13 Years

Us in NYC on one of our anniversaries (9 years maybe?).
That year, Bobby took me to Tiffany and bought me a bracelet and some earrings, and a limo picked us up and drove us to see "Wicked." We also ate at Tavern on the Green. But that wasn't nearly as fun as the Excellent Dumpling House in China Town, where you could get a whole mess of dumplings on the cheap! LOL
He planned that whole trip just for me and it was so romantic!
I will never forget it.

It was 13 years ago today that my sweet Bobby took my hand in marriage and made me his wife. He was 19 years old and I was 21 (at least one of us was legal...lol). We were married in a beautiful Christmas wedding in a beautiful church....well...sort of.

We were actually married at his parents' kitchen table at midnight, December 21st. Our pastor had informed us at the dress rehearsal that he was only licensed and bonded to do West Virginia licensed marriages. And since we obtained our marriage license in Kentucky, he wouldn't be able to marry us. That was good to know, less than 24 hours before the wedding!

Everyone was a nervous wreck, especially Bobby. I, being the calm, cool person I am, was full of reassurance (little did I know that this would be a pattern in our marriage...him worried, me calm and cool). I went to his mother and asked her to call her pastor to see if he would marry us on the spur of the moment. Bobby still didn't like this idea, because he wanted it to be on the 21st as planned. So, their pastor agreed to meet us at midnight at their home to perform the "ceremony." I just remember some goofy vows like, "Do you promise to honor and cherish your husband by cooking and cleaning and serving him all the days of your life?" And I said something like, "I'm not sure I want to sign up for that!" Needless to say, we got the vows straightened out and all the paperwork was signed. We were husband and wife!

You'd think two hormonal teenagers (practically) would be running off immediately to go...um...make it official. But Bobby's parents' said, "Now, don't you take her to your house (we had a little place all ready to move into after we were married), you take her home and wait until tomorrow after the real wedding." We were such obedient children...really...I can't believe we did it, but he took me home and he went back to his house, and we didn't make it "official" until the next day. Can you believe that? Like, ten years later or something, his parents told us they couldn't believe it either because they were only joking! haha...very funny.

So anyway, we were married the next day by our pastor in a beautiful ceremony where we sang a song that we wrote to each other. No one knew that we were really married the night before.

Some people may not agree with us getting married so young. I tend to agree. Marriage is serious business and is a commitment for life. Young people hardly know how to look as far as next week, let alone a lifetime! But I knew, like I knew my own name, that God had spoken to me in a still small voice and told me that Bobby was the perfect one for me and that I was going to marry him.

I actually remember arguing out loud with God, telling him that I didn't like Bobby, that I'd tried to date him seriously, and it just wasn't clicking for me. But God fell silent...and that was that. Amazingly, the next time I saw Bobby, I couldn't believe my eyes. He looked completely different to me...I was falling for him! God was working in me to fulfill His word...cause seriously ya'll...I didn't want to go out with Bobby again. But now, I wouldn't trade him for the world!

13 years later, I can still say that he has been the perfect one for me. Always good, patient, hard working, loving, forgiving and totally in love with me!

I love you baby. I can't wait for the next 13!