Not looking for love nor a relationship I was determined to find myself and enjoy the single life for the first time in years. I started to attend church with my children( Zaniyah-Rose & Zion) and knew we needed healing time together. Little did I know a small clique of co-workers started to hangout and Woods tagged along not knowing it was only because I was there. I remember yelling at him and calling him Freddy for the first time because he always was late when it was time to meet up. Constant meetups and endless friend groups he finally had enough with everyone being there so he tried to ask me out alone and that gave me the idea that he liked me for the first time ever. That night turned into him inviting all our co-workers along and me then thinking maybe he doesn’t like me. But then the text that confirmed he did followed a week later and I called him out on it. Woods came over and we stayed up until 5am talking all night. I felt normal with him, relaxed, loved, and protected. I found out he was a man of God and attended bible study faithfully every week and church every Sunday. I was shocked because I knew my husband would be a man of God. I prayed that if he was right for me to allow him to stay In my life but if not to remove him before he gets close. But God had a plan and Woods continued to love me through times I didn’t love myself. I knew that one night when I was at my lowest and he wouldn’t leave my side and he just held me and said, I love you that this man was different. My children fell for him just as I did and now we will all say I do together.

Let’s keep it real for a second. Now, I have been in a couple of relationships over my short lifetime. Some relationships were more serious then others but for the most part they all had an expiration date. If you know me then you know that is the truth. I always thought of myself as the type that would one day have a kid and do my best to take care of mine. Then Felicia Tamera Best walked in my life and all that changed. I had recently been removed from a relationship and was not in the state of mind to jump into another one. I was having a good time doing me and living what I though was my best life. As the 2018-2019 school year was underway, I was becoming more serious in church and gradually started to change the way I was living for the better. My pastor took a couple of the men from my church out to breakfast one day and talked about the importance for a man to have a relationship with a woman. That a woman was created by god with the rib of a man. Therefore, I call Felicia my rib. At work I have been working hard and trying to do my best to be the best teacher I can be during that school year. Also, I would find my future wife throughout that process. The first thing that got my attention was her laugh. Every time I heard her laugh it made me laugh. When I saw her, I would have a smile on my face, and I did not know why. I loved the way she interacted with her daughter. With all that she was beautiful. We went out with co workers a few times and all those times I started to like her more and more. One night which I will not get into much detail about out of respect for my coworkers, me and her ended up being the adults taking care of everyone that night. In the car ride home, I knew that I was going to make a move on her I just did not know how. Which is strange for me because I always know what to say to girls. But with her I was nervous and just wanted things to be perfect. So, I saw her at the bathroom with her class one day and decided that I was going to make my move. I put my hand on her arm and said, “Yo, get a babysitter and let’s go out.” I left a lot less confident then I did when I made that statement. I don’t know why but I was nervous. So, like a punk I turned it into another group outing. I was feeling like Will Smith in Hitch. Fast forward to my trip to Atlantic City. I was on an AAU trip to Atlantic City with a basketball team that I was an assistant coach on. On the car ride back me and Felicia were in the middle on a text conversation. In the conversation she straight up asked if I was feeling her and want to hang out with just her. I said of course I wanted the one on one with her and get to know her better. That night once I got back, I invited myself over to her house. We talked all night and it felt good. I went home that morning hoping she would just give me a chance to be the man to make her happy. The more we hung out the more I was falling in love with her. I have been by her side ever since I came back from that trip and I hope I stay by her side for the rest of my life. I know that my mom and grandma are looking down blessing our relationship and are happy that I found my soul mate. Being with her, Miss Rose and Zion I am complete.