10 years ago, I was a single man living in Greenville, SC and still teaching school at the good old age of 67. I lived alone with just my cat and sometimes a grandcat. Often, I thought about how I was getting older and living alone was not very much fun. I didn't think much about getting married again. I had my two sons, two daughters-in-law, and my cat so I felt that I would be okay.
Then a friend of my son asked me to go to a football game where we ran into his then-girlfriend who heard me talking about sports, history, and education - a few of my favorite things! She asked if she could set me up on a blind date with her mom the following weekend as her mom had a similar passion for sports, history, and education. That dinner was on Halloween 2014 but it turned out to be a treat and not a trick.
My wife, Nancy, is what some would call a strong-willed person. She believes very strongly in working to help others less fortunate. What drew my interest most was her interest in the Civil War and the fact that we seemed to have some of the same core values. We started talking on the phone after she went back to her hometown of Annandale, VA and eventually, I defied my expectations and went North to visit her. We dated long distance for several months, got engaged the following Valentine’s Day and were married in August 2015, all less than a year from our first date.
The intention in introducing us was to get Nancy to move to South Carolina but the opposite occurred and I went North to Virginia to start a new and interesting life. We began working together in political endeavors and community projects and shared many new adventures. We discovered later that I was the yang to her yin. We work on many projects where she handles one set of ideas and I complement my set of ideas. As all couples do we sometimes have conflicts but somehow seem to be able to work through them. Over the last 10 years, we have traveled to many different parts of the world, which I would not have done otherwise, and shared many great discoveries. I am very happy to share my life with Nancy. Oh, by the way, I got a wonderful daughter (your matchmaker, Jessica) and granddaughter (her daughter, Madison) out of the deal.
David Roach
