One event that changed my life was when I met my husband. I didn’t know at the time that meeting this person would change the direction of my life forever. I had just moved to Stilwell, Oklahoma from Long Beach, California. I was in the 5th grade when I moved here and met him for the first time. He was a 7th grader and we became acquaintances then not really friends but I knew him. As time went on he graduated 8th grade and went from middle school to high school and a few short years later I did the same.
I became reacquainted with him my freshman year, he was a junior, and by this time he was a state champion wrestler, and a bull rider, he had and still has the most amazing blue eyes I have ever seen and I thought he was wonderful, of course so did every other girl in high school. I remember the first time I saw him training in the gymnasium for wrestling, he was all muscle, at 115 pounds, and he was solid.
I remember this well because I was in aerobics at the time and I had a history of asthma, I was so enthralled with him that I would fake asthma attacks just so I could go down into the gym and watch him run the bleachers. It became a daily ritual. We became close friends later that year, I was lucky enough to have a class with him, algebra which I was really good at. He wasn’t so good at it, and I became his tutor. He was so funny in class, we would talk all hour about bull riding and wrestling, he was just a great guy. He didn’t know it but I thought he hung the moon.
One afternoon in math class he asked me to go to a party with him. I was so excited. I told him yes immediately without even asking my parents, I was a very good girl, I never got into trouble, my grades were good, I didn’t think my parents would have a problem with me going and lucky enough they didn’t. I couldn’t wait until that weekend, I was so nervous and excited, I didn’t know what to expect, and I didn’t know if he liked me or if he was just trying to be nice and friendly. The weekend came and went; I was dressed in my boots and rocky mountain jeans.
I waited and waited that whole Saturday, he didn’t show up, I found out Monday that his dad had disabled his truck by taking the rotor bug out of it. He was so apologetic I forgave him what else could I do; I still thought he hung the moon even though he stood me up. We never went out on a date. We just stayed good friends. By the end of the year, he moved to another town, and we lost contact, until the summer between my junior and senior year. It was late in the evening in May when I was sitting outside my house talking with friends on my porch when a car pulled up across the street.
And a guy got out of the driver’s side, I had no idea who it was, then he spoke, and after almost 2 years I still remembered that voice, even though I couldn’t see him my heart soared. I yelled his name “Billy? ” he knew me instantly, his response was “that’s me” with a beautiful smile. I ran and jumped into the best hug ever, he held me so tight I couldn’t breathe, I knew that instant I would marry this man, he asked me out again and I teased him telling him “only if he promised not to stand me up this time,” he laughed and made the promise.
We began dating that night. Two weeks later he proposed, he said he “knew in high school we would be together, he wasn’t taking any chances of losing me this time. ” I, of course, said “yes” and we were married one month later. That was 21 years ago this year. We have six children and one grandson now and he continues to be the best friend I have ever had, my soul mate, my everything. I didn’t know it then but meeting this boy all those years ago was the best change in direction my life has ever taken.
