Heart to Heart

I started teaching at Bow High School in the fall of 2009 and Bob was one of the first people I met.
He is the AV and tech guy, so I knew we'd be working together when it came time for my concerts. We got along right from the start and often hung out in my office, just chatting and laughing. He has a great sense of humor and we just clicked, though at that time I was thinking of him as just a friend. The more time we spent together, the more we just liked hanging out. By mid-October I found myself making excuses to go to his office and finding ways that I could see him throughout the day. At that point I realized that I really liked him and I thought he might like me too, but I wasn't sure. He was actually going in for open heart surgery at the beginning of November and he decided to take a leap and ask me out 2 days before his surgery. We went out to dinner and talked for hours. He told me how much he liked me and how he had liked me for months. He had been asking around to other teachers at school to find out if I was married or if I had a boyfriend - he was very relieved when he found out neither was true. His surgery was a huge success and hearing his voice when he called me from the hospital was the best thing I've ever heard. I always tell him that they opened up his heart so I could climb in. We got engaged at the end of March and our wedding is October 2, 2010 in New Hampshire.

Photo Okayed - Matchmaking with a Happily Ever After Ending

One day a proposal came to my father from the prospective suitable boy's maternal uncle.  Our family was known to them.  After the initial proposal, the uncle and the prospective boy's father came to discuss the proposal with my father one evening.  Maa made necessary preparations to receive the important guests.

During the meeting the suitability of the boy was discussed which included his education, which was pretty impressive, his profession and family.   The uncle then asked baba about me.  Both seemed to be satisfied and agreed to progress.  Photographs were exchanged.  The boy's photo was shown to me and my opinion was sought.  I saw the face of a reasonably personable young man and decided he would do. I guess the young man also thought the same, for it was rumored his telegram to his parents read 'Photo Okayed'. 

Close Your Eyes And Defy Gravity

Sometimes when love comes along, you just have to have a little faith...faith in your friends, faith in the guy, and faith that everything will work out. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and just close your eyes....and defy gravity.

 
The story of how we met began in November of 2007.  My best friend suggested that I go to her company Christmas party with a coworker she wanted me to meet.  I have never been the type of person eager to be set up, so I was happy to tell her that I had plans for that same day.  Time passed, and my family and I paid a visit to this same best friend on New Year's Eve.  She made mention of this coworker again.  Once again, I blew off the idea of getting set up.



Flash forward to April of 2008.


 
My  friends and I found ourselves  at Sea World for the day.  For dinner, we decided to eat at a local Korean BBQ restaurant.  When we got to the restaurant, my friend told me that we needed to leave one extra seat empty.  Apparently, "the coworker" was meeting us there.  I didn't want to sit next to him, so I made another friend sit next to me.  I didn't know the guy, there was no way he was going to sit next to me while I ate! Knowing he was coming made me so nervous.  Instead of looking for what to order, I spent most of the time watching the door, trying to figure out which guy was going to walk through and come straight to our table.  It felt like an eternity for him to arrive.  It seemed like at the very moment I decided to look away from the door was the very moment he decided to walk in.


He introduced himself to the group, sat across from me, and we all had a nice dinner.  There was something about him that seemed different from every other guy I had met.  I don't know if it was "sparks" or if it was "love at first sight."  All I know was that this first meeting was definitely not going to be the last.  He made me feel comfortable.  He was easy to talk to and joke around with.  I even ended up sharing some of my rice with him.  He was that kind of guy that made you feel like you had known him forever.


We left dinner that night, but we didn't exchange contact information.  We just ended the night with a "nice to meet you" and "good-bye."


A few days later, my best friend gave me his cell phone number because she wanted me to ask him for help on something.  We've never stopped texting each other since.


Our first date was in April at Disneyland.  We got married the following October and are now happily together with a new family.

http://artsyprincess.wordpress.com

SoRo Romance

We met on a Friday night in the middle of spring (we’d actually met before that and said “hello” but she doesn’t remember). It was the last day of law school exams. All over, small parties had erupted in different homes. Everyone was dealing with the sudden combination of exhaustion, relief, and elation. I was happy to be done with exams and even happier that I had three weeks of nothing to do.



Just as all roads in the ancient world led to Rome, all parties in SoRo lead to Crossroads. Crossroads is a large bar/space that serves several different purposes as the primary spot in a tiny New England town filled with liberal law students and life-long residents. It’s a dive bar with cheap beer, it’s a giant outdoor patio and horseshoe pit, it’s a back room with pool tables, and on a night when the  entire law school is hanging out and celebrating, it’s a dance hall; the whole place was thumpin’.


I arrived with about a dozen friends from an earlier house party. It was late, but not late for a Friday night. I bought a beer and worked my way through the crowd, trying to say hello to people who were graduating or heading off for the summer. After a little while, I noticed this girl on the dance floor. She had arrived earlier with friends, and was celebrating her last exam of her first year. I watched as she moved around laughing and smiling; she seemed to know everyone and everyone seemed to love her. Unfortunately my friend, Chris, also spotted her and was pretty confident about his chances. So we made a bet over whether Chris would get a kiss by the end of the night. Chris figured that he wouldn't have a problem because, even though she had been dancing with some other guys, she seemed willing to dance with him and he had faith in his own persistence. Sadly (and unexpectedly) for Chris, I hadn't yet begun to talk with the cute blonde girl; it’s like making a bet on the likelihood that the Yankees will win a game, only to discover later that you’d been talking with Derek Jeter.


I began dancing, trying to surreptitiously edge my way towards my objective, who was grooving like whoa to the music. I arranged an introduction. We started to dance, and dance and dance. It got later and later: midnight and beyond. Her friends started leaving. She suggested I go with them, so we head to the big gazebo on town green. Everyone always wants to keep on spending just a little more time out in the nice early summer weather. We talked and talked discussing all sorts of things, and the night grew deeper. After a bit, it got a little cooler and we went over to her car to get her jacket. At the car, we kissed, and upon leaning against the car, released the emergency brake. The car began to roll downhill towards the green. At that exact moment, her friend wandered by, and we had to scramble to keep the car from rolling over the friend and onto the green. We kept the car (and friend) from catastrophe and I walked her back to where she was staying. I got her phone number, which I promptly lost, but saved myself by emailing her two days later.

Chris bought me a drink the next night.

My Mom and Dad

The first time I posed the question, "So how did you meet anyway?" the subject naturally enough, was my mother. We were in the kitchen and she was ironing a never ending pile of cotton shirts. She put down the iron and with a wry smile on her face told the story of how she met my father.

My mother was a nurse working in Providence, RI during World War II. The war had just ended and her former roommate, Virginia, was in town to show off her blossoming family. As their afternoon visit wound down, Virginia's brother, along with a group of friends, started to head out the door. Never one to waste the still rationed gasoline, my future grandmother added several items to his agenda along with, "Why don't you drop Virginia's friend off while you're out?".

Several blocks later, not wanting to impose on anyone, my shy mother hopped out at the next stop sign and walked home. My father, hoping to get an opportunity to "chat up" my mother, was dismayed to find her gone.

He went to his sister to ask about my mother's dating status and was given the not too truthful reply, "She's practically engaged." Having lost too many years to service in the Pacific, and never one to waste any time, my dad made his move and the rest is family history, our beginning.

Having The Time Of My Life

This is the story of how I met my husband, he has a whole different story, but, well, that’s a different story altogether. After 21 years of marriage, WE,have established that I am almost always right.

I was 16 and living in Guatemala, my father was stationed there with the American Embassy, and I was having, much like the popular movie of that time, having the time of my life. I was a singer in a 80’s pop foursome, and because of a Guatemalan law, incoming International concerts had to have local act open for them, which was our group.  That meant playing for crowds of thousands of people and boy was it FUN! The largest concert we ever played was a converted bull-fighting ring, and it was a logistical nightmare. The security company decided to bring in some large local College boys, think College Hunks hauling Junk types, and they served as the VIP Security and Security for the different Pop Groups.

I was back stage and had thrown up I was so nervous, there was almost 10,000 spectators, suddenly behind me was man acquaintance and his friend, a drop dead gorgeous hunk of a man. My brain processed there was a beautiful man talking to me, but my nervousness overrode my brain and I did not say much. As they walked away I heard him and our mutual friend talking about me and then he said“She has a rocking body.” As a former fat kid, that was it, I was in love.

Holiday Happiness

The holiday season is certainly very special for us! Met at Christmas, engaged on Thanksgiving, and getting married New Years Day! :)

"Mike and I met during Christmas at my aunt’s house in Florida. He was my cousin’s best friend and I was instantly smitten. He was so different than anyone I’d  ever met. He was hilarious, sarcastic, extremely intelligent, and had the most amazing stormy blue eyes you’ve ever seen. He chased me around my aunt’s back yard with markers—I guess that meant he liked me, too. After the holidays, I went back to Alabama with my family, but he never left my mind. That was in 1998, and I was 11.

We saw each other every other Christmas for the next few years—only 4 times between 1998 and 2003. We spent the time between, chatting on Instant Messenger, sending ridiculously long emails, and occasionally  talking on the phone. We never fully came out and said that we liked each other, but it was obvious. We’d go months without speaking, and then pick up right where we left off. Despite the distance, there was something that just kept drawing us back to each other. The last time we came to Florida for the holidays was in 2005. I was so excited to see him. I had just turned 18, I had grown up a little, and I just knew that if he was there that Christmas, I would finally tell him how I felt after all those years. He didn’t show. I was 16 the last time I saw him.

When I was 19, I moved to Florida with my boyfriend at the time, Jason, so he could pursue his education. I hate to admit this, but as soon as my then-boyfriend decided to move to Florida, Mike crossed my mind.


I knew I would finally be in his home state, closer to him than I’d ever been. Needless to say, my relationship with Jason didn’t work out for a number of reasons. I moved in with my mom in South Florida where I did a combination of sulking and stalking Mike's MySpace page. After a few weeks, I got up the courage to email him. I never expected to get a response—we hadn’t spoken in a year and a half, nor seen each other for almost 4 years. He responded. We (again) emailed and spoke on the phone for a few weeks until we decided to finally meet up.

When we reunited, it was magical. Fireworks. One day turned into three, and we both just knew. This was it. This is what everyone talks about, hopes for. This is why fate kept bringing us back together no matter how much the cards weren’t in our favor. And finally, after almost 10 years, on that weekend, fate managed to set everything up perfectly, flawlessly. On the way home after that weekend, I called my friend, and the first thing I said was, “Oh my god, I’m going to marry him!”

Worth Her Weight In Gold

 In December 1948, winter break was approaching and Miriam Wetzel, a sophomore at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, needed a ride home to Akron.  

After asking around among her friends and acquaintances, someone informed her that a senior named Gerald “Jug” Ridinger was driving to Hudson that weekend to be in a wedding.



He was taking two bridesmaids and another girl home to the same area. (Remember, at this time the interstate highway system we know today didn't exist.)

Miriam soon approached Jug and asked if he had room for another passenger.  Before he answered, he stepped back, looked her up and down and said, “How much do you weigh?”

Apparently Miriam’s weight made the cut.  She joined the three other girls in Jug’s car on the trip to northeast Ohio that weekend and remembers having some great laughs along the way.  To keep the conversations going, Jug, who had been a Marine in WWII, told stories about the war to entertain the passengers.

Miriam and Jug started dating when classes at Otterbein began again in January. Their first date was Miriam’s 19th birthday. If Jug had known she was so young, he might not have asked her out, but on their third date, he said, “I want to marry you.”  That’s the closest resemblance to a proposal that Miriam ever received. As they continued to date and grow closer, it became obvious to both of them that marriage was in their future.

On June 16, 1951, the Saturday following Miriam’s college graduation ceremony, Miriam and Jug were married.

Sixty years later, after many good memories, laughs, family vacations and more, the couple remains happily married and looks forward to many more years together.  They recently traveled to the Pocono Mountains with their four children and their spouses, eight grandchildren and one great-grand-child for their every-five-year wedding anniversary trip and family photo.

Miriam and Jug remember their first trip together, more than sixty years ago.  Before Jug had reached any of his passengers’ homes, one of his tires went flat, the one on Miriam’s side of the car.

But luckily he decided to keep Miriam around anyway!

"Why, I've Met My European!"

My grandmother was one of few women attending university in the early 1920's and probably the only woman majoring in chemistry. As the only female in lab classes and lectures, she was surrounded by men and her mother, my great-grandmother, hoped this university experience would yield a prospective suitor. My grandmother though was not going to be distracted from her studies. She wanted to earn her degree, work, travel and perhaps find her future husband abroad, as she had always fantasized spending her life with a sophisticated European.

Nearly a decade later and well into her 30's, my grandmother was financially independent and had by now seen much of the world during her travels. Her family had long since given up on the idea that she would marry and have a family. Nonetheless, as my grandmother readied herself for a party one particular evening, she still held the faint hope that someday she would encounter the European she had dreamt about.

Two hours into the party and rather bored, she leaned to her friend and whispered that she was ready to leave. As she gathered her things, she heard several party-goers welcome another guest, when she turned to look to see who it was she met the gaze of a distinguished looking man about ten years her senior. They were soon introduced by the party's host and my grandmother returned her belongings and went to sit back down with her friend. Her friend, surprised at my grandmother's return, asked why the sudden change of attitude as my grandmother was not one to change her mind so quickly. My grandmother's response was quite simple: "Why I've met my European!"

My Black and White Movie

My fiance, Mark, and I met in November 2009 while I was living in New York City. He is in the Marines, and was in town commissioning the USS-NY. At the time a friend of mine was working for the owner of the bar,Coyote Ugly. I was out there with friends one night, and Mark came in with a lot of his buddies. Before I knew it, we were chatting it up and he asked if we could go to dinner before he left. He was only in town for a few days and I ended up being the  NYC tour guide for him and his friends for the rest of his stay. Over the next six months we stayed in touch through text messages and a few phone calls. Eventually, I moved to the same state that he lived in to spend time with my sister. Once we found out we were relatively close, he drove up and took me on our first date! We've been together ever since. :)


When I met him I knew he'd be the one that I married. I often referred to how we met as my "black and white movie." Before our first date my dad asked me why I was so nervous. My response was, "... because I feel like if I go on a date with him, he's going to be the last person I date!" I think after that my dad decided not to ask anymore personal questions. :)

Mark is now deployed and is set to return at the end of the year. We are so excited for that day to come and for the opportunity to spend our lives together!!

And....we got married!!!

And That's The Way It Is

This story starts back in the late 90’s. I was busy working, not really paying attention to the calendar. I was in my 30’s and spent most of my adult life workings in radio, TV and in my spare time working at the family farm in Cabot. Dating was not a priority. I guess I woke up one morning and said no-one is going to show up on my doorstep—so if I was ever going to get married I’d better work at this a bit. I began to date occasionally. This meant asking women out, and from time-to-time someone would suggest I date this or that person. Dating is a painful process. I am not good with rejection, so I was always fearful someone would not want to go out if I asked.  I did not ask many people out.

My fortunes changed drastically in the late summer of 1998. I was a member of a health club in Montpelier called First in Fitness. I would go there after work. I would quietly work my way to the treadmill each night. I always chose the room with the big screen TV so I could watch the news. Most nights it was on CNN, but on occasion someone would change it to Channel 3 and the local news. This was the station I worked for, so I could appear fluttering through the air most nights. One night around 6pm I was busy reading my People Magazine and watching the news out of the corner of my eye, and I appeared.

You Can't Be A Hitter If You Don't Come To The Plate

Before I begin, I should let you know that this whole story is completely from my point of view, which means that my wife has and will categorically deny everything I am about to write. Moreover, the story is also more of a "how I met my wife" more than "how we met," but I'm hoping that is all right. I apologize for the biographical material I include, but it is important to how I met my wife. In the end, I think it is a story worth telling because it involves a baseball metaphor, a little sympathy and it highlights the importance of persistence, something which we could all use from time to time. More importantly, though, it is a story that should give nerds everywhere a little hope. 

Unforgettable You

Have you found the "right one" but feel that your 'how we met' story is the "wrong one"? 

I know you have been waiting for this. I've waited awhile to share this story with you, friends, because it's so freaking cute it might just make you gag. Grab a trash can, just in case, and here goes.

Once upon a time, on a sunny day with Carolina blue skies, "she" was walking along Franklin Street wearing a really fabulous outfit. She had on some really awesome Kate Spade heels, and one got caught in the sidewalk crack (don't you hate it when that happens?). As she struggled to free her shoe (it was really stuck and she was making quite a spectacle of herself), a handsome young man came by to assist her. He said "nice shoes" while really checking out her legs, and that's how "she" and "he" met.

Cute story, huh? Thanks. It's totally not true.

I Dated a Spy?

When I first learned that I was to be stationed in West Berlin I was so excited. Never in all my life did I ever think that I would be a part of history as “A Defender of Freedom” in the Berlin Brigade. Patrolling the wall between East and West Berlin was something I had read about as a teenager and now I was being sent to actually take part in it. The United States was in the middle of the Cold War and Berlin was the hot spot to see it firsthand.


I had to go through several security clearances to be stationed here as did all those soldiers before me and after me. We were warned that Soviet and East German spies were all over the place and we were to never talk about what we did or where we were going to those not connected with the military.



To help this situation I promised myself that I wouldn’t date any German “frauleins” , not only so I would not be forced to lie to them about what I did but I really didn’t want to break a young ladies heart because I would be leaving after a year and a half.


After six months in Berlin I met a young American lady who was a dependent, the child of an Air Force serviceman stationed at Tempelhoff. I was 19 and she was 18. Her father didn’t like us Army guys and made it be known that he out ranked me and that he held a very high security clearance to which he was a member of the Air Force Intelligence. His dislike of me made it difficult for him to allow his daughter to accompany me downtown to the discos. Yes, this was the early 80’s and the disco scene was big in West Berlin but he would not let his little girl go out with some infantryman with only a year of college under his belt and barbarian tendencies. It was a relationship which held little hope for a future. However, I wouldn’t leave her because her father didn’t like me. He would just have to deal with me.


Like most weekends I wanted to go out with my friends but she wasn’t allowed to go with me to a bar called the “Kudorf” or Cow Town in English. So my friend Ron and I went out to have a good time. After a few drinks it was now my turn to go and buy a round of drinks for us. As I’m waiting in line I hear the two ladies behind me speaking English. Both were tall, blond and beautiful and had my attention. Being the ever so curious person I asked them where they were from. The taller of the two spoke up and said that her friend was from Texas and that she was from Berlin. I noticed during our brief conversation that they both spoke English without an accent, neither Texan nor German. Strange! I got my drinks and left to tell Ron that I met a young lady from Texas (his home state). After I told Ron about her he decided to have a look for himself.


Soldiers from my company started to show up so I hung out with them when Ron left. About an hour later Ron comes back to us and tells me that he’s chatting with the girl from Texas and the Berliner wants to dance with me. At first I said no! I have a girl friend and I would feel uncomfortable dancing with another girl. He begged me and eventually told me he would buy me two beers. Well, two beers was a reasonable offer and what harm comes from helping a friend in the utmost of situations. Off I went following my friend and fellow soldier Ron, from Texas, into battle.


Ron introduced me to Michelle from “Texas” and Antje from “Berlin”. Wait! No accent. Ron from Texas had an accent. Others in my company were from Texas and had an accent. You know the type I’m talking about. That draw….And Antje from Berlin? I was in Germany and every German I knew (not many) had a German accent, but not Antje from Berlin. Her accent was more British. Not only that, a German man insisted on talking to Antje and my German at that time was not good. It was poor! Not only did I not understand a word they were saying but, when ever this German man would start talking to Antje, Michelle would divert Ron’s and my attention and start asking questions. Of course we were brief and short not saying much except some bullshit about what we did. We quickly brought the conversation back to Michelle asking if she knew what they were talking about. No she did not.


Finally, we asked Michelle and Antje how they knew each other and where they had learned English. They laughed and giggled only like a 19 year old female can and proceeded to tell us they had met in Norway. Norway? No way! They then laughed more and said that she was Pakistani having been born in Lahore, Pakistan. No way! 1984, Cold War, Pakistan, neighbor to Afghanistan, Soviet Union fighting in Afghanistan and back to the Cold War. Not only is that an incomplete sentence but I didn’t know what to think then or now. Why would I think all of this? Oddly enough, I had a similar case a few months before while flirting with a young German lady. Her name I will always remember, it was Magda. Why would I remember her name? Because she had a sister named Eva. Any reader of World War II history would put 1 plus 1 together to get my point. Magda, Eva, Magda, Eva…? Well, Eva, everyone should know, was the name of Hitler’s Bride, Eva Braun. But Magda was the wife of Joseph Goebbels, the famous Propaganda Minister of the Third Reich. Why would someone name their children Eva and Magda? Either because they were Nazis or they were spies. This was a good reason to stop flirting.

In the Kitchen

It all started in Berlin around 1980, when I had just finished a relationship and was desperately looking for a room to stay independently.


Well, the first and best way to look seemed to me to be in a Studentenheim, having had good experience with this kind of living before. So I checked out a few places, and as it was urgent and I was feeling the time pressure,I checked out a few Studentenheime, among them the one in Suarezstraße in Charlottenburg.


The chief administrator, Fr. Weser, seemed to be nice and understanding of my problems and my wishes. So I went by there, she was quite hopeful that she could help me. But she had to talk first to her colleague and would give me notice in half an hour. So I walked up and down Suarezstr and had a coffee, couldn’t wait to come back. I think it was 1:00 or so. So when I finally came into the room, Fr. Weser and her colleague still had their heads together, whispering to each other – I thought oh-oh-oh, how might that end? But then looking to me, she said to me that a room was available. I didn’t know what to say at that moment, but was more than grateful for this offer which I accepted very happily.



The only problem was that I was not officially a student anymore, and had a job as a physician already. So I actually mentioned my personal dilemma and pretended to be working on my M.D. thesis. The ladies were quite understanding and respectful and sympathetic with my life situation at that moment. So I got the room number 210 on the 2nd floor, and was overly happy.


So for the next few terms, every semester, it was always a problem to show my legitimization as a student,which I did not actually have.In order to calm down my social conscience (that I wasn’t taking the Studentenheim room from a needy student) I was able to rent an apartment with my real pay check, and sublet it to a student couple for a low price. Of course this was not only altruistic – I knew I had a place to live if Fr. Weser decided to kick me out.


So I said I would need a little extra time to work on my thesis, but after a certain time I felt that didn’t meet the criteria as a student any more, so I had to explain my personal circumstances in more detail. One time explaining not feeling well in general and another time unexpected difficulties occurring. So by then I had figured out that it would be best to go to the office right behind another person, so that they were busy and attended to that person, and then, when I opened the door, they recognized me of course and waved to me that they were busy right then and couldn’t attend to my semester dilemma, and indicated that it was ok to stay on.


In the meantime, I had met a girl from the States (who had moved in to room number 215) and who had noticed me coming in once a week from Kaiser’s grocery store across the street, usually on a Friday, carrying 4 big plastic bags, with Kaiser’s printed on them, mostly filled with cans of “Mexican Bean Stew”, and soda, supposed to last for the upcoming week.


So after walking up the stairs, usually after a night shift, my arms got longer and longer, and the bags almost hit the floor. When I entered the community kitchen, there was the American girl, usually fixing food for herself (and sometimes for others).


While I stored my food away, I had the feeling the girl felt sorry for me, and we got into a conversation, and she provided me with a different meal than Mexikanischen Bohneneintopf.


Sometime after that we had our first date – an all day boat trip on the Berlin rivers, during which we took pictures of each other and fell promptly in love. The rest is history, and it all began in the kitchen (right around the corner from which we are writing this in our “real” kitchen of 25 years)

Love At The Piercing Tent

I met by husband, Carl at Ozzfest ’98 in Milton Keynes Bowl, England. I was 17 and he was 16.  We met by the piercing tent while Slayer was onstage. I was debating about getting my nose pierced when Carl and another guy, also named Carl, started talking to me.  I went ahead and got my nose pierced while Carl had his ear pierced a couple of times. I  fainted (never have been any good with needles of any sort), but luckily Carl came to my rescue armed with lager.  The other Carl went in search of cigarettes and never returned, but Carl and I spent the rest of the day together.

At the end of the day we had to leave each other. I boarded my coach to return to Cardiff,Wales, and he boarded his to Leeds, England.  The following day we both realized we had no way of contacting each other; we hadn’t exchanged phone numbers or addresses.  So we both wrote to the contacts page in Kerrang! magazine trying to find each other and appeared on the same page, our adverts almost next to each other. We wrote for a year, the old fashioned way of pen and paper as neither of us had email. Then Carl visited Cardiff for a weekend.  After that we spoke on the phone once a week and visited as often as possible. I wouldn’t recommend the trip from Cardiff to Leeds by National Express coaches.

In March 2000, Carl got a job in Cardiff and moved down.  We lived with my parents for a year while we saved and we bought our first house in July 2001.  We married on 20th June 2002 exactly 4 years after we met. I was 21 and he was 20.

I totally believe our meeting was fate, and it was love at first sight.

We now have 3 sons, Daniel, Oliver and Ben and we've been married for 9 years.

PS

I don't have a pierced nose anymore, just a dent where it used to be.  Carl took his earrings out a long time ago, when he started a 'proper' job.

http://welshpurpletree.wordpress.com/ 

Red Sox Nation Romance Goes the Distance

Mom and Dad's Story

My Mother and Father were married for 42 years before my Mom passed away from Cancer.   They adored each other.  How they met was always something my Dad would tease my Mom about.   Her cousin was one of my Dad’s best friends, but they had never met.  After World War II my Dad came home. Both he and my Mom worked in Bath, Maine at the iron works shipping factory. 

A Big Win For Texas!

James (I was born and raised in God's country a.k.a. Houston Texas;the only place in the U.S. with decently warm weather)
and I ( born and raised in New Jersey ...it's really lovely I swear!)
met at our orientation BBQ for grad school. I suppose many would call it fate... we never saw each other the entire event. Earlier in the day during orientation I had met some fellow religion students, so I had strictly mingled with my new friends, while James (who didn't have orientation until 2 weeks later) made himself some friends. Several people in both our groups wanted to meet the president of the university, so while our friends attempted to weasel their way closer to the president, we ended up face to face introducing ourselves- having a side chat. Within 5-10 minutes James had left his new group of friends to spend the remainder of the night with us. I called him the next day and well you know how that turned out.
James (I indulge in a variety of amazing, quasi-esoteric hobbies which I will be more than willing to discuss at length with you if you come to my wedding.)
and I ( the possibilities are endless. We shall see...)
were married in September. 

From Fantasy to Reality

Our love story starts out in 2003 with a man and his dog in Dallas, Texas and woman snowed in, in Kansas City, Missouri. I’m originally from Texas so the Kansas City winters were killing me. I hardly even went out to the store let alone dated. Mostly stayed at home and played online computer games. I wasn’t interested in romance at the time.
Meanwhile my husband to be was in Dallas taking his mini schnauzer for a walk. The dog, Willum, slipped his leash and ran off. Hubby to be took off after him tearing though yards and alleys. He stepped in a hole and blew out his Achilles tendon. A neighbor found the dog and brought him home. Hubby went to the hospital the next day for surgery to repair his ankle. He ended up in a wheelchair with a cast on his leg.


Months later still in a cast and going crazy from boredom, he decided to try online gaming for something to do. He found an obscure online multi-player game and decided to try it. I was already playing that game. We met the very first night he was in the game. Somehow we hit it off an started talking. We discovered that we were both from Dallas and that he was male and I was female. An important fact to establish in a fantasy world.
It is a miracle that we met at all. Considering the fact that never one of us was looking for a mate and neither of us left the house much. The cosmos decided to bring us together despite our every effort to remain single.
As the months went by we met and talked in the games for hours. Sometimes until 2 or 3 in the morning. We graduated to talking on the telephone. About a year later we decided to meet in person. I flew from Kansas City to Dallas thinking I was crazy to do this but what the heck. He met me at the airport with a dozen yellow roses, my favorite. I can’t say it was love at first sight because we already loved each others brains and hearts. The seeing part was the last thing to happen in our chain of events.

Island Love

I had traveled to Cape Cod to visit my older sister one weekend. I had left the guy I was currently dating back home and looking forward to a weekend without men.
My sister took me to a party, we had to travel by boat to a houseboat moored off an island in Falmouth and I didn't know anyone other than my sister at the party.
Feeling a little lost among all these people I didn't know and was unable to connect with, I was quietly sitting on deck when another motorboat arrived to drop off guests for the party. A man
in his twenties climbed the ladder to come on deck and he had on a black t-shirt and salt and pepper hair. I have always been attracted to men with gray hair. I'll never forget
what he looked like the first time I met him. I immediately began talking to him and we talked and talked. We connected from the very beginning. We began dating that next
day and were married 8 months later. We've been happily married for 34 glorious years.