Dancing with my husband at the launch party for my first novel.

Okay. That was a trick.

This could really be about high school anywhere, not just in Appalachia. But I grew up in  a small town squarely in the middle of Appalachia, so we’ll call that good enough for Appalachian Thursday.

Plus, I just want to tell you this.

I didn’t date much in high school. Senior prom was my first official “date.” This could have been due to the fact that I was “coach’s daughter.” Plus, my wrestling coach dad was a math teacher and six-foot, four.

Or, as Dad suggested, it could be because I was so smart and so beautiful the boys were afraid to ask me out. I prefer the second reason, but suspect the first.

Anyway. My husband and I were watching a televised concert last weekend and the band began playing a song I recognized. I laughed and said, “I started to say this is a song I danced to in high school, but actually this is a song I wished someone had asked me to dance to in high school.”

Guess what he did? Yup. He danced with me.

This, my friends, is why, after 21+ years of marriage, I can so highly recommend the institution. My husband and I have only danced a few times in those decades, but each dance has been perfect and memorable whether it was our wedding day or a Saturday evening in our pajamas.

This, I think, is one of the secrets to a good marriage. Filling each other’s gaps.

And he’s from the South.