Becoming One

We met while we were both working as pharmacy technicians at Rite Aid Pharmacy in 2008. At first impression, we were cordial and dating was NOT on the table. Years passed, and life moved on with me moving to Atlanta to gain additional experience in my career. In 2015, I moved back to Thomasville to attend Pharmacy School. Kent and I ran into one another and decided to catch up and celebrate our recent wins. We approached things socially at first by going out on mini dates to the "Mexican" restaurant every Friday. At the time he did not enjoy Mexican food so he said he would come just to spend time with me. During these dates, we would talk for hours without interruption and our bond grew. It was during these dates that I started to realize that I really loved the way he listened to me and made me think deeper (outside the box) about all aspects of life. I believe that our "love" is mutual because we grew together as friends first which allowed for a strong foundation before the relationship was conceived. THE PROPOSAL Five years ago as a Christmas gift, he gave me a Pandora bracelet along with my very first charm, which was a penguin. He told me at that time that something special would follow after he had completely filled the Pandora bracelet with charms. One week before the proposal to commemorate a recent vacation experience, he presented me my last charm. However, I was not expecting what happened next. We are both private individuals so we had always stated that we wanted our perfect proposal moment to be special for us. During the final walk-through after selling our first home purchased together, the magical moment came. After moving all of our things and finalizing paperwork in an empty house that held the memories of our growing love, my Pandora bracelet was randomly lying on the kitchen counter. Attached to the bracelet was a beautiful diamond ring. When I turned around with the bracelet, the ring, and so many questions running through my mind, he was down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Everything in that moment was perfect: the setting, the moment, my man, and my response, which of course was YES ♥

In 2008, it was my first day on the job at the Rite-Aid in Thomasville where I met Patricia. Over the weeks we started with casual conversation and jokes to make the time go faster. She needed help studying for the Pharmacy Technician certification and we exchanged notes over dinner at her favorite Mexican restaurant. We became good friends, but it slowed down when she decided to take her newly acquired certification to the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta. We kept in touch and met for Mexican food on the days she would be back in town to visit, but life moved on over the several years. We picked back up when she got accepted into the FAMU Pharmacy program in 2015. I asked her to become my girlfriend on July 19th over dinner at now “OUR” favorite food spot. Our first of many trips as a couple was with friends to St. Augustine. We loved the historic city vibes, the beach, and the scenery along the waterfront. After a trip to Bush Gardens, I bought her a pandora bracelet with nothing on it but a penguin and told her when we fill it with charms, the last would be something extra special. Over the years, for every special event or trip, I would surprise her with a special charm to remember the happy or funny moments we shared. On Aug. 1, 2022, after 5 years of living, loving, and laughing with each other, the bracelet was finally full. We were closing on the sale of our first home and before the "season finale" walkout, I surprised her with a new charm on her bracelet at the kitchen counter. I told her this is it, got down on one knee, and asked, “Patricia Bernadeet Thomas, will you marry me?” She looked at the ring and said “Yes!!!