......revelations of one woman's reality of life, love, and all things hopeful...

Friday, June 4, 2010

Guest Writer: TT



On several occasions, I have had special guest writers to post their thoughts here on my blog. I'm excited to have my sweet TT record his thoughts. I think this post is just great:) And in case you've ever wondered how we met...



As my upcoming wedding day quickly approaches, I have to reflect back to a summer day last August. I was 39 years old and it was about two weeks before my 40th birthday. I had just made a new Facebook friend named Theia Chaffin and she had just sent me a message on FB hoping that my CT scan of my abdomen would go well that day. I sent her a reply thanking her for her good wishes.



That seemingly innocent exchange would lead to a series of messages and a first date on the eve of my 40th Birthday. I had just finished two long days of student advising and was coming home to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to celebrate this milestone birthday with my family.
However, this time I was stopping in Scottsboro, AL. to have lunch with a sweet princess at a Mexican restaurant called Buena Vista.




She wore a summery black dress and had lots of blonde hair and a beautiful smile. The dinner and conversation were great as we talked about our lives, our jobs and everything else we could think of. Thirty minutes led to an hour, then two hours and three. The staff at the restaurant seemed oblivious to what was going on around them, but I felt it. As is turns out, she did too.



Two days later we met for our second date in Huntsville, AL. After a quick dinner, we went to Big Spring Park where Theia proceeded to step in a pile of duck poop. She got it all over her pair of “yellow box” flip flops. I had no idea what a pair of “yellow box” were before that night. Now I can recognize them anytime/anywhere I see a pair.
This started a series of dates that fall in which we’d get together on an every-two-week basis. Sometimes I was coming home to Alabama and sometimes we’d meet in Lenoir City, TN just to go eat and hang out for the day. Regardless of what we did, I was having the best time ever. Theia Ann was everything a man (at least this man) could ever want in a woman. Beautiful, smart, sweet and could even put up sheet rock if called upon to do it. Over this time we met each other’s families and that went well too.


At the end of December her work at “The Way Home” came to an end and she moved up to KY to take a job at a nursing home doing speech therapy and to be closer to me. Wow. I’d never had a woman actually want to move 5 hours away from home to be closer to me. I have to admit I was a little nervous about it at first. But I soon got used to having not only a weekly date with my sweetie, but two and three dates a week with her.



One month later on February 5th, I took Theia out to Tumbleweeds restaurant for dinner at the Somerset Mall. After dinner, we strolled through the mall and stopped by Roger’s Jewelers to look at some engagement rings. After looking at a few rings that didn’t get her very excited, the clerks brought out “The Hannah.” Upon seeing this ring I heard an odd squeal that was high pitched, but not loud. You know the kind that is normally only heard by a dog. My girlfriend Theia was about to become my fiancĂ©



After a quick stroll around the mall, we went back in to the jewelry store and I surprised Theia by saying to the clerk “what’s your best price on this ring?” After a little back and forth, I had my checkbook out and was soon to be engaged to the best woman in the whole wide America.


The time since then has been filled with tea lights, glitter, dresses, tuxes, photos, showers and moving stuff from London to Somerset. Now with just a few days to go until the big day all I can say to my Bride-elect is “I hate deviled eggs, but I love cheese dip” and “I don’t want to milk a goat.”