I can’t believe that day is coming. This Saturday, Kent and Kelly will each don a cap and gown and walk across the stage at Old Dominion University to accept their undergraduate degrees. I can’t believe it, I really can’t. You see, I first met Kent when he was probably about 11 or 12 years old (a whopping decade ago). I was a young Marine who’d just started working at my first duty station in Quantico and new to military life. I’d met his father at work. Everyone referred to him as “Mr. Ferriss”, the “nice guy over there”. I won’t go into all the details, but I’ll always be indebted to Jay Ferriss for teaching me a thing or two about the American dream and entrepreneurial spirit (among other things). I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him and his wife (I’m getting teary eyed thinking about that part of our relationship so I’m going to save the rest of it for another post sometime). I don’t remember the exact moment I’d met Jay, but I do remember how taken I was with his kindness and willingness to share any knowledge he had in such a “dog eat dog” environment.
A few weeks (maybe even a few days) later, I found myself at his house meeting his family for the first time. I’ll never forget this picture in my head: I was driving down their street and there was a little kid in the driveway tearing it up with his skateboard. I remember thinking “whoa, he’s really good”. Turns out, he was in the driveway I was turning into. He saw me turning in and rears his head back to yell “Daaaaaaddddd!” I was greeted by friendly smiles from Jay and his wife Dawn. They welcomed me in with open arms and I remember Dawn beaming with pride and joy when she talked about both her sons. We visited frequently from then on and Kent would always come bounding in, skateboard in hand (and as the years went on, soccer ball under his arm…and then eventually Kelly on his arm).
Fast forward 10 years later, and here we are. Kent’s and his “squeeze” (Kelly, his high school sweetheart and a wonderful addition to Kent’s life) as Jay’s always referred to her, are graduating from college! Now, I have to add something about Kent and Kelly here. I’ve come to love Kelly as a friend because not only is she tremendous fun to be with, but she and Kent are like peas and carrots. As corny as it sounds, it’s so true. You would think that a couple their age would be out all the time and getting into some sort of shenanigans on a regular basis, but that isn’t the case with these two. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they have their good times but when they’re home spending time with friends and family, if you didn’t SEE how young they are you’d think they were a middle aged couple. When I visit I typically find them sitting on the sofa with the Ferriss family dogs (horses, I should say….they’ve got two lovey dovey pit bulls who would probably sooner hug you to death than rip your head off) watching their evening “programs” or rifling through a catalog together. It’s really funny to watch them and Dawn and I always have a good laugh at their expense (if you can call it that).
I can’t help but to feel proud like a big sister watching her little bro take the next step in entering a big scary world with confidence that he’s going to do AWESOME. I’ve watched Kent grow from an eager adolescent to a confident young man and every time he’s faced some type of adversity, he’s always conquered it with little to no trouble (maybe not “no” trouble, but he always made it seem so easy!). I can’t wait to see how Kent and Kelly each progress over the next 10 years.
Congrats, Kent and Kelly. Here’s to a new chapter in your lives!
Lots of love,
Char
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It was so sweet to see two father daughter relationships. While the father of the bride celebrated the marriage of his daughter, the groom’s daughter also celebrated the addition of a mother in her life.
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