Facebook is our truly of friend. Although we graduated together from Calvin Coolidge Class of 1986, we did not know each however we connected through Facebook. During the NFL football season 2012, we became Facebook team rivals. Darryl, trash-talked about his Dallas Cowboys and I represented and defended my Washington Redskins now Washington Football Team, back and forth until almost the end of the season.
One day, we decided to take our conversations & laughter off Facebook and exchanged phone numbers. After a couple of weeks of phone conversations. Finally, a date to match the face with the voice, November 24, 2012, he picked me up and took me to Timbuktu, Hanover, MD (Shhhh, “I went for the Free Crabcakes”, lol) however the chemistry was great, the laughter & fun conversation was Amazing!
[spacer]The following week was my birthday he asked what did I want to do? I mentioned Jazz player Jonathan Butler was coming to Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. The day of my birthday and I was visiting my parents, Darryl called and said he had tickets to the concert and he will pick me up. Shocked and excited, I ran home to change. The show & date was perfect. It was exactly what I wanted, and he was the perfect gentleman. It was cold that night, and he gave me his coat while we were in line. In my head, I said, well alright playa, lol. Darryl is a jokester; the night was filled with laughter, great food, a nice atmosphere, and a fun time. It was a perfect date #2. It wasn’t long before he asked for a commitment, he didn’t want me seeing anyone else. I knew that I loved his personality; I loved being with him, so I gave it a try. Darryl was a single father of 3 daughters. The oldest lives on her own and the 2 minors were living with him, and my son lived with my parents.
I have a very close family that requires my attention. My parents and my son’s well-being have always been my top priority, and his daughters were my top priority for him. The longer we tried taking it slow, the more we enjoyed each other’s company. I mean taking it slow while enjoying each other’s company, having fun, and dating. We stayed focused on each other’s happiness, enjoying travel, eating at new restaurants, social clubs, and local events. The years went by very fast. When his daughters graduated from High School, I mentioned to Darryl, I loved him, and we’ve been committed for a while; however, I did not want to be comfortable as a permanent girlfriend. I needed to know if we were on the same page. He promised me we were going to become one and that he was not wasting my time. That’s all I needed to hear; Darryl has never broken a promise. We loved, trusted, and believed in each other.
Our Engagement Story
The morning of our 6th anniversary November 24, 2018, Darryl got up and said he had errands to make and he’ll be back with breakfast, which was pretty normal. I had no idea he was shopping for an engagement ring. That evening my family had a surprising 85th birthday dinner for our Patriarch Uncle Sonny. Little did I know, I also had a surprise. Before the celebration, Darryl asked my father to come outside and asked can he propose & marry me but do not tell my mother, lol. Everyone knows if she found out 1st, it’s a wrap, the secret is out, lol. Once my uncle arrived, Darryl asked my uncle Sony was it ok to propose and he said Yes. Later during the evening, I was at the table getting a piece of birthday cake, I turned around Darryl was on one knee, I honestly thought he was just tying his shoe, lol until I focused, lol. In front of my entire family, Darryl asked me to marry him and I said YEESSS!
We immediately started planning our Forever.
As we were shopping around for a venue, we came to the perfect place, in Silver Spring, Maryland. The date was set for over 1 year later May 24, 2020. After circumstances beyond our control, here comes the pandemic of 2020. We had to change our wedding date but everything was shut down, so we randomly picked April 11, 2021. Theme: “What’s the 4-11? We’re getting married”. At this time, we had to wait on Montgomery County, Maryland, and the social distance guidelines to increase their 10-capacity indoor guest limit. April came around with no changes. We almost canceled the wedding until we found out we would lose our deposit. We decided to give it one more try and changed it to June 6, 2021. Montgomery County would not increase the wedding social distancing guidelines until the county’s residency reached 60% vaccination. I was watching the vaccine map every day, all day. One week before the wedding date the county hit 60% and our day has finally arrived. On the perfect day our dream wedding has finally come true.
Our Love Languages
We appreciate each other’s unconditional love, and we don’t take each other for granted. We take time out for eachother. Dating is normal for us, and that’s what we do. I’m usually the planner, I’m the spontaneous one. Darryl is not a planner, point blank, we’re just going to let him pass on this. Planning things and having to think hard on something stress him completely out. If it’s something I want, he gets it, immediately. I have to be careful with him because I can’t just mention something just to be having a conversation not needing it because he will start ordering stuff. Sometimes, I can be all over the place my hands are full. He is right there when my anxiety starts to show. We don’t worry about who does what more, we just do things together and go with the flow, and if we don’t like it, we won’t do it again.
Not a day goes by without the words I Love You. Every morning he kisses me before leaving the house for work, and he kisses me when he returns. At night, he reaches over to touch me to see if I’m still there. When we do have challenging days, we give each other space until we can show some appreciation, which don’t take too long. A nice restaurant together with the great ambiance is our therapy. Darryl is very protective and attentive, he notices everything. Chivalry is not dead with Darryl, he still opens the car door, helps me with my coat, walks on the outside of the sidewalk, etc; He is a gentleman, however, sometimes he can be very impatient. I am his calm, I am open-minded, I see things from all perspective. I make sure he understands before reacting. We offset each other well.
Dr. Trenice J. Brinkley is a distinguished educator, renowned publicist, and successful entrepreneur. She is celebrated for her unwavering work ethic, strong determination, and philanthropic spirit. As an award-winning celebrity publicist, Dr. Brinkley excels in helping brands create compelling narratives, develop innovative strategies, and achieve greater visibility.
