13 Years

Most people are not as lucky as myself. Some people go their whole lives without winning the lottery or that big prize in life. I am one of those lucky ones that was able to strike it rich 13 years ago today. Do you not remember seeing my picture in the paper holding up a big over-sized check. Well, that's because I won a different type of lottery, the spouse lottery.

Not many 15 year old kids are out searching for their lifelong soul mate, but that is exactly what I found in Jennifer Bolton. The story of how we started dating is neat and a story that you probably see less and less in today's society. Jennifer and I first met in the 5th grade when the school she was attending closed down and combined with my school, Livermore Elementary. However, I do not remember her at all (probably due to her shy personality). We went through middle school and our entire freshmen year of high school without interacting except for maybe a class or two occasionally. At best I could have told you her name, but probably not a single thing more than that.

The summer between freshmen and sophomore year in high school is when I truly fell in love with Jennifer. My little brother, McKinley told my parents that he didn't want to play baseball when they were having tryouts in Livermore. However, after the time passed to join he decided that he wanted to play. As it turns out the only place that said he could still join was in the neighboring town of Island. You might ask what does McKinley playing baseball have to do with anything, especially Jennifer and myself. Well, it just so happens that a family from Island, the Bolton's, took care of the Island ballpark. Bobby took care of the fields as well as coaching Jennifer's two youngest sisters softball team. While Kara and Jennifer ran the concession stand (I am sure this was against Jennifer's will since she didn't like sports or interacting with people - two things which she had to confront at the concession stand). I was in a similar situation. I love sports, but not so much as a spectator and especially not my little brother's team, but I was forced to attend his games early on that summer.

Over the summer I began to really enjoy going to the games and I really had my eye on Jennifer (My parents thought it was weird that I was interested in seeing McKinley play baseball). My goal was to get her to talk to me and my other goal was to possibly, if lucky enough, go on a date or school dance with her. However, I thought that this was truly a far fetched idea because she was gorgeous and I was me. I didn't really think I had a shot, but I just kept talking to her and praying for the best. Well, the summer ended and I thought that I had really missed my opportunity because now we would be going back to school where Jennifer could see that she had a lot more options than the guy who bothered her at the ballpark all summer long.

However, as luck would have it we had first period together. It was Coach Bowman's computer class. I was so excited to see her in class, but because we arrived at different times we were sitting on different sides of the classroom. So for the next week I would see her and talk with her. I was sure to find her during break and try to talk with her. I was trying to get her to get to class extremely early the next day and just take the person's seat that was sitting next to me in coach's class since we didn't have assigned seats. The next day Jennifer just didn't have the heart to "steal" someone's seat. I could have left things alone, but again I really liked her and I just couldn't give up, at least not yet. So, I just asked the guy that was sitting behind me in class, very nicely, if he didn't mind to switch seats with Jennifer and to my amazement he said he would. From then on every spare moment of class was spent talking to Jennifer and trying to get her to talk back to me.

Football homecoming was approaching and I couldn't get the nerve to ask Jennifer to the dance. I guess that I didn't want to mess up a good thing and I wasn't sure that she even liked me because I could barely get her to talk to me. However, about a week or two before the dance I finally got up the courage to ask her to the dance. To my surprise and answer to my prayers she actually said yes. I still wasn't sure if she liked me or if she was just too nice to say no. At some point I also asked for her phone number and we started talking every night after I got home from football practice.

The night of the dance arrived and of coarse I was playing in the football game, so I didn't get a chance to see her until after the game. She looked amazing! I gave her a corsage and we headed into the dance. Neither one of us were big into dancing, especially not any fast songs. We got our pictures made and then we danced together for the first time to Joe "I wanna know". In between slow songs we would just stand to the side of the dance area and chat. At the end of the night we were saying bye to everyone and I noticed that Jennifer hugged a couple of the other football players. I was devastated because I had been talking to her for a couple months now and I had never gotten a hug. I figured that our relationship was going to end up as just friends. My sister, Andrea drove us home that night and I walked Jennifer to her door and we said our goodbyes and I gave her a hug goodnight.

This also started the week of fall break so I thought that I wouldn't get to see her for another 10 days. Her family was planning a week long trip to French Lick, IN. It just so happens that her mother needed to come back for a photography class that she had signed up for. So, Jennifer called me and asked if I wanted to go to the movies with her while her mom went to the class. I quickly agreed to a second date. Since we were not able to drive we had to be dropped off at the movies. We went to Malco Theatre in Owensboro and saw Meet the Parents. Afterwards we rode back to McLean County and they dropped me off at my house and we said goodbye. I had planned on asking her to be my "girlfriend", but I could never find the words to say or when to say them.

The next morning I had football practice and I got up early to get ready. Something made me want to call Jennifer to talk. After the dance I thought we would just be friends and then when she asked me to the movies it let me know that maybe she did like me back. So I called Jennifer around 7:30 in the morning and I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes! I was so excited, but it would be another 3 days before I would actually get to see her.

A few weeks later after a football game we took her home. I walked her to the door as usual, but this time I asked her for a kiss. She said yes and I couldn't have been any happier. We have been inseparable ever since. We have been together through almost all our big milestones in life together. Things haven't always been easy, but we have worked things out together and have always been each other's biggest supporter in whatever we were trying to do. We have now been together as a couple for 13 years, married for 6 and a half of those years and I couldn't be any happier. Like I said earlier, I won the lottery when I found Jennifer. Thanks for reading and God Bless!

As Paul Harvey would say "And here's the rest of the story". Jennifer told me this story later on after we have been dating for a while. It turns out that I wasn't the only person interested in Jennifer at the beginning of the our sophomore year. A day or two before I asked her to the homecoming dance, another guy in school asked her to the dance and she said that she wasn't going to the dance. She turned him down because she was hoping that I would ask her to the dance. I am glad that I didn't miss my chance!