It all started 13th years ago on a Friday, mid-afternoon, standing on the 2nd floor of West Iredell High School near the (what use to be) computer labs, our junior year. Brooks was at the end of the hallway and I was at one of the classroom doors...I think that he was about to be late for class and I was about to go into my class....he said to me, "I know your phone number" and I said "yeah, what is it" and he recited my home phone number because (as hard as it is to believe) cell phones had not made their HUGE technological debut at the time. My reply to him was, why don't you use it sometime. So that night a friend and I went to the football game at Bunker Hill and on the way home I, for some reason, stopped by his house. When I left that night he hugged and kissed me goodnight...and I still can see this scene in my head, I had butterflies that night, and something told me that it was meant to be. So that night he used my phone number and called me, we talked till about 4 in the morning. The next day, I went to work at good ole' JCPenney's (please don't be jealous that I had such a COOL 1st job, ha ha) and Brooks came to visit me. He called again that night and we talked AGAIN till wee hours in the morning, this pattern continued for several nights maybe weeks. We for some reason broke up a couple of weeks later, I don't remember why, but we got back together quickly, so that we will call just a spat. The year went on and we made it to our senior year, by this year we were pretty much one of the more steadier couples and by the end of that year we "won" most likely to get married and live in Statesville....looks like we won the right superlative. Brooks was always very sweet and thoughtful and until a couple of years ago I had every letter (which were a ton) that he had written, that he had left in my car, every card, every movie stub, everything that we had done from the day we started dating. He would even drive to my house every morning to follow me to school and you might not think that is much, but he had to pass the school and go about 4 miles just to get to the house, so it was kind of a big deal for me at the time. We went to both our Junior and Senior proms together and if I knew how to work a scanner I would share those photos with you.
Once we graduated I went to Mitchell and he went to CVCC, he worked at Applebees, I worked at Zimmer Patient Care. He would come over every night, he would come in the house, walk by my daddy, say hello and come upstairs. We would watch TV, a movie, do homework, or whatever till he went home about 11 every night....this pattern continued for several years. Then he graduated from CVCC and I was commuting to UNCC 3-4 days a week. He got his job at the County and I had a great, part-time job at BB&T. This continued till 2004 when he FINALLY proposed. I had already, secretly, told myself that if he hadn't asked me to marry him by August of that year it would be time to reevaluate and decide if we were staying together or going our separate ways, but he answered that question for me in March that year!! We planned (excuse me, I planned) our wedding for the next 15 months, he wanted no part of the planning, all he wanted was to show up and that is pretty much how it went.
The summer of 2004, I got my 1st teaching job at North Iredell High School and was that a learning experience! I already told you how crazy 2005 started out, so we will skip to our beautiful wedding. Some of the guests may disagree because I picked the HOTTEST day of the year to get married outside. We got married beside of the big, white, Manor House at Tanglewood Park in the Arboretum. The day had arrived everything went pretty smoothly the morning of, I had my bridal breakfast, hair appointment, make-up appointment, and then off I would be to get ready at Tanglewood. The scene was set and I was on the horse and carriage ready to roll in at 5:00, when my dad came to me and said the preacher was not there yet! WHAT? Are you serious....I picked a kind of crazy weekend at Tanglewood because they were having their annual wine festival which brought 1000's of people and there was traffic backed up for miles on the interstate because of a wreck. So we waited about 20-25 minutes for the preacher and other guests to get into the park....so it started out crazy, but the night ended just as I had imagined...PERFECT. We were married, the wedding, from the pictures, looked beautiful and the next day we were off to the amazing island of Honolulu. We spent 10 wonderful days on the island and it was breath taking!
When we got home we lived in a little, 800 sq foot, block house that belongs to family. I made the transition to Alexander County that school year, Brooks continued to work at the County, and we were PREGNANT!! That year went by good and 2006 rolled around....Bryson came exactly a month early, but he was perfect, so that was all that mattered! I was at West Alexander Middle School that school year and I quickly realized that being 45 minutes away from my newborn was not working. So the next school year 06-07 I requested a transfer for the upcoming school year and I was able to transfer to the closest school from our house, but still in Alexander County, Stony Point Elementary. This is where I am now and have been for the past 3 years, love it, love the kids, love the closeness to home, love the people, love that Bryson will go there next year. In 2008, we bought my childhood home and my dear husband worked his tail off to gut and remodel 2 bathrooms, lay hardwood floors throughout the house, and paint every room (minus the kitchen) in less than 2 months! I am very proud of him and thankful that on that day in October 1997 something told me that he was the one! He is a great husband, an even better father, hardworker, excellent coach, good role model, and most of all he is still my Brooksie Bear :)
So here we are....13 years later and millions of memories that I could continue to share with you! We have a very blessed life and we are very grateful that you are a part of our lives! We could not have made it to this day without many you being there to support us, love us, and share many memories with us!! Lots of Love to you on this Loving Anniversary Day in October!!!
I LOVE YOU BROOKS ROBERT!!! <3, <3, <3
