This story started in the summer of 1984 at — shocker — a party. He had his crew. I had mine. We didn’t say one word to each other all night. Not one. But by the end of the night? Oh, it was understood. After that, if you saw him, you saw me. If you saw me, you definitely saw him. We were outside — Citadel parades every Friday, football Saturdays, Stern Center parties Saturday night. And when you’re “just friends” with the DJ, you obviously stay until the very end to help pack up equipment. Because that’s what friends do… right? We shared a love of music, sports, and having a good time. And somewhere between loading speakers and making curfew, that “friendship” started looking real suspicious. Fast forward a year and a half — I head to college in Charlotte, and Joe stays in Charleston finishing up at The Citadel. That’s when we decided to put a title on it. Long distance. Now let me tell you something — long distance in the 80s? No FaceTime. No texting. Just collect calls, letters, and attitude. There were breakups. There were makeups. There were “I’m done!” … followed by “Okay, maybe not.” And right in the middle of all that drama — winter of 1987 — here comes our precious baby boy. Because apparently, we don’t do anything halfway. Our friends watched the ups and downs like it was their favorite TV show. But guess what? Season after season… we renewed for another year. Then came the proposal. Friday night date night at California Dreaming. Nothing fancy. Just our favorite view of the Ashley River and a little champagne. The glasses come out — and what this man forgot to say was that the ring was at the bottom. I almost swallowed the engagement ring before I even said yes. Imagine explaining that in the emergency room. Three years later, we welcomed our beautiful baby girl. Because once again — we like to keep things interesting. Our journey hasn’t been perfect. It’s been bold. It’s been unpredictable. It’s been faith-filled. We took risks. We grew up together. We learned each other. And through every argument, every laugh, every “you getting on my nerves,” and every “I got you” moment — we chose each other. And now here we are. Still standing.
Still laughing.
Still in love.
Still a little spicy. From party friends… to forever ever after. 💛✨