From preteen love to a lasting marriage, a sweet story of how opposites really do attract.

I cannot remember meeting William for the first time. I wish I could say there was a moment in time that crowds parted, our eyes met and my life changed forever, but in all reality the first time we met, he was probably wearing his four-inch-thick glasses and an oversized Michael Jordan jersey, and I was probably rocking some overalls, Reeboks and a scrunchie in my painfully long blond hair. Our relationship began like any other middle school romance. The only difference? Twelve and a half years later, we’re still together.

What I can remember is the first time he held my hand, our first hug and our first kiss. There is nothing spectacular to mention about the hand holding or hugging, but let me tell you, sparks flew with that kiss (enter sarcasm). Looking back on it, we’re not even sure we were close enough for our lips to touch. Set to the tune of Nash Bridges on the TV and sitting awkwardly on a blue-andwhite- striped foldout foam chair, as crazy as it sounds, I started falling in love with that curly-headed young man.

Most people cannot reminisce with their husband or wife of the happenings of life when they were young and expect them to sympathize in the way that I can. Most cannot say, “Do you remember when Applebee’s moved into town and people waited for hours for a table?” Ah, smalltown life. Similarly, most laugh while trying to commiserate with their spouse’s regaling of the dramatic tales of high school teachers, football games, parties and dances that we all try in some capacity to forget. William and I, however, can…and strangely enough, I am thankful. I may have fallen in love with him in high school, but it wasn’t until college that I got to know him. Looking back on it, I think it’s because neither of us really knew who we were until then. For the next five and a half years, we played the “long distance” game while he learned how to make a career out of doodling at Mississippi State, and I attempted to be the president of every honor society known to man at the University of Alabama. It wasn’t until we were apart that our life experiences started to mold us into the adults that we are now. Luckily, after all the molding, we like each other even more!

If we learned anything during those years with Highway 82 between us, it was how to communicate. I always find it interesting how casually couples overlook this because for us, it has become one of the most valuable parts of our marriage. By learning how to talk and listen to him, William’s role in my life moved from boyfriend to confidant, teacher, mentor, spiritual leader and most importantly, friend. If you know us, you’ll agree that we couldn’t be more different. He is creative, disorganized (sorry, dear) and passionate beyond belief. I am OCD, methodical and caring to a fault. Rather than focus on how to curb our individuality to fit into the box of a perfect relationship, we have found that our eccentricities make us more dynamic as a couple. And let’s be honest, there’s no way to “box in” Will Bryant.

He and I often wonder what would have happened had we met later in life — you know, like normal people do! I have no idea if we would have ended up together, but my guess is no. The good news is, if we found each other attractive during the seriously awkward middle school years (for both of us — not pointing any fingers here), it has nowhere to go but uphill from there, right?