Grace At Home

A St. Valentine's Day Quiz

In honor of St. Valentine's Day, I thought I would answer these questions from An Old Fashioned Girl.

1. Where did you meet your hubby?

We met in a restaurant at the seashore in Jacksonville, Florida. I was with my best friend and her friend, Collin. Mark thought Collin was my beaux and when Collin went to ask Mark if he'd like to be introduced to me, Mark thought he was coming to fight him for watching me.

2. Who asked who out first?

Naturally, Mark asked me for a date first! :) I'm too old fashioned to have asked him. He asked for my telephone number which I wrote down on a slip of paper just before he walked me to my car, like a true southern gentleman. Mark still has that paper, now very worn and aged but such a special keepsake.

3. What do you remember most about him?

I thought he was handsome! I knew he was in the Navy from his haircut. As we were chatting that first night we met about being in the Navy I told him I didn't think I could ever marry someone in the military. He replied 'Well, I haven't proposed yet.' I remember blushing terribly!

4. What did you do on your first date?

On our first date we went to L & N Seafood at Jacksonville Landing for dinner and then to romantic Cafe Carmon in San Marco for dessert. For our second date, Mark took me to a hot air balloon race.

To finish the story...A few months later, Mark moved to Maine to finish his time with the Navy and the rest of our courtship was long distance. It was difficult but he made it very romantic. This was before e-mail and so we hand wrote letters to one another. I remember anxiously awaiting the mailman everyday to see if there was a letter from Mark and the disappointment if there wasn't one. I still have those letters. Mark also sent the sweetest CARE packages to me from his travels.

5. What was your favorite thing to do while dating?

We did all sorts of different things. Mark is a renaissance man! One evening we would go to the ballet or a play. The next we would do something not quite so elegant such as go to the greyhound races. No matter how wonderful the date was, my favorite thing was after he left and I could just think about our time together and look forward to the next!

6. When was your first kiss by your sweetheart?

On his sofa...he missed.

7. Who said I love you first?

Mark! I would never say it first. I remember wanting to though but I refused to be the first.

8. When did you first realize that you loved him?

Truthfully, I knew the night we first met. I knew he was going to become very special to me. I told my mother and my sister so the next morning.

9. How did he propose?

At the Charleston Airport when I flew in from Atlanta to attend his Law School graduation. We knew we were going to be married but he was taking too long, in my opinion, to propose so I told him before I set foot on the airplane that if I didn't have a ring, I wouldn't go to the ceremony. He greeted me with flowers and the most beautiful engagement ring.

10. What do you remember about your wedding day?

In a nutshell, I remember how beautiful my mother was that day and how she smiled the most beautiful smiles at me as she watched us having our wedding pictures taken and cutting that first slice of our basket weave wedding cake. I remember how loved I felt being given away by my daddy and how he had shown such fatherly love a few months earlier when Mark and I had cancelled our original wedding date. I remember my sisters being there to share in my happiness and my precious nieces. I remember the disappointment of finding out as I walked down the aisle that the person who had promised us a wedding video hadn't followed through with it. I remember the tenseness with certain family. I remember knowing that Mark and I had eloped days earlier and that selfish tears from someone wouldn't change that. I remember the happiness that comes from marrying your best friend.