Falling in Love
In my previous post, I posted some photos from my recent hike over Stone Mountain. NC. This is where my wife and I started to fall in love. Let me tell you the story:
I had just come home from UNC-Charlotte and was bound for Columbia Bible College in the fall. Having secured a day job through a temp agency I had evenings off for normal activities. So I joined the choir. Lois had been singing in the choir for a few months already. She had just her first year of college. Sheryl Merritt was a nanny and had only joined the church, and the choir, recently. Bob McCanless had felt the call to ministry and was bound for seminary in the fall. Bob and I both sang baritone and sat next to each other. Lois and Sheryl both sang soprano and sat next to each other.
One Wednesday evening at choir practice, I shared with Bob my plans to go hiking at Stone Mountain that coming Saturday. I was going to pack a lunch and a Bible and do some studying on the rock. I had no one to go with and Bob asked if he could join me. I thought that would be a great idea. After choir as we came down from the back row to put our music up, we passed Lois and Sheryl. On a whim, Bob asked if they wanted to go hiking with us Saturday. They both liked the idea. Suddenly, my trip alone turned into a trip of four.
We agreed to meet at church that morning and make driving plans then. None of us had a car big enough to seat four comfortably with all our gear so Bob and I decided to drive our cars and each take one of the ladies. Lois rode with me and Sheryl rode with Bob. I've never been a big country music fan, but I happened to have a couple of Garth Brooks albums with me. Lois listened to country music some in those days and plugged one in. We sang along to the likes of "Papa Loved Momma", "I Got Friends in Low Places" and "Shameless" all the way up. We got to the mountain, hiked up it and sat down for lunch and some Bible study. We prayed and ate and I led a discussion of Proverbs for a good two hours before we decided that we ought to get back to hiking. On the trail, there was plenty of time for good talk.
As great as this was, we didn't really pair up until movie night a couple of weeks later. Sheryl was a live-in Nannie for the Drs. Petrozza. Occasionally, the whole family would leave for the weekend and Sheryl would have the house to herself. They had a home theater in the basement, so Sheryl invited us all over to watch a couple of movies.
For the first movie, Bob sat in the sofa on one side, Lois sat in the sofa on the other and Sheryl and I sat in the double recliner in the center. During the course of the movie, my hand slipped off the side of the chair next to where Lois was. She had scooted up to the armrest of the sofa and was drooping her hand off into mid-air toward my chair. An hour or so later of millimeter-by-millimeter edging ever closer, our hands finally touched and gradually clung to each other.
The intermission brought a slight change in where we sat. I moved over onto the couch with Lois and Bob filled the seat I vacated next to Sheryl. By the end of the second movie, Bob and Sheryl were holding hands and Lois and I were comfortably snuggled together.
The rest is history...
By the way, Lois just posted her first photos from Venezuela. She shows what she and the kids are doing with some of the children from the poorer neighborhoods.
Next post, the proposal...
I had just come home from UNC-Charlotte and was bound for Columbia Bible College in the fall. Having secured a day job through a temp agency I had evenings off for normal activities. So I joined the choir. Lois had been singing in the choir for a few months already. She had just her first year of college. Sheryl Merritt was a nanny and had only joined the church, and the choir, recently. Bob McCanless had felt the call to ministry and was bound for seminary in the fall. Bob and I both sang baritone and sat next to each other. Lois and Sheryl both sang soprano and sat next to each other.
One Wednesday evening at choir practice, I shared with Bob my plans to go hiking at Stone Mountain that coming Saturday. I was going to pack a lunch and a Bible and do some studying on the rock. I had no one to go with and Bob asked if he could join me. I thought that would be a great idea. After choir as we came down from the back row to put our music up, we passed Lois and Sheryl. On a whim, Bob asked if they wanted to go hiking with us Saturday. They both liked the idea. Suddenly, my trip alone turned into a trip of four.
We agreed to meet at church that morning and make driving plans then. None of us had a car big enough to seat four comfortably with all our gear so Bob and I decided to drive our cars and each take one of the ladies. Lois rode with me and Sheryl rode with Bob. I've never been a big country music fan, but I happened to have a couple of Garth Brooks albums with me. Lois listened to country music some in those days and plugged one in. We sang along to the likes of "Papa Loved Momma", "I Got Friends in Low Places" and "Shameless" all the way up. We got to the mountain, hiked up it and sat down for lunch and some Bible study. We prayed and ate and I led a discussion of Proverbs for a good two hours before we decided that we ought to get back to hiking. On the trail, there was plenty of time for good talk.
As great as this was, we didn't really pair up until movie night a couple of weeks later. Sheryl was a live-in Nannie for the Drs. Petrozza. Occasionally, the whole family would leave for the weekend and Sheryl would have the house to herself. They had a home theater in the basement, so Sheryl invited us all over to watch a couple of movies.
For the first movie, Bob sat in the sofa on one side, Lois sat in the sofa on the other and Sheryl and I sat in the double recliner in the center. During the course of the movie, my hand slipped off the side of the chair next to where Lois was. She had scooted up to the armrest of the sofa and was drooping her hand off into mid-air toward my chair. An hour or so later of millimeter-by-millimeter edging ever closer, our hands finally touched and gradually clung to each other.
The intermission brought a slight change in where we sat. I moved over onto the couch with Lois and Bob filled the seat I vacated next to Sheryl. By the end of the second movie, Bob and Sheryl were holding hands and Lois and I were comfortably snuggled together.
The rest is history...
By the way, Lois just posted her first photos from Venezuela. She shows what she and the kids are doing with some of the children from the poorer neighborhoods.
Next post, the proposal...
Labels: falling in love, love
posted by Jim Pemberton at 7:39 AM
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