October 7, 1972

What is so important about this date? This is the date my wife and I agree upon as the date since we have been together. Oh yes, we met in 5th grade and were reunited in junior high. We even went on a date in March of that year. But we were young and things happen so we took the summer off from being a couple. What do a pair of 9th graders know anyway?

But that October evening brought the fall hayride event for our CYO group and neither of us had a date. We agreed to go together and somehow, someway we've never not been together ever since. We dated all through high school, our families got to know each other. We attended each others senior proms and graduation as we each went to seperate Catholic high schools; one for boys and one for girls. We went to college together and got engaged. And on June 4, 1977 we were married at St. Julian Eymard Catholic Church in the Algiers community of New Orleans.

We've had a very blessed married life. Oh sure, it comes with ups and downs, good and bad times, but it's been wonderful. We had our first child Jimmy in 1978, our second child we lost to a miscarriage and then in 1989 we had Elizabeth.

We made a big move in 1996 to the Northshore of New Orleans and fell in love with country life, a beautiful community in Abita Springs and a Catholic Church named for St. Jane de Chantal. Our spiritual life blossomed here and we both got involved in ministry. In 2008, Wendy stood with me in total support when I was ordained a Permanent Deacon for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Wendy has supported me through job changes, my Jaycee career, all my ups and downs and most beautifully through the illness and death of my mom.

I do remember everyone telling us that we were too young to date exclusively and then way too young to get married. Of course, I would not advocate 20 year olds getting married but somehow I knew it would work for us. And now some 37 years after that "1st date" and 32 years after our wedding day, we still cling to each other.

How strange as we grow older we grow closer. It's mostly just us now, Jimmy living in N. Carolina and planning his wedding for the spring and Elizabeth in good old BR at the most awesome university in the World, LSU, home of world championship football, baseball and lots of my money.

So this October 7th Wendy and I will remember our first date and smile at another year together; forever!