The Boy Next Door

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A Tale of Happily Ever After

Is it possible at the age of 12 you could find true love and know without a doubt your soul mate is  Jim, the boy living next door?  I saw Jim for the first time one day practicing my free throws out front of my house.  He was riding his bike, you know the one with the banana seat back in the 80’s?  I heard a voice whisper “you’re going to marry him”.  At first, I thought to myself, is this for real?  Why would I marry him?  I wasn’t even into boys at 12 and quite honestly, I didn’t really think he was that cute at first.

From that day forward, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.  I was always looking for him around the neighborhood and then within a few weeks, I found myself knocking on his door asking if he could come out and shoot hoops or just hang out.  We became neighborhood friends and hung out in groups all the time.  I couldn’t get him to notice me or so I thought.  He always teased me but didn’t know what that meant at the time.

Fast forward to high school.  We remained friends but I went to a girls-only high school and he went to a small high school.  I always thought about him and noticed girls come and go.  I started to realize that I needed to move on and enjoy high school.  I dated but always kept a special place in my heart for Jim.

Then my Junior year of high school and his Senior year, out of the blue he asked me to his high school prom.  I remember saying Yes before he finished asking the question.  I had been sending subtle hints to his dad and brother that I liked him for years.  I guess it worked because I finally got his attention.  We had an amazing evening and got the chance to talk about our childhood and why he never asked me out before.  He shared he had a crush on me but didn’t think I was the kind of girl he wanted to date.  That night I spilled my guts and told him I had been waiting for him, literally saving my virginity for him because I knew he was the guy I wanted to be with.  Looking back, I could have scared him away but he had the same feelings and we simply never had the opportunity to share how we really felt about one another.

We got married at 19 and 21 and everyone said it would never last.  Even my parents were against it the entire engagement.  We were married on 7/14/1991 and will be celebrating 28 years this summer.  Let’s just say my parents have apologized since then and absolutely adore my husband.  They see the love we have for one another and couldn’t be happier for us.  When I’m with Jim, I’m safe, happy and still crazy in love with him.  He has given me two beautiful daughters, Kayla and Sam and if given the chance to go back in time, I would marry him again!

True love does exist and my relationship is living proof.

..TR[/vc_column_text]