Opposites Attract: The Twenty-Four Year Phenomenon
Paul and Shari have been married for 24 years. Please, hold your applause until the end. Personally, I think it's truly an act of God because I've never met two people more unlike each other. But then again, we've all heard it said that "opposites attract." (Although Tyler and I are very similar and I'm almost 99% positive that there's an attraction...)
Paul and Shari went to high school together at Benjamin Franklin High in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a freshman when she was a sophomore (and he still never lets her forget the meager age difference) and they had Geometry together. Paul sat behind Shari, passing on a paralyzing fear to me that I would have to marry whomever I sat behind in Freshman Geometry. No wonder I couldn't figure out proofs, I was too concerned with Frank and I's lack of a love connection. Unfortunately, the high school love connection was short-lived for my parents. She was a cheerleader and traded in Paul and his bike for a soccer player with a car, dating the aforementioned stud for the remainder of her high school career.
Both she and Paul discovered/rediscovered Christ during their college years and began to bond over that, keeping in touch through phone calls and letters. He told her all about the ladies in his life at Rice University and always wanted Shari to meet his current love interest. Shari hasn't told me much about her dating life at TCU, but I'm sure there was no shortage of willing gentlemen.
My favorite part of their story is when Shari invited him to attend a wedding with her as a friend. After attending the rehearsal dinner she met another member of the wedding party that was also date-less. So she politely called up Paul to explain the situation, explaining that she wouldn't need him to accompany her after all. He took it in stride, but caught her off guard with his goodbye, "it's okay, Shari. We'll go to another wedding someday. Ours."
Cut to June 25, 1988. Is Paul prophetic or what? I know it hasn't always been the easiest journey in the world, but I love them for showing me what marriage looks like. Thanks for showing A Very Lucky Girl how it's done. Here's to at least another 24 years.
Paul and Shari went to high school together at Benjamin Franklin High in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a freshman when she was a sophomore (and he still never lets her forget the meager age difference) and they had Geometry together. Paul sat behind Shari, passing on a paralyzing fear to me that I would have to marry whomever I sat behind in Freshman Geometry. No wonder I couldn't figure out proofs, I was too concerned with Frank and I's lack of a love connection. Unfortunately, the high school love connection was short-lived for my parents. She was a cheerleader and traded in Paul and his bike for a soccer player with a car, dating the aforementioned stud for the remainder of her high school career.
Both she and Paul discovered/rediscovered Christ during their college years and began to bond over that, keeping in touch through phone calls and letters. He told her all about the ladies in his life at Rice University and always wanted Shari to meet his current love interest. Shari hasn't told me much about her dating life at TCU, but I'm sure there was no shortage of willing gentlemen.
My favorite part of their story is when Shari invited him to attend a wedding with her as a friend. After attending the rehearsal dinner she met another member of the wedding party that was also date-less. So she politely called up Paul to explain the situation, explaining that she wouldn't need him to accompany her after all. He took it in stride, but caught her off guard with his goodbye, "it's okay, Shari. We'll go to another wedding someday. Ours."
Cut to June 25, 1988. Is Paul prophetic or what? I know it hasn't always been the easiest journey in the world, but I love them for showing me what marriage looks like. Thanks for showing A Very Lucky Girl how it's done. Here's to at least another 24 years.
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