This story first appeared in the Feb. 12, 2010 print edition of The Eagle’s Tale.

It was summer and I was off to church camp at the ripe old age of 13. At this camp there was a midnight hike the last night to a bonfire. Guys would ask a girl to go with them. Well, I met this girl and thought I would like to ask her to the hike. She was obviously not as outspoken as her friends, because one of them asked me to go to the hike as we all stood around and talked. I suppose I cunningly talked my way into walking all three girls to the hike as not to hurt the one’s feelings and allowing me to walk with Stacy also. (Gotta watch these girls. Make one mad and then the others just caaannn’t be your friend.)

The walk went fine and the next day as we were leaving I could not think of what to do to communicate to Stacy that I was interested. It just seemed that I could not talk to her as she packed with her family on Friday. So I left a couple of rocks in the van, and as odd as that seemed, it started our relationship.

We both lived in Amarillo but went to different schools, so we only saw each other at multi-church events such as youth gatherings. My next big encounter was my junior summer when my younger brother had passed away suddenly and I received a letter from Stacy. It was of great encouragement to me to know she was thinking of me although we honestly did not get to see each other but a couple of times a year.

It wasn’t until her senior year in high school that her family joined the church I attended and we saw each other more often. By that time I was going to school at WT, working and running. Through the next few years and several obstacles we would develop our relationship. (I always attribute those years apart in the middle as a time for me to get the “goofy” out the way for our relationship to flourish.)

We dated one year, and then we had a one-year engagement on the anniversary of our dating.

The month before we were to wed, I found a growth in my throat, and we were not sure if it was cancerous or not. It was a month before I found out it was not cancer. I had the surgery to remove the growth, but a lot was in question. With it being this close to my vocal cords, would I have a career as a teacher? I was to graduate the next spring and provide for my new family and that was in question. Stacy never hesitated; she was beside me all the way.

I recovered just enough for our wedding plans to go through, and we wed on Jan. 9, 1999. Yes, this is 11 years ago, and now we have a 2-year-old boy who is on his way to creating his own story.

Update: The Kirtons have been married 16 years and their son is in first grade. 

“At this time he ‘loves’ Legos and airplanes. Donkey Kong is not too far behind those. 

Advice:  Love is not something you have to look for. It is not in the air. It is a gift from the persons who choose daily to give it.”