35 Years and Counting (Blessings)

When we married, I was 22; he was just barely 24. We started dating when we were students at Campbell University and two and a half years later we said our vows. How thirty-five years have slipped away since that day, I could not tell you. But boy, have we made a lot of memories since then. Here, in celebration of our 35th anniversary, are just a sample of them.

1. We married in North Myrtle Beach, SC on a rainy Friday–November 27, 1987–and by Sunday I had moved to Jay’s apartment in Panama City, Florida. He was stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base at the time.
2. We moved to Oklahoma in January 1988; Jay would be stationed at Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City, Oklahoma. The drive to Oklahoma from Florida—in two cars, before the days of cellphones—was interminable and not just because of the distance. We crossed into Oklahoma during an ice storm that slowed traffic to an excruciatingly slow and dangerous crawl. Luckily, it did not turn out to be any kind of omen. We absolutely loved living in Oklahoma.
3. After about six months of looking and visiting, we joined First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, the first church we belonged to as a married couple. Seven years later, the sanctuary’s 100+ year old windows were blown out by the explosion orchestrated by homegrown terrorist Timothy McVeigh at the nearby Alfred P. Murrah federal building. That day, 168 people died and 680 more were injured. (Back then, we thought it would be the most tragic event of its kind in our lifetime.)
4. In the Sunday school class for young couples at FBCOKC, we met a couple who married just five months before we did—Vic and Debbie Averitt. The first time Vic and Debbie invited us to join them for lunch after church, we accepted but we were so nervous! At the time, we were 22 and 24, lived in a just-barely-average two-bedroom apartment, and I was unemployed. Debbie and Vic were in their thirties, owned a beautiful home, and were established in successful careers. What kind of restaurant would such affluent, mature people choose? “I hope this place takes credit cards,” Jay said as we walked to our 1985 Chevrolet Cavalier and they headed over to their Volvo. “I don’t have much cash!” We followed Debbie and Vic to the fine establishment they had chosen: the local version of today’s IHOP. (We didn’t need the credit card.)
5. Another young couple—fresh grads of Oklahoma State University—joined First Baptist OKC a few months later: Ken and Kimberlee Spady. Ken was beginning his career in agricultural science and Kimberlee studied law at OKC University. Kimberlee’s easy laugh and vivacious personality paired perfectly with Ken’s quiet strength and steady presence. In my memory, our friendship formed instantaneously.
6. As soon as housing became available at Tinker Air Force Base—around 1990—Jay and I moved from our place at Woodlake Apartments in Northwest OKC, to a three-bedroom house on base. It felt huge! To me, living on base seemed a lot like college life. Everyone was about the same age (not quite adults, but on our way), we shared some communal spaces (officer’s club, BX, etc.), and we had few pressing responsibilities (no mortgages, for example). I loved it.
7. In 1990, Jay took his first leisure trip to that popular vacation spot known for attracting (or is that attacking?) international tourists. Yep, Jay and hundreds of his closest friends received an all-expenses paid trip to not-terribly-beautiful Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was so much fun that 14 years later he went back to the region for a second vaycay (that time to Tikrit, Iraq as part of the Air National Guard).
8. In November of 1991, you may have noticed that the world was suddenly vastly improved. That would have been when our niece Rachel Elizabeth Webster (now Breckenridge) was born. We met her that December when she was still small enough to fit comfortably in my two hands. My palms still tingle at the memory.

   

9. In August of 1992, we moved to a tiny apartment (exactly the size of a two-car garage) with a huge monthly rent (and still the cheapest we could find) in Cary, NC. That apartment . . . oh my. It was underneath a large home in a nice neighborhood (as garages so often are). The couple, smiling at each other with pride, told us they had renovated the space themselves. (This explained the mismatched paint, uneven molding, and the lovely rooster motif.) I am certain that the apartment had some insulation. I mean, surely the original builders included a layer above the garage, right? Anyway, we could neither cool the place in the summer nor heat it in the winter. What an adventure!
10. We bought our first house in Sanford, NC in 1993. Painted pale yellow with black shutters, it had a front porch—swing added—and a big yard; unfortunately, the yard backed up to an elementary school. (I could hear the tardy bell from my kitchen.) Still, it was my favorite house and if it were twice as big and in Asheville, I’d live in it today.
11. Our three children were all born in the same room at Central Carolina Hospital in Sanford, NC. (Not, however, at the same time.) Trellace, born in 1994, was 3 ½ and Baker was not quite 2 when Margaret joined the family in February of 1998.
12. For about six years, I worked at Central Carolina Community College. My first supervisor at CCCC was Dr. Matt Garrett. He and his wife Becky had three teens (or almost teens) at the time. We learned so much from the Garretts about so many things: leadership, marriage, parenting, faith, and so much more. Of the many gifts we were given during our time in Sanford, NC, the Garrett family is one of our favorites.
13. Keisha McLeod Petty and I also worked together at CCCC; having her as a co-worker for those six years is another of God’s gifts to me and my family. The kids grew up knowing and loving her and her husband Jeffrey Petty. A lot has changed for Keisha and Jeff since we moved from Sanford. Through it all, they have become even more beautiful and an even greater example for my family of abiding faith and enduring love.
14. While in Sanford, Jay and I belonged to First Baptist Church (a recurring association, you’ll notice). We made many great friends there, among them Mark and Traci Willis. We have maintained our friendship with Mark and Traci, raising our families and navigating the complexities of life together. Yet another Sanford blessing!
15. In May of 1998, Jay left his position with the State of North Carolina (he’d completed his Masters’ in Atmospheric Sciences at NCSU in 1994) to accept a position with the National Climatic Data Center (now National Centers for Environmental Information) in Asheville, NC. From May until October of that year, Jay commuted to Asheville from Sanford. He lived in Asheville Monday through Thursday and spent the long weekend at home in Sanford. That went on for six extra-long months.
16. We bought our third house in October 1998: 24 Cedar Trail in Asheville. (We’d sold the little yellow one and bought a size larger while we were in Sanford.) Margaret was just shy of nine months old; Baker was 2½ and Trellace was 4½. Our address falls in the A.C.Reynolds/Oakley school district, so our kids attended Oakley Elementary, then ACR Middle, and then ACRHS. The time from Trellace starting kindergarten at Oakley and Margaret graduating from ACRHS was approximately five minutes, give or take the blink of an eye.
17. Our neighbors, across from us at 17 Cedar Trail were the Chantemerles: Joanna and Donny, Hollyn and Trent. Joanna and I became immediate friends and teased that having husbands was great and all, but getting a wife who lived right across the street? Perfection!
18. In the fall of 2003, Baker and Trellace both made their professions of faith and were baptized by their Papa, my dad. Margaret was baptized in 2013, also by Papa. Beautiful.
19. From 1991 to 2003, our 12 (biological and otherwise) nieces and nephews entered the world. We have seven boys (Cameron, Lane, Jake, Mitch, Connor, Cage, and Banks) and five girls (Rachel, Emma, Meredith, Allie, and Anna Kate). They are all such wonderful people, and we are privileged to share their lives. Nieces and nephews: one of our life’s most delightful surprises. 
20. When I was told that almost-3-year-old Baker might have a developmental speech disorder, I thought it was nonsense. I learned that while there are plenty of appropriate developmental speech patterns, Baker’s did not fall within that range. For example, he called Trellace, “Hada” and when he said words that started with “s,” an “f” sound came out (“soft” sounded like “fof”.) Anyway, he had great therapists and after six years, he graduated from the program at 9 years old. (Seeing as now he pretty much uses his voice to make money, I’d say the treatment was effective.)
    Many adorable stories feature Baker’s unusual speech. Here’s one of the favorites. We were at the allergist’s office and had been there for some time. (Both Baker and Margaret had appointments; Trellace was along for the ride.) By the time we left, the kids were tired and hungry. As I was checking out, the clerk offered the children a sweet treat for good behavior. Baker didn’t hesitate to accept, responding loudly with great enthusiasm, “I want a GREEN sucker!” At least, that’s what he meant to say . . ..
21. When Trellace was 8 years old, she got a bit of a tummy ache which turned out to be appendicitis—a diagnosis that occurred sometime after the appendix ruptured, shortly before the surgery to remove it. Peritonitis, as it turns out, is nasty business. Because of the superb medical care at Mission Hospital (those were the days), Trellace got better just in time for us to go on our annual trip to The Woodlands, TX to spend Thanksgiving with the Averitt family—a tradition that we kept up for more than a decade.
22. I had just finished teaching a fitness class and the kids were waiting for me there in the studio at the YMCA when it happened. Suddenly, Margaret began crying out in pain, describing the symptoms of a classic migraine; she was six years old. By that time, she had grappled with asthma for two years. Thanks to modern medicine for quality pharmaceuticals and to chiropractic care for healing adjustments, Margaret keeps both in check these days. Never a pushover, Margaret wasn’t about to let a little bit of neurological distress and respiratory dysfunction slow her down.
23. When I was 42, in January of 2008, I returned to college for the third time (MEd, UCO, 1992), this time to Gardner-Webb University to pursue my Master’s of Divinity. I graduated in December 2010. In Fall 2017, I headed back to Boiling Springs, NC to begin my Doctorate of Ministry which I finished in 2021.

    

24. One weekend in the fall of 2011, I was out of town for a speaking engagement. Jay called me to tell me that Baker had gone to the school’s homecoming dance with a girl I had never met. (An aside: apparently my husband had never met ME seeing as he mentioned this casually and in passing. This was Baker’s FIRST date!) A few weeks later, they made it “Facebook official.” That Facebook status didn’t change until March 2017 when Addison Cook said YES to becoming a Lawrimore. (On May 19, 2018, they changed their status once more to “married.”)
25. Our nest emptied out in the fall of 2016 when Margaret went to NC State, following her brother who had gone to UNC Greensboro and her sister who graduated that same year from Georgetown University. After Margaret graduated from NCSU with a bachelor’s in Environmental Sciences, she continued there (following a yearlong break) to the PhD program in geospatial analytics (whatever that is). Baker finished college and got married in the same month. Trellace is (as of fall 2022) in the waning stages of her PhD at New York University.
26. I became pastor of Ecclesia Baptist in August 2018 and just like that my dream job was reality. Thanks be to God!
27. We lost Jay’s mother, Joyce, in 2019. She was 83. A true champion, she overcame most of the challenges associated caused by her 50-year battle with muscular dystrophy. Though her health was tenuous for the entirety of our marriage, it still felt like we lost her too soon. Our grief is lessened, though, when we imagine her running, dancing, and playing a heavenly game of tennis on the other side of the veil.
28. In December 2019, Jay and I traveled with a team from Ecclesia to visit our sister church in La Vallita, Cuba. Our trip included New Year’s Day so when we returned, 2020 had begun. That meant that we didn’t get to return until October 2022. Our love for Cuba defies reason and description. From the beauty of Matanzas to the overflowing love at Rios De Agua Viva Iglesia in La Vallita, we fell heart-first for our new familia Cubano! End the embargo (thevalleystarnews.com)
29. The Covid-19 pandemic hit too close when we lost Jay’s cousin Erik to the virus. He was too young, and he died too soon. Covid doesn’t play. Please take it seriously.
30. 2020 did bring blessings, though. Among them, the birth of the world’s most precious grand-niece, Thea Breckenridge. We are at her mercy!

    

Both sets of parents passed their 60th anniversaries, Jay’s 60 and mine 62. Jay’s sister Jill and her husband Ted will be married 35 years in January; Aileen’s sister Dawn and her husband Mike are up to 32 years; Hal, Aileen’s brother, and his wife Kim celebrate their 31st anniversary in December. Add all that up and you’ve got two centuries of marriage. Makes our 35 seem like just a short chapter in a really long and beautiful love story. We are grateful.