I just celebrated 27 wonderful years with hubby, but each year we both say, “But it feels like it’s been only two days!”
We’ve been saying that phrase since year number three. That’s the year that I remarked, “Wow! Three years! It’s doesn’t even seem like it’s been that long!” To which hubby quickly replied with the utmost sincerity, “Yes, it does.”
Imagine my shock. Eyes popping out and mouth dropping open, I (maybe) screeched, “It does?!?”
Hence our favorite phrase on our anniversary is always, “it feels like only two days,” which follows a statement of wonder at how many years have actually passed.
Our love story is a long one, beginning at the first week of 7th grade in Science class. Our teacher was dissecting a cow’s eyeball for the class to observe, but we all were scurrying to get an assignment stapled and turned in to really give her our undivided attention. In all the hubbub of hurried whispers and the rustle of papers, I heard a low male voice ask someone, “What is her name?” and then the same voice said, “Nancy, will you hand me that stapler?” At that moment, I also heard the voice of God say, “That’s your husband.” In total surprise, I turned toward the male voice and found a scrawny, dark-haired boy, wearing very large glasses, staring at me expectantly.
That afternoon, my sister’s boyfriend picked me up from school. I climbed into his truck and told him, “You’re not going to believe what happened to me today!” For years, he was the only person I had told, thinking that no one else would believe me. However, he responded to my announcement with a big nod and a grin, saying, “Oh, I believe it!”
Years went by and our friendship grew stronger, and though we chose to go to different high schools, we never lost touch, remaining the best of friends. It wasn’t until the end of our senior year that things began to change.
I’d given up on him ever seeing us as anything but friends, and I started dating. While getting ready for his prom, hubby’s father asked him when he would be picking me up. Hubby admitted that he hadn’t asked me to prom and that he expected me to go to my prom with someone from my school. His father, who is the mildest mannered man, emphatically replied, “If I were Nancy, I’d never speak to you again!”
From that point on, hubby started thinking of me in a different light. From graduation onward, we were inseparable. I started my college career at the University of Houston, but then transferred to UT Austin my second year since that’s where the love of my life attended. We were engaged the summer of 1993 and married two weeks before our senior year in 1994.
We have certainly faced our challenges, but I can’t imagine life with anyone else. I’m so thankful for my wonderful husband, who is my dearest and best friend!
