This is my mother’s voice telling me a love story I’d never heard in 50 years of being her son. When my mother was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s, I realized something terrifying: What if there were stories I’d never heard? Stories that would disappear forever when she did?

So I grabbed my camera and asked her to tell me everything she could remember about how she and my father met. What happened next changed everything I thought I knew about my parents.

This Navy love story from 1956 Corpus Christi almost died with her. It’s a story about love at first sight, bold sailors, and a woman who knew exactly what she wanted. But more importantly, it’s about the precious family stories sitting in our loved ones right now – waiting to be asked about, waiting to be preserved.