Welcome to Our Beginning!

It was Thursday morning at my salon, & I had scheduled one of my favorite clients, Linda Pierce. Linda & I were engaging in our usual back & forth, when out of the blue she asked, “Are you single?” A bit shocked by the question, I giggled & told her that, yes, I was in fact single. She then tells me all about her nephew Daniel & how he was interested in me! I was so bewildered by this news, for a few reasons: first, although Daniel’s family & my family shared the same church, we had never spoken to each other; second (most importantly) he was 8 years older than me! With this interesting bit of knowledge in mind, I spent the weekend hanging out with one of my best friends, Natalie Frost. I spilled everything Linda had told me about Daniel, & confided that I couldn’t understand how he could POSSIBLY be interested in me. I said, “We aren’t even Facebook friends!” Her advice was to change that—which I definitely thought would be creepy! Well, needless to say after enjoying some liquid courage that evening, I sent him a friend request; which he accepted. Just 2 days later Daniel was messaging me to schedule a haircut with me. I was so nervous the whole time! The haircut was completed without incident, but as he handed me the check to pay, he asked me out on a date for THAT SAME NIGHT! I must have been feeling crazy, because I said yes! That night he took me out to Plum Creek in Beloit. During the dinner conversation I couldn’t help but ask, “Why were you interested in me before you had even met me? Linda told me last week when I was doing her hair.” You can only imagine the look on my face when he responded, “Linda told me YOU were interested in ME! She drove clear out to the farm after her hair appointment just to tell me!” We had been set up! But Linda knew what she was doing. I was smitten! After dinner, we went back to his house & watched “Pure Country,” afterward sharing our 1st kiss. That night, I told myself, “I’m going to marry this boy someday!” & now, I am.

If you know anything about my family, the Reeds, you know we are a very close bunch. My Grandma and Grandad, Ronald and Dianna (Dee) Reed mean the world to me. That’s only to be expected, as I grew up right next door to them. Ronald and Dee’s love is something I have always looked up to. They grew up together in the same little hometown of Flagler, Colorado. If you ever ask them about their love story, they have the best stories to tell. They’d tell you about being 8 years old and playing baseball together after church. They’d tell you about being highschoolers who grew so sweet on each other they were nearly inseparable. And then they’d tell you how just a blink later, when Ron was 21 and Dee was 20, they shared the very best day of their lives—their wedding day. My favorite thing about their love is the way Grandad looks at Grandma, even after all these years. I see it every Christmas. As we all sit around the table enjoying the food, company, and conversation, Grandma will chime in with some every day information, and Grandad will look up from his plate and look at her as if she’s the only one in the room. This was something I always longed for in a relationship. I still remember the first time I caught Daniel looking at me in that exact same way—and that’s when I knew I’d found the love I had been looking for. So, why September 21st for our wedding day? Because my grandparents, the couple whose steadfast and uncompromising love has been a model for me to look up to, who love each other in their 70s just as much as they did at 17, were married September 22, 1963. Unfortunately, we couldn't share the same day, but at least we can share the same weekend! Right after our first dance, we will celebrate their 56th wedding anniversary with them dancing to the same song that was played at their wedding.