Our love story began in the summer of 1991 in Franklin, VA. I would often stop by to help assist my mom when needed at First Baptist, Sesame Street Day Care Center. It was then that I met Derek.
Derek was a soldier that had just returned from The Gulf War and was home visiting family. On this particular day, the Center was giving the children an Easter Celebration. One of the children's mother was very interested in meeting Derek and inquired whether or not he was married. I graciously stated that I would ask, even though I already knew he wasn’t.
I approached Derek to ask about a significant other, it was then that he slid a band from off of his finger….by the way, he has never been married but I guess that’s the way he conveyed that he didn’t want any commitments…. Derek looked at the single mother and rubbed his head. He was not at all interested. He made it very clear that he didn’t have much time and would be soon returning to his duty station in El Paso, TX.
Thinking back to that time, Derek and I often joke about how I tried to introduce him to another woman.
One day while thinking of his comments, I decided to give Derek a call. What began as a casual conversation soon turned into a whirlwind romance.
We talked over the phone for over an hour and exchanged numbers. It’s amazing how communicating over thousands of miles seemed like we were right next door. We would call several times a day just to hear each other’s voice. Derek proposed after two weeks spill of phone conversations. We had never held hands nor kissed. We continued to chit-chat over the phone for two more weeks.
Derek decided to come back to VA for his younger brother’s high school graduation. We still debate whether or not this was our first date, this was the very first time we were together. It was six days later that he officially asked my parents for my hand in marriage and a week later, we were married!
Now, 30 years later, we are living the best days of our lives and it is definitely "A Happily Ever After…..