Every Spring the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal publishes a section of the paper dedicated to special honor graduates from the local high schools: the valedictorians, salutatorians, STAR students, class presidents, and so on. That section of the paper is set up in a way where the students, with their carefully written awards lists and future plans paragraph, are sectioned off by counties. Pontotoc County students are together, Union County students are together, Chickasaw, Monroe, Itawamba, and Lee County are all sectioned of in neat little groups. It just so happened that in May of 2006 Mallory Whitehead was named valedictorian of Shannon High School and Jeremy Haynes was named STAR student of Mooreville. In that black and white thin paper sheet that I'm sure both of our mothers still have put up in some keepsake book, was the first time I laid eyes on him. We were right there together, only about three inches apart.
I suppose I was in that post senior year arrogance where I thought I could take on the world, because he was so handsome that I added him on Facebook. I, being Miss Hospitable, sent him a message explaining who I was, why I added him, and congratulating him on his recent accomplishments. He, being always polite, responded with "Thank you, you too." My futile efforts to create a conversation with this handsome boy who likes fishing and football and whose life goal is to follow God's will for his life, literally ended with an unanswered question on my computer screen. What a jerk.
The following fall I, like nearly every other graduate in Northeast Mississippi, went to Itawamba Community College to continue my education. My first day of college was on a Tuesday. I took English Comp I and then college algebra. Wednesday was my first day of whatever that computer class was, Chem I and Dr. Lay's general biology class. Out of the five thousand or so ICC students, I cannot explain how or why it happened but by The Good Lord's sovereignty, but Jeremy and I were in the same General Biology I class. I have a memory like an elephant (Jeremy will laugh at that), but when sweet ole' Dr. Lay called the class roll the first day and I heard "Jeremy Haynes" I knew immediately that he was the boy from Mooreville who had ignored me on Facebook... and he looked just as cute as he had in the newspaper. After that class was lunch, where I happened to run in to him and Keon Poindexter on the sidewalk outside of the cafeteria. Concerning Keon, I often find myself saying, "Keon knows everyone!" I suppose he's always been that way, because he knew me from the state tennis tournament, where the prior April we had played card games together in the lobby of the hotel. Even though I was fairly confident back then, Keon broke the ice between Jeremy and I right there on that cracked sidewalk, which is where I first spoke to Jeremy in person. I still remember what he was wearing that day: his green Mooreville baseball t-shirt, which I later found out was his "chick-getting" shirt. I guess it worked, because within a week we were sitting next to each other, passing notes and batting eyelashes in biology class.
Things came incredibly naturally during the next months or so. We flirted, had our first date at the Fulton Burger King where I wrote his name in mustard, went the the first football game together, and rode a thousand loops around that community college campus. Eventually Jeremy mustered up the courage to take me on a date to the Tombigbee river bank one night. We sat on that Superman blanket and he sang Alan Jackson songs to me, and then he finally kissed me. We officially became boyfriend and girlfriend on October the second, and a month later he told me that he loved me. I would have told him sooner, but I think it's only proper to wait on the boy to say it first.
It really is a lovely story, how the two of us met and all. If you know us at all, however, you know that we can argue with the best of them. Jeremy and I may be the two most stubborn people on God's green earth, so that has invoked many squabbles, and I'm sure there are many more to come. God made us just stubborn enough, though, to not give up on each other. Once, Jeremy told me that he didn't think we were going to work out and that he was going to break up with me. I told him that I didn't believe him, and after about five minutes of sitting on my front steps and neither one of us saying a word, I guess I confused him enough to stick around.
After dating for nearly five years, Jeremy decided to ask me to marry him last July. I knew that it was coming because Jeremy is a terrible liar and not so great at hiding surprises. He got on one knee at the bench on the southeast corner of the Lee County courthouse, and I said yes... after I asked him why I should marry him. I admit, that was a mean, dirty line to say to a man on one knee with a diamond ring in his hand. I still don't know why he thinks I should marry him, but I said yes anyway.
He's my best friend. I really have loved him since before that one month anniversary. He makes me think and he holds me accountable for what I think. He thinks I'm the most special thing ever created. God made us both peculiar enough to not only deal with each other's peculiarities but build on them. Every time that I see "56" or something to do with fishing or football, I think about his sweet self. I tell him everything that makes me laugh or makes me mad. Even if for some reason he left me now, he would leave me better than he found me.
In a few weeks they are going to print our engagement picture in the Sunday issue of the Daily Journal. I'm sure that our moms will cut out the black and white picture printed on the thin paper, and put it in a keepsake book somewhere. So I guess that brings this story full circle.
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