I am dating a young Attala County native, the second of two very intelligent children in the family of a bi-vocational Baptist minister and a
Sonya Joy Armstrong Terrell hails from the Carmack community, between Vaiden and Kosciusko.
Her parents, Curtis "Mickey" and Carolyn, are absolutely wonderful people. Both natives of Attala County, neither strayed far from their roots. They are as kind, gentle, and quiet as you would expect rural Mississippi hill-folks to be, much like those I grew up around in Carrollton. After being reared mostly by his grandparents, Mr. Armstrong spent many years dividing his time as a public school teacher and a Baptist minister. He knows some of my kinfolks on the Whitfield side of the family, and describes them as "good, good people". He taught one of my uncles way back when at Zama, MS. Mrs. Armstrong, as was the "norm" in their day, stayed home with Sonya and her older brother, Duane. The previous allusion to intelligent children is personified in Duane, who is literally a NASA rocket scientist, currently working in the Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi.
Sonya is no less bright, holding two degrees, a bachelor's in elementary education from Mississippi State University, and a bachelor's in physical therapy from the University of Mississippi. She loves her work as a physical therapist at an Indianola nursing home. It is a joy to hear her talk about her daily work and interaction with the patients.
Four children, Mikalya who will soon be 14; Jay who is 12; Kelli who is 9; and Reed who is 6, make things quite fun, entertaining, and interesting around Sonya's house every other week.
Some don't think that this relationship is best for me. While time will certainly tell, I disagree with their assessment. I have a very good friend, and I just happen to be dating her. I enjoy the frequent long talks we have. While they often involve complex topics, rarely to they become emotional. Instead, we are able to climb up onto an intellectual level and openly talk about anything. We agree a lot. Occasionally we don't, and we respect that. Our relationship is grounded in two basic "rules"; 1) Our relationship will not interfere with or jeopardize our friendship. Friends first, and always; and 2) Our relationship will not interfere with our roles as parents to our respective children. If at any time we feel that we're encroaching on the spirit of these conditions, we call a time-out, voice each of our concerns, and come to a mutual decision. For the majority of the time, whenever a "time-out" is called, it isn't because of what the other person did or didn't do. Most often, it is because we've individually seen something within ourselves that we felt was violating our rules, and we want to address it.
I have an awesome respect for this mother of four. She orchestrates every moment from coming home, to homework, to supper, to showers, to bedtime with amazing skill. Add in seasonal sports activities for all four, sometimes occurring simultaneously, and it is quite a show. Certainly, herding four children isn't always easy. But she seems to do it with poise and grace.
I've mentioned her parents already. They are a delight. Quiet, humble, trustworthy people. They've seen their daughter go through a lot in the past 2 years. But they've done it with the understanding that she is her own person, and one that they can trust. I enjoy getting to visit with them. All four of us have had some very deep, personal talks.
I could go on, but these are just some thoughts that have been begging to get out of my head into the open for a while.
I'm dating. I am happy.
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