Celebrating 19 years of marriage on the 19th day of the month, Tami McWhorter said she had hinted to her husband about it being a special year. Little did she know what surprise he had planned.
Daryl McWhorter said anybody can buy a card and his wife doesn't care much about receiving jewelry. So, the night before their anniversary, he shut himself in the garage and told his wife he was making her present and he'd come to bed later.
When she awoke, she found a bright pink sign on her garage door telling her Happy Anniversary. Wooden numerals 143 hung there, too.
"The numbers are from when pagers were used," she smiled, saying "we're showing our age."
She explained that was the symbol for "I love you" -- 1 for I (a one-letter word), 4 for love and 3 for you.
Unbeknownst to her husband, Tami had taken the day off from work, almost ruining his surprise, but he rebounded and told her to go see their daughter who lived near her work place. He gave her specific instructions for the route to take from Pea Ridge to Bentonville. And there, along the route, were more bright pink signs -- each with another message of affection and expressing his love for her.
There were 11 signs in all -- signifying the 11 children and grandchildren (five children, six grandchildren).
"I wanted her to know, all the way to work, that I love her," Daryl said.
"I got the message," she smiled at him.
"This is the most public display of affection," she said of the signs.
One sign said: "You are my sunshine."
Another said: "I'm married to the greatest woman in the world."
Another said: "Jerm 29:11" with Happy Anniversary vertically along the sides and 143 in the corners. Tami said Jeremiah 29:11 is a Biblical scripture that holds special significance to her.
Interestingly, she is from Longview, Texas. He is from Farmington, Ark. They met in Seattle, Wash.
She was 16 and working at Taco Bell. He was 19 and came to work at the same Taco Bell. And, on the night of their first date, he told her he was going to marry her.
"I'm not marrying you," she laughed recalling what she told him that night.
"There was something about her," he said, tearing up. "I courted her. I chased her.... in the city (Seattle), I rode the bus, several transfers to go downtown to get her a dried flower arrangement. She didn't want big beautiful flowers."
"God made him perfect for me," She smiled.
"We've had our trials and tribulations," Tami admitted, "but God brought us to it and He brought us through it."
And, the two say that the most important way to make marriage work is God first, hard work and transparency.
They recalled a time when the trials were very difficult and someone questioned their staying together, she reminded them that if Daryl had cancer, she'd sit at his bedside. The trial through which they were going was no different, it just was a different kind of trial and she intended to stay with him through it.
After getting off work Tuesday, they got on their motorcycle and took a ride.
"That's perfect. Just him and me. There's something about being the passenger. Everything that you are is given to him. He's being responsible, taking care of me.... I get to take pictures. It's not about stress. It's just about being with him and being his wife," Tami said and she reached out and hugged him.
Community on 05/27/2015