Kathleen and Daryl met ten years ago at a dance with Community Living’s Adult Recreation program and started dating shortly after. Kathleen says she remembers Daryl’s mom commenting that they made a nice couple, saying “This is what my son should have.” Not everyone in their families approved right away, but after seeing how happy they made each other, they warmed up to the idea that Kathleen and Daryl made a great couple. Daryl said to Kathleen’s brother “I love your sister. I would never hurt her.” Kathleen said “I don’t take advantage of Daryl. I love him.”

Although they’re busy (Kathleen manages a snack shop at Community Living’s Family Center and Daryl works two jobs), they make it a priority to go on regular date nights. They like to go out to eat, go to the movie theater, and play Bingo with Adult Rec. Daryl says his advice to any couple is “have a good time” together.

After nearly a decade of dating, Kathleen says she was starting to feel like Daryl was more of a brother than a husband. “Daryl and I have been together for a while,” she said. “It’s time to make a commitment.” So she and Daryl agreed to start planning a commitment ceremony. Well, Kathleen started planning anyway. “I don’t think I planned anything for it,” Daryl said. “I just kind of showed up.”

On August 26, Kathleen’s brother walked her down the aisle at Community Living’s building in St. Peters. They pledged their commitment in front of their family and friends. “I had a purple dress on and he had a suit on,” Kathleen remembers. “Not the one I asked him to wear but that was okay,” she joked. Daryl said his favorite part of the ceremony was seeing Kathleen walk down the aisle. He remembers being excited and not nervous at all. Kathleen’s favorite part of the day was walking down the aisle, too. Her second favorite part was opening their gifts. They received a lot of gift cards to the movie theater and their favorite restaurants so they can continue going on date nights.

Daryl says what he loves about Kathleen is that she’s understanding and nice. Kathleen says Daryl is polite, understanding, and concerned about her. She wants people to understand that their relationship is just like anyone else’s. “We’re adults and we love each other and care about each other,” she said. “We’re a happy couple,  very happy couple.” Daryl responded, “What Kathleen just said.”