A Beginning

Blake

Let's start at the very beginning - a very good place to start. When you read you begin with ABC. When you Sing you begin with Blake and me.
At least that's how my version goes. I was an ambitious university sophomore with a dream to save the world and a love for art and music. Blake was the handsome freshman who seemed to be involved in every activity and whom everyone seemed to know. Little did I know that this charming young man would be the one to ask for my heart and who would keep it in the palm of his hand for a lifetime. Blake and I first met in University Singers, a choral ensemble of about fifty singers which met three times per week each semester. Our story is not a tale of love at first sight. We enjoyed seeing each other around campus and were friendly but that was that.

UU Singers

Winter rose and fell over the West Tennessee landscape. Before I knew it, spring was upon us and a new semester had begun. In March of 2005, our choir went on a grandiose tour of Germany for ten days or so. To some it may not have seemed grand but to this West Tennessee born and raised girl, Germany appeared to be a fantastic land of castles, culture, and history. And that it was. A few days into the trip Blake and I were sitting at a table surrounded by friends and family when I decided someone needed to call him out on his flirtatious ways of the past. I deemed myself to be that girl and found myself with my foot in my mouth as silent chirping crickets serenaded my slide into the depths of self-induced humiliation. 

Heidelberg

In the hours and days that followed, I apologized to Blake and we began talking and spending a lot of time together with our mutual friends - sight seeing, singing, and laughing. Shortly before we left Germany for the U.S., Blake and I were sitting in a stairwell in Frankfurt - reading and casting timid glances at one another. After minutes which seemed like hours, Blake made his way up the stairs and took his seat just below my perch. True to the gentleman he is, Blake asked me if I would agree to see him exclusively when we returned home. Our first official day of dating was spent touring a castle in Heidelberg with friends. By the end of the week, we were drinking milkshakes and eating french fries at Steak n' Shake in Jackson, Tennessee. He made me laugh and I saw him smile - a great beginning to the rest of our lives.



Tune in tomorrow for a word from our sponsors and a taste of cinnamon apples and vanilla ice cream. Yum!