My husband, Bobby, and I met in the summer of 1966 when we were both working for VBS (Vacation Bible School) at our church - Lakewood Heights Baptist Church in south Atlanta. Bobby's mother was the church secretary, my mother's sister Eloise was the head of the Women's Misson Union (WMU) and her husband, Uncle Hamp, was the chairman of the deacons. Our roots run deep in the Baptist church and it has always been a big part of our lives.
My first real encounter with Bobby was when the youth went on a retreat to the Cherokee Mountains to see the play "Unto These Hills". I hardly knew anybody on the retreat because I had just started going to Lakewood Heights with my aunt, uncle and cousins. I was friends with Bobby's sister, Anita and ended up in her room for the retreat.
When we first loaded the Greyhound bus that would take us to the mountains, the only seat left was the very last one at the back of the bus in front of the bathroom. If you've ever ridden on a Greyhound, then you know that this is the shortest seat on the whole bus because of the bathroom. Well, wouldn't you just know that the last person to get on the bus would be the tallest one too. You guessed it, it was Bobby and the only seat left was beside me.
I was very shy back then and the thoughts of a guy sitting with me was just scaring me to death. He sat down and of course, had nowhere to put his legs because they were so long. One leg went into the aisle and the other onto my half of the floor. Of course, being shy, this meant that I had to scrunch up into the corner of the seat so that his leg would not touch mine and I rode all the way to Cherokee this way. I was so thankful for the bathroom break so I could stretch my legs out that I was beside myself.
All through the trip it seemed as if fate kept throwing us together (not to mention the fact that all the kids were pairing up and Bobby seemed to get stuck with me - sort of...). It might not have been too bad except that his sister was my friend and as it turned out - we were staying in the room being chaperoned by Bobby's mom and weren't able to escape after curfew (as if I would EVER do anything like that!).
All in all it wasn't a bad trip, but if I could have cut Bobby's legs off at the knees for the ride up and back, I think it would have been better!
Through the years, it seemed as if Bobby was always there for the major things that happened in my life. He would take me to special events like my Senior Prom when I didn't have a date (his girlfriend lived in Tennessee and could not always come to Atlanta for school and church events). We were part of a close group of friends that were always together and have remained friends to this day.
Family and friends alike tried to get us to date, but by pushing us harder they only managed to push us apart. For that I thank them because I firmly believe that had we married after high school, we would never have made it. God knew his plans for us and I'm glad we both had the experience of living a life without each other because it only made our lives together stronger.
Remember to tell the ones you love that you love them and tell them often, you never know when you may not get another chance to say "I Love You" . . . . . .
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