The State of Our Union Addressed

Let's take a journey down memory lane, shall we ....

Twenty three years ago (yeah, we're going that far back!), two kindergarten kids, a little boy and a little girl, were at recess. They were doing nothing more than building sandcastles when the little boy had the audacity to take his shovel and scoop up some of the little girl's dirt that she was piling up. "HEY!" the little girl exclaimed. "What?" asked the little boy. "I was going to use that!" the little girl said. "Sorry" said the little boy. "You can have it back." The little boy proceeded to scoop up some dirt from his castle and put it back where he had taken dirt from the little girls.' "Thanks!" said the little girl, "You can have it in a minute." "Okay" the little boy replied. "My name's Tiffany, I'm in Mrs. B's class." The boy replied, "My name's Teddy and I'm in Mrs. G's class." It was this day that a beautiful new friendship blossomed, a friendship that would eventually lead to much more.

Let's fast forward about six years. The boy and girl aren't so little anymore, as they are in middle school now. The boy has become quite the academic, making straight A's constantly throughout his academic career. He would see a "B" here and there, but it was very rare. The little girl ... well, she did the best that she could. Thank goodness she had friends like the little boy to help her when she needed it. They had many study groups, sometimes with other friends, and sometimes just the two of them. By this point they considered each other to be a "best friend," and could often be found at the others house on the weekends or hanging out with their other buds at the park. That year they had their first dance and the boy asked the girl if he would escort her to the dance. She said yes and they had a wonderful time. "Why don't you just ask her to be your girlfriend?" Eric, one of their friends said to the boy, who later told the girl. "Tiffany is just my friend 'E' and you know that. She's like a sister!" Little did the boy know, that the girl's friends had been telling her the same thing about him for quite some time. "I think he likes you and that you like him" Megan, another friend, told the girl. The girl replied "Teddy is just my friend, and besides, my daddy would kill me and him if I came home talking about I have a boyfriend!" The girl is the only girl out of five kids, two older brothers and two younger brothers ... her dad would have really killed her, LOL!

Let's jump ahead another six years. It's senior year. The boy and girl would be soon be making their way out into the big world to pursue careers and to live their lives. They were still the best of friends, and now, not only were their group of friends still saying the same things about the two of them having a relationship, but now even their parents were too! "I don't know why you two won't date!," "You two would be a really cute couple," "You two just need to get together and get it over with." They had gotten used to hearing such comments so much that they just ignored them. At graduation, though the boy didn't get valedictorian or salutatorian, he was certainly close in the running and was offered numerous scholarships. The girl even graduated pretty high up in her class and got a couple of scholarships herself.

The girl had decided long ago that interior design was her passion, as her dad was an architect and she had grown up around the area and knew in her heart that it was what she wanted to do. The boy had decided that he would go to school to do something in the medicinal field, and later decided that pharmacy was the way to go. Unfortunately, the boy had decided that he was going to go to school elsewhere, in another state. All of the girl's other friends were staying put, all but the one, the boy, Teddy. The girl was quite upset about this, very upset in fact, and she didn't understand why. Why was the fact that the boy wouldn't be around bothering her so much? I mean, he would still be her friend, just a friend who was not right where she was. And besides, that meant road trips! The boy and the girl didn't talk much during that summer, as the girl thought the boy was busy packing and getting ready to leave for his new life. One day the boy called the girl out of the blue. "Hey Tiff, haven't heard from you in a while." "I know" she replied, "I didn't want to keep you from your packing." "Well, there's been a change of plans" he said. "I'm going to college where you're going!" "Are you serious!" she exclaimed. Trying not to seem too overjoyed she then calmly said "That's great Ted, it'll be good to still have you around ... I guess!" They both had a good laugh.

At some point during their college years, the girl had found herself in a relationship. This relationship wasn't like the others she had previously had ... it seemed to really be lasting and going somewhere. She was happy, very happy, and knew in her heart (or so she thought) that she had found the right one. Funny thing was, she rarely saw or talked to the boy anymore. She would see him when they went out with friends, and she would sometimes bump into him on campus and he would give a wave, but that was about it. It was almost as if they had strayed away from one another, but why? What could cause such a thing. Unfortunately for the girl, the guy whom she was with at the time turned out to not be the one. She had a pretty rough time with the whole situation, but she knew something better would come her way one day so she did a little bit of grieving and went on about her life. One day, the boy called her out of the blue. He later came over to her apartment and they had a little chat. The boy said that he had heard about what happened and that he was sorry. The girl said it was no big deal and that she was alright, but she did have questions. "Ted, why haven't we really spoken lately. I mean. yes we greet each other and things like that, but you and I used to just hang out and watch movies and just have fun." "I know" the boy said, "things have been different." He asked the girl if she would have lunch with him the next day, and she agreed.

At their lunch, the boy and girl and caught up and had some laughs, and then the conversation hit a really serious note. "Tiffany, the real reason I asked you to have lunch with me is because I have something to tell you." The boy seemed awfully nervous, and the girl could feel all sorts of different emotions run through her. The boy continued. "I was the problem when it comes down to us not talking much over the past months. It's just that ....." the boy paused. "It's just that you were so happy, and I loved seeing you happy, I just .... I just didn't like seeing you with another guy." It took the girl a second to realize what was just said. The boy continued. "Every since I can remember I have had feelings for you. Everyone used to tease us about liking each other, and all the time I would think to myself 'Is it that obvious?' I have liked you for a very long time." You would think the girl to be in shock at this moment, but she wasn't. She was ... happy. "Well, what if I told you that I like you back?" The two just sat there for a moment. "Wait, you like me?" said the boy. "Why didn't you tell me?" "Why didn't you tell me?!" asked the girl. The two eventually decided that they had just been too immature to just admit what they were feeling, as they felt that because they had been best friends for so long, they would somehow be judged if it went any further. They had a long discussion with each other and came to find out that the feelings between them had been there for a long time, and existed on the sides of both parties. It was at this point, that the boy and girl became the man and the woman, as they learned that sometimes it's best to express how you feel, as it can drive you away from what you long for, and, that sometimes, things can be hidden from you in blind sight.

On June 18, 2007, the woman turned the big 26. She and the man had been dating only for 6 months, but they couldn't remember a happier time in their lives. The woman's birthday party was really fun. Friends and family were mingling and having a good time, and making fools of themselves singing karaoke. But hey, that's what karaoke is all about, right? In between songs, people would go to the microphone and throw birthday shout-outs to the woman. Eventually, the man went up to the microphone and asked the woman to come up with him. The woman had a feeling that he was about to ask her to sing a song with him, but oh what she didn't know. The man began to talk about his relationship with the woman, from how they met to denying for years that they liked each other. Eventually, the man turned to the woman, told her how much he loved her, got down on one knee, and asked the woman, in front friends, family, and strangers alike, to marry him. Now, you may say "But only after six months?" To that I say "What God puts together, let no man put asunder."

After only three months of planning, on September 22, 2007 in Tybee Island, GA, the man and the woman united as one. By the Grace of God, two souls found their soul mates who had been hiding right in front of them, and He brought them together in his glory.

It's hard to believe that this occurred two years ago today, as it seems like just yesterday. Yes, today is our two year wedding anniversary! I can remember how much negativity we heard about ourselves after being married ... how we weren't going to last, how we made a friendship that was supposed to just be a friendship into something more, how we hadn't dated long enough, etc, etc, and to that I say, look at us now! Now, we are no longer just man and woman, we are husband and wife, and also momma and poppa. Two years, 1 and 3/4 kids (the one is not quite done baking in the oven yet), and forever to enjoy each other. That, is the state of our union, addressed.

Oh, and Megan and Eric just happen to be Mr. T's Godparents!