mostly confined to a super-sized electric reclining chair. He was infectiously cheerful and funny and just ten minutes with him made you feel like you were best friends. Actually, ten minutes with him had him introducing me to a member of the stake presidency as "Rus's Fiance." Fiance. Remember the part about dating less than a month?
Visionary, I guess...the man was just knew.
It was after that weekend that I knew I was in big trouble with Rus. He had a seriously terrific family and I might have fallen in love with them first. Sshh...don't tell Rus. Oh never mind, he won't believe you anyways, he says his family is crazy and me loving them (and him) is a sign of an inferior brain...A favorite Rus-ism is "I'm the smart one here, because look who I married and look who she married." Cute, huh.
And now eight and a half years after meeting his family for the first time, I can still say that I am immensely blessed to be a part of such a fun, caring, crazy family!