Happy Post-Valentine’s Day! If you’re in need of a good love story, or in need of PBS credits, look no further than February’s blog contest.
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks is one of the most widely read books on our site, with 1,426 reviews. Many Nicholas Sparks fans say it is the prolific romance author’s best and most touching work. Any one of the thousands of members who have read the book can readily explain the novel’s appeal. It’s a story about real, powerful love that endures over a lifetime, and it’s an intimate invitation to share the likable couple’s journey. A true tale of devotion like this is a welcome reminder of how wonderful life can be when you’ve given your heart to another.
Available to order on PaperBackSwap today!
Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, we’d like to invite you, our readers, to submit your love stories to the PBS Blog. You can tell us how you met, what made you fall head-over-heels, or what has kept the flame alive. If your anecdote involves Valentine’s Day, that’s even more fitting! Just let us in on any influential details that made your journey as a couple special and worth retelling as “your love story”.
Get your submissions in by February 25th in a comment to this post. We’ll choose the top five stories and post them on February 28th. Then, PBS members will have four days to vote for the best one. The winner will be announced on March 4th and that lucky lovebird will receive ten credits!
Please keep the stories to no more than 300 words. Though you may be madly in love, you don’t need to include every single detail about your other half! Let’s face it; if it’s that interesting, it’s probably fiction.
Now that you know the details, it’s time to start writing! If you aren’t sure how to begin, think of The Notebook to give you an idea. If you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for? Order it from the site as a Valentine’s day treat, sure to lift even the weariest of hearts!
Tags: Book Recommendations, Book Suggestions, contest, Contests, entries, Free Credits, Genres, holiday, Members, Romance, submissions, Valentine's Day
I’d been accepted to college in the big city—Albany, NY. It was arranged that I’d live outside Albany with my older sister, Bonnie, and her family. My first weekend there, Bonnie’s family was invited to dinner at their friends, the Myers. When the Myers were told that I was there, they said to bring me along. As luck would have it, Chris’ parents were out of town and the Myers had invited him and his sister, Alex, to dinner as well. When we met, I thought they were a couple, I rarely see family resemblances. They both appeared so young to me, he was sporting plaid flannel cuffs on his pants, à la Bay City Rollers; he was a HUGE fan. As it turned out, his sister is two years older and he’s two years younger than me, so, we are all fairly close in age. Anyway, he wrote me a letter and since he did not know my last name, he addressed it to Kathleen c/o the Dannenbergs. We became instant pen pals. He invited me to a Kiss concert at Madison Square Garden in NYC on 12/16/77 and invited another girl as well. We spent that night holding hands on the living room floor of his sister’s dorm. By the end of the year, I had his heart, but made him work some more for mine—I told him he could not possibly be in love with me that quickly, and he agreed that he was very much in like. My first Christmas card to him read something like your mistletoe or mine. We’ve been together ever since and married for more than 30 years.
It’s real life, not fiction, but he’s still the one!
My future husband and I met when we were 17 — we were tutoring other high school students who were having difficulties with reading. The tutors were divided into groups and we ended up in the same group. We learned that we both had Boston Terriers — which, back then, was rather unusual. That was enough to bond us right there but, a year or so after we began dating, we discovered that one of his Boston Terriers was the father of my Boston Terrier. Meant to be? I think so. We are still Boston (and dog) lovers after almost 30 years and have had four over the course of our marriage. And, oh yeah, three children, too…
i was in a relationship that was unhappy and i started talking to this guy online that said redheads with green eyes were his weakness and i said hahaha i have both…we started talking more and more…we lost touch for about a year and our paths were destined to cross again and when they did we decided to meet and we fell in love at first site…yeah i know it is cliche and only happens in the movies but it truly did happen…and after 2 years we are engaged and living together…the love is stong in us and we are so happy together
I met my husband at the ambulance service we worked for. I was the paramedic and he was the EMT. He was home fresh from the Gulf war so rather rough around the edges. We worked a very odd shift together but by the end of it I was intrigued. After we dated a few months his mom pulled me aside and said”I want to thank you for bringing my James back.”I guess he was more rough around the edges than I thought!
I was working at a local drugstore when he walked in. I couldn’e take my eyes off of him. My firend who worked with me asked me what I was looking at. I told her, ” See that guy over there? Thats the man I am going to marry. ” She asked me if I knew him. I said no. Funny enough, she did. A friend of hers had dated him the previous year. She said she would introduce us, but I was too nervous at the time. As the weeks went by, I would see him in various places around the area we lived. He begun shopping the store I worked in more frequently. I kept telling myself I woud work up then nerve to talk to him, but I could never manage more than my usual cashier greetings. Then, on Valentines Day in 1993, he came in. I was in a bad mood, moping because, as usual, I had nobody to call my “Valentine”. Both of the store managers were at my register, and to this day I cannot remember why they were even there. I just remember him coming to my checkout, and me wanting say something beyond the “Hi! Did you find everything ok?” With my managers there it wasn’t going to happen. So about an hour later, I got off work. My friend, the one who was going to introduce us called me about a half an hour later from work and sad he came in looking for me! Literally asked her if I was still working. She told him I had already left for the day. He gave her his number and asked her to give it to me. I didn’t hesitate. I called him right away. He didn’t answer, so I left a message. He called me back and we talked until 3 a.m. And every day therafter. We met on February 14, 1993. We were married on September 25, 1993, and we had our first child on December 16, 1993. Today, almost 18 years later, we now have 5 children and are still madly in love.
My husband and I met on a blind date and although that isn’t so unusual, the people who set up our date were definitely out of the ordinary. I had been dating a guy for several months when he broke it off for another. His brother was very unhappy with him as he thought I was a much better person than the one he left me for. So the brother and his girlfriend set me up on a blind date to make him jealous. Still not unusual? The brother’s girlfriend was the ex-girlfriend of the guy they set me up with. And her first name was the same as mine. Our date was on New Year’s Eve 1973 with temps around 25 below zero. We dated exclusively over the next 4 years, got married in 1977 and have been happily married ever since with two sons and our first grandson born this year. I think that our marriage has gotten stronger because we have been able to weather the problems and become stronger from them but if we didn’t love and respect each other our marriage wouldn’t be as strong. And a being able to laugh together is also a very important part!
Met when we I was 14 and him 18 and I knew on first sight I would be with him the rest of my life. Yes. Took him 5 1/2 years to know though !! We dated those 1st 4/12 years became engaged and married in 1970. We had our peaks and valley as all do but toughed and loved them out and here we are now having just celebrated our 40th Anniversary. I would never have thought the years could go by so quickly ! I still can look at him and have my heart flutter! He still says thank you whenever I give him a cup of tea ! He is my husband , lover, friend, super hero and one and only. We never did much for Valentine’s Day until this past year , he set up a surprise for me ! I had my eye on an expensive bernina sewing machine waiting for a good deal or used one to come up , well one finally did ! But, he told me when he went to check it out it was “not” the price I was quoted !! I called the shop and got the runaround and even a few days later spoke with the owner ! Nope ! Well dear husband invited some couples over for a valentines dinner having the men prepare and serve and at dessert time had the smaller parts to the sewing machine wrapped and on my chair !!!! The shop people had a good laugh and enjoyed themselves immensely as well as I. So this was a Valentine’s day to remember for sure !! Sweet ! More than Yesterday and Less than Tomorrow.
OPPS ! Forgot to hit notify me of followups !!
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My sweetheart and I meet in a bar in Prescott, AZ. He came in for a glass of courage as he was headed to a dance class, I was the bartender. He asked for Vodka, 7, with a lime and cherry, I filled his glass with cherries. Love was in the air, we dated a bit there and he headed back to Montana, where I soon followed him, we have been married 25 years this year.
Just like in the cliche my hubby and I met across a crowded dance floor at a social club I use to frequent with my girlfriends on Sunday afternoons. I had met Tony years before at a Dairy Queen that he worked at when my girlfriends went for ice cream one night, but at that time I wasn’t interested in dating and I pretty much blew him off. He didn’t hesitate to tell me that when we met at the social club years later ,and had our first dance on the dance floor. We have been together 29 years now and the electricity that ran through our bodies with that first dance, still keeps us together and going for another 29 years God willing 🙂 He is the best part of my life. He is my soul-mate, my lover, my friend. He is my everything next to GOD!
One of the most romantic things my husband has done, and he has done a lot, was for our 2 year married, 5 years dating anniversary. (We got married on our 3 year dating anniversary.) He had just come back from his first deployment to Iraq, and had actually missed our anniversary date. One day I came home from work to find a note pinned to the front door. It said that the treasure hunt had now begun and I was to follow all the clues. I walked in the house to find little cut out arrows telling me to go to the first clue. After driving around town picking up clues, the latest said to go back to the house. Now the arrows were pointing to a different direction and to another clue. It told me a location to go to and to HURRY. I drove out to find my husband standing in a park under a tree with a bouquet of flowers and a jewelry box. He embraced me and told me how much he loved me, and how happy he was to be with me. He gave me a beautiful diamond necklace and then took me out to a fancy dinner. My sweetheart is so creative in showing his love for me. I love him with all my heart and soul! We have been married 4 years now, and have been through two more deployments to Iraq and he is getting ready to leave on another. Our love is stronger than ever though!
The story I’m telling is really that of my mother-in-law. In 1939, Betty and Dave became girlfriend and boyfriend when they were in 8th grade, living in Reno, Nevada – the first relationship for each. Just before high school started, his family moved away and she never heard from him again. Betty and Dave each eventually married other people and each couple moved back and forth across the country during their married life.
Forward ahead 60 years. Betty had been divored for 14 years and Dave’s wife had recently died. On a fishing trip, Dave happened to mention to a friend, “What ever happened to Betty?” The friend told him she was divorced, back living in Reno and he could get her phone number (which was unlisted) from other friends. Dave called Betty one evening. She was sooo excited to hear from him. He was now living about 4 hours away. They talked every evening, he visited, and a few months later they were married.
Just a few years after they were married, Betty was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Dave devoted his time to caring for her and greatly missed her when he had to move her into a care facility. Betty died almost exactly 10 years after they re-met and 70 years after their first meeting.
I fell in love at 15. He was my boyfriend at my fourth High School, we only dated for a short time, but he was the cutest/ dorkiest boy I ever met. Star wars lover and all! I moved shortly after to Illinois with my mother. He went his way, and I went mine. But we stayed connected over the years through myspace. Justin went off to join the Seabees (area of the Navy), and I had a baby. After three years, we stopped talking in 2008. I went MIA from the internet world, and he was then stationed in Key West, Florida. After two years, we found eachother again via Facebook. He asked me for my number, and we started a long distance relationship. He visisted only once and we were madly in love. Then the next month, we were engaged. (After he asked my dad for my hand, of course). We married a month after the engagement in June, 2010. He left shortly after in October for Afghanistan, and just before he left, I found out I was pregnant. He has just returned. We are now pregnant with our first child together, but we have my four year old son as well. And this Valentine’s day is especially special, because that’s when we find out the sex of our baby. We are hoping for a baby girl, but we will be blessed either way. Because we found out that fairytales really do exist in the real world.
We met at a skating rink where he worked. I was 14 and he was 15. We were always together at the skating rink and sometimes at a movie and would sneak kisses when we could as we were always under someone’s watchful eyes at that age it seems. We dated for about 3 years and then drifted apart, starting seeing others; then married and each had children with other people. I would occasionally think about him and the times we had and later he says he did about me too. I ran into his brother one day and was told he was divorced and had been talking about me. I was divorced at the time too and gave up my number for him to call me. I was so nervous when he called as it had been so long but we talked and then started seeing each other again and have now been married for 17 1/2 years! We have 4 children, 2 each and together we have 7 grandchildren and one very spoiled chihuahua! We have had our ups and downs and are not quite the skaters we used to be (well, to be honest, he is still pretty good). But with Love as the base of our marriage; we have always made it thru and always plan to.
Sean & I met on AOL in 1998 through a third person. I lived in Memphis, TN, he in Maine. After several years of getting to know each other long distance I flew to Maine for Thanksgiving in 2000 & he came to Arkansas for Christmas with my family. Sean builds furniture and our plan was for me to move to Maine in May 2002 and join him in his business. I was an account manager at a chemical processing company, however I had no doubt my master craftsman could teach me and mold my woodworking skills so I could work right along with him. I started my preparations for the big move when a stroke in March put a halt to our plans. I spent over a month in the hospital learning to walk again and trying to convince my left arm and hand to work. Sean was calling me daily with words of encouragement. I continued to recover at my parent’s home, determined to go to Maine as planned. It never occurred to me that Sean might not want me to move to Maine, that he might no longer be interested now that I am “handicapped”. I moved to Maine in December 2002. Sean proposed to me Christmas 2004. Here we are 9 years later and I love Sean with all my heart. He even makes jigs and hold down contraptions for me to use in the shop so I can still be productive. While my left hand still doesn’t work & I wear a brace on my left foot, Sean makes me feel like a perfect person. I am so glad he never changed his mind…
My hairdresser & I were chatting as she cut my hair & she mentioned that she knew the perfect guy for me. Her sister was a firefighter at a small town department nearby, and worked with someone she thought I would really hit it off with. I expressed my doubts that some hunky fireman was going to be interested in a 30-something single mom with two kids, but she made me promise I would at least meet him before I said no. She gave my phone number to her sister to pass on to her co-worker “Matt”. Matt & I spoke on the phone, and he seemed like a really smart & funny guy so I sort of reluctantly agreed to meet for lunch. On the day of our lunch date, I was already at the restaurant when he arrived, so after we were seated we nervously dove into the “getting to know you” conversation. After about 2 hours of non stop talking we finally had to break it up & go our separate ways. He walked me to my car and asked if I would wait a minute while he went to his car to get something he had brought for me. A minute later he reappeared with a handful of the most bedraggled looking wildflowers I had ever seen, all drooping and forlorn from sitting in his car for so long. He handed them to me and said he had picked them for me on the way to the restaurant, but he was too embarrassed to walk in with them so he had left them in the car. Those poor flowers touched my heart! We began dating & every time I would visit him or he would visit me, I would find a wildflower or two on my windshield or tucked in the door handle of my car. A year later Matt & I were married at a small ceremony at the fire station he worked at. The fire department chaplain officiated at the ceremony; she once worked as a florist so she also fashioned a simple bouquet for me to carry down the “aisle”. My two children stood with me as Matt & I spoke our vows. We have now expanded our family by one, and we just celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary this January. He still surprises me with wildflowers.
In 1990, I was a senior in high school. My English teacher gave us an extra credit assignment. A student at my school had written to “Any Sailor” and got a response from a young man whose hometown was actually only about an hour away from ours. He was currently serving overseas in Operation Desert Shield. The assignment was to write to him and if we got a letter in response, she would give us the extra points. I wrote a letter to this young man and over the next few months, we continued to write to each other. He came home on leave in April 1991, when we finally got to meet face to face. It sounds cliche, but it really was love at first site. When he returned to his base, we called each other and wrote when a phone wasn’t available. Three years later, he was out of the Navy and we became engaged. We’ve now been married for almost 17 years and have 2 great children. And we are probably more in love now than when we first met and all because he picked up a random letter and I needed a better grade!
Almost fifty years ago I had just graduated from college and was preparing to take my State Board Exam in nursing. I needed to travel from Ft Worth to Austin. At 21 I had never driven much further than the grocery store, let alone to the state capital. My Mother was reluctant for me to take the family car to Austin because it needed new tires. A recently married friend Pat also needed a ride to Austin. She didn’t beleive that their car was dependable enough for us to use. We really didn’t want to ride the bus, but if we could get a ride to Austin we would ride the bus home. Her husband, John asked his best friend if he could borrow a car. The friend said yes, if he could go along for the ride.
On Tuesday afternoon I rushed home from work to get my hair fixed and to pack for the big trip and the very important exams. Two and a half days of testing everything I had learned in four years of college. Pat, John, and his friend Grover arrived around four and off we drove in Grover’s 1957 Bellaire Cheverolet. Of course I didn’t know that the car was a real lemon and the tires were worse than the ones on our family car. What a blind date.
Our first stop was in Waco, Texas for dinner. By that time I had got acquainted with Grover and was impressed when he gave the waitress his order after only glancing at the menu. A man who knew what he wanted to eat! After the brief stop for dinner we continued on to Austin. We checked into the hotel fully expecting to take Grayhound home. As they were leaving, Grover asked John what time they needed to be back in Austin on Friday. My goodness, he was coming back to pick me up.
After five massive tests I was so delghted to see that handsome young man in the lobby waiting to take me home. The next Wednesday he called to asked how I did on my tests. (Of course the scores didn’t arrive for six weeks) The blind date and trip to Austin lead to a date to the movies, and six months later we were married. Fifty years later, I know that I had the best blind date in my life on that trip to Austin. I got more out of the State Board Exam than anyone in my graduating calss. Besides successfuly passing my registered nusing boards, I met the best friend of life. The love of my life.
My husband was the manager of a local drug store and I was a regular customer. One of the customer reps informed me that the manager would be a good catch and persuaded me to just go and say hi to him one day. I did and we became best of friends and then married 1 year later. A few years after that I received a wonderful gift in the form of a beautiful Sheltie puppy named Andy and our family was complete. We have been married for 17 years and Andy is still with us at 15 years old. We are such a blessed family!
I spent my college years studying everything Spanish, even spending semesters abroad in Spain, living with a family. My husband-to-be was in Spain have a parallel universe life, learning to speak English, also spending a summer abroad in New York with a family. When our paths finally crossed at a university in Virginia, we started out as friends because he was dating a friend of mine. That relationship dissolved quickly, and at the end of the semester he returned to Spain. He told me at the airport that he regretted not dating me instead of my friend. I thought, “Well, too late!” (I also wished that he had asked me out earlier!) When he got to Spain he sent me a beautiful letter declaring his love and how much he believed that we were meant to be together forever. In his letter he asked me to give him a sign when I got to Spain to let him know that I felt the same way, but unfortunately, his letter never arrived! I went to Spain to study and return to live with a family with whom I had lived years before. To my surprise, my host family in Spain lived only a few houses away from my husband-to-be’s family! In his letter he had asked me to give him a “sign,” but since I didn’t get the letter, I didn’t give him a sign! It was so confusing – he thought I was blowing him off, and I wondered why he wouldn’t ask me out! Finally, we straightened out the confusion and realized what had happened with the letter. We knew instantly that our love was meant to be. Here we are, 18 years later, happily married with two beautiful children.
Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I remember the moment I realized I had been “insane” for the better part of my life. It was the morning after a visit with my friend of two decades, a remarkable human being who lives his vision without a wisp of fear. Another August in small-town Central New York; humid and boring, suffocatingly so on both counts. I had just turned 38 and was in the middle of my second divorce, a single-parent yet again. I was doing just what I did the last time I was separated; dating guys who lowered my worth, trying to find a career path while figuring out where I went wrong, fumbling. I was able to predict the future. Low-paying employment, romances doomed to fail, living some place I loathed – coasting, waiting to crash. I was barely present in my own life, yet felt like a hamster on a wheel in a death spin.
I realized I couldn’t do it anymore. Again. No. I needed to do something different. And soon, before I became permanently complacent. After all, divorce looked much different at 38 than it did at 31. Almost immediately, I thought of my #1 regret, as I always did when I thought about my dreams. For me, it was time to go big.
So, I decided to knock the dust off a long-lost dream. Growing up, I’d been obsessed with all things Alaska (living eight miles away from the historic home of William H. Seward might’ve had a bit to do with weaving New York and Alaska together for me). I slept under a poster of Mount McKinley from ages 10-15, devoured Jack London books (and later, as a young woman, writings by Pam Houston fed my wannabe Alaskan soul), and became a “Northern Exposure” devotee. Nearly twenty years ago, I was accepted to college in Alaska. And having applied all the way from New York, I was greeted with rabid enthusiasm by the admissions office; in fact, I received a “full ride” scholarship. Long story made short, I didn’t take it. And as far as regrets have gone, that one haunted me. Two days after the above detailed epiphany, I contacted the college in Alaska to try again.
Within weeks of that action, I signed up for a brief membership with an online dating site. My rationale? Well, I was doing things different! And after nearly six months of dating local buffoons and charlatans, I figured I really didn’t have much to lose. I had gone out with a variety of guys in that time frame, specifically doing the thing virtually everyone had advised me to do, post-divorce: date a guy you went to high-school with. Mhm. You know what I learned? Revisiting the past does not guarantee a better class of loser.
The competitive, often superficial climate of online dating failed to thrill me. But right before I cancelled my membership, I received a drive-by email from – wait for it – a very cute Alaskan man. It seems I turned up in his “daily matches”. He was over 4,000 miles away. It was unexplainable by the geographic parameters set up within the site. The content of his letter was brief, but he grabbed my attention. He commented quickly about my beauty then closed with “New York. Really? Dammit.”
I was stunned that this damn handsome fella would notice me in the first place (if I had a personal conversation with God, I would ask Him to create this man). As quickly as I could, I sent him a “hey, not so fast” response. And so we began. We clicked almost instantly, gushing over each other’s pictures and profiles. We discovered a common love of art, hair band music, writing, books, family, optimism, and perseverance. There was no deceit or attempting to “pretty” things up for the other; both of us are twice-married and divorced, both of us parents, both of us goal-oriented dreamers. We had enough things in common to be truly compatible yet enough differences to keep it interesting. Emails transitioned to text messages. Text messages to phone calls. Letters became confessionals, portals for expression via original poetry, snippets of writing, quotes. I became his muse and he mine. A spark became a flame … and before we knew it, we were falling for each other. He, to my complete surprise, offered to fly to NY to meet me. I’m used to selfish men, men who expect everything to be brought to them, those who expect me to twist my life around them. S. couldn’t have been further from that. He booked his flight in October, to arrive in November. And we started counting down to his arrival like two little kids waiting for Christmas.
It was about this time that I received word from the college in Alaska. Yes, they wanted me back. And absolutely, they would help me with scholarships and financing – emphatically stating I would qualify for more aid now as a single-mother and older student than I would have as a 19 year old kid. I was exhilarated and terrified. So here it was. The moment of truth – if you want it, it’s yours. Now came the real questions – DO I want it? CAN I do it? Could I really leave most of what I knew and ALL my girls knew behind? Go to a place I’d never been, so very far away? It was the equivalent of choosing to jump off a cliff. I knew there would be no turning back if we did. Financially, it was stay or go. No changing your mind once you chose. What are you going to do? The question hung in the air. All it took is for me to say “yes” . . . and just do it. I knew I would never forgive me if I didn’t. Second chances are rare and precious things in life. So, Yes! I was moving to Alaska, summer of 2010, come hell or high water. Over the past six weeks, I had felt my inner compass pointing more and more North and West, for two entirely reasons, both with impeccable timing.
S. flew out of Anchorage the week before Thanksgiving. When fantasy meets reality, you never know what you are going to get. Sometimes, the reality falls just a little short of the dream. And sometimes it exceeds all expectations. I’ll never forget the first time I saw him. He was the best thing I’d ever laid eyes on. Adorable, excited, sexy, happy … absolutely everything I thought he would be, everything I’d imagined. I’ve never seen anyone who wanted to kiss me as much as that man did. It felt as if I was watching it all in slow-motion as he walked to me; the electricity between us was palpable. And kiss me he did … and the rest of the world? It fell away. It was our last first kiss, and courtesy of air travel delays, it was delivered in fairytale fashion, almost exactly at the stroke of midnight. Cinderella would have been proud.
When we came up for air, he took my hand and I swear, I felt something shift within me, like pieces clicking into place. Keep in mind that 99% of the time, I’m cynical and bleak about matters of the heart, especially my own. I’ve been to the altar twice and bore the children of two different men … but I never felt for either of them – for ANY man – the way I feel about S. The three days he was in New York went by in a blink. Saying goodbye to him was wretched. Now, with absolute certainty, I knew that I not only had college in Alaska, but the man of my dreams as well. What we have is so extraordinary, we can’t explain it to others. I’m thirty-eight years old and in love for the first time in my life. I know he is the elusive “One” like I know the trace of my own soul. So, what the hell was I waiting for? We talked about it and decided I’d come early. My girls and I would live with him. We’d jump in with both feet. And with that, I invested my whole soul to make that choice a success.
When he reached the new world, and to prevent all thought of retreat, Hernando Cortez burned his ships. Like-mindedly, I sold what I could, gave away what I couldn’t sell, packed what was important and shipped what was treasured. When there is no going back, you have only yourself to work with; you have only your motivations and faith to fall back on, and I had both in abundance. I couldn’t wait to get to Alaska! 71 days after saying goodbye to S. at the Syracuse airport, my girls and I landed in Anchorage (and my “welcome home” kiss was pretty damn spectacular, btw). I’ve been here a year now and I know, with everything in me, this is where I want to be the rest of my life, where I was meant to be. It is the most breathtakingly beautiful place I’ve ever been. I go to bed every night snuggled against the love of my life. Moving to Alaska, loving S. … and saying yes to life and love with him is the best decision I have ever made. Nothing could feel more right. I am incredibly lucky to have these cosmic do-overs in life and love.
I would advise anyone who is unhappy with their station in life to jump. Change it. Burn the ships. And believe. Because if you don’t, that is why you fail. And if you want more luck, take more chances. It’s amazing what life can have instore for you if you just show up!
I always tried to find Mr.Perfect and always came up emptied handed. Then one day i moved in to a house that is split in two and some people moved in the other side that same day. I went over to meet them it was a man his wife and their best friend. They all seemed really nice they invited me to go out to diner with a bunch of their freinds. I said yes and later that evning i went with them to eat. We were all having fun drinking and eating. There was a man there named Doug how had to much to drink and bet everyone at the table he could drink a bowl of the hottest dip they had there at the restraunt. So the waiter brought out a bowl of the hottest stuff. He was so loud about it the people sitting behind us threw in 20. He was going on and on about how he was about to do it when out of nowhere a man named Shawn sitting next to him picked up the bowl and drank it. He took the money and paid for his and my dinner with it.
A couple of minutes after that Shawn got up and went outside. I went to check on him and say thank you for pay for my dinner. He said i just need some cool air it was getting to hot. That was all he said the reat of the night. When we got back home i sat out on the front porch while everyone eles went in side. I thought he went in side to but i was wrong. The only thing he said was hi and did you have fun tonight. You could tell he was scaired. But then all of a sudden he just desided to kiss me and from that moment on we have never been apart.
We got married and have a 7 yr. old son and a set of 5 yr. old twins (boy and girl). We have still to this day the same love and passion as we did then. He is far from perfect but he is my other half. God made him for me and me from him we can’t live with out each other. I’m so glad i took a chance on something that looked just crazy. I hope people have that same chance.
I meet my husband on a field trip. I was the bus driver, he was the coach. As we were going down the freeway his hat flew out of the bus window. He was the kind of guy that always wore a hat. One of the players gave him their hat. I returned to finish my day route. After work, I picked up my daughter, went to Sears and bought a hat for him just like the one that flew off his head. My daughter and I drove back to the hs where we had dropped the team, I swear, I spotted his hat on the freeway on the drive back. I pulled over on the freeway and retreived the lost hat. I had my daughter go into the gym and deliver the hat to him. I stayed in the shadows and watched. He was taken aback, he did not have any idea who my daughter was. But she had returned HIS hat. I had a fellow driver deliver a note to him, the contents went something like, “I found your hat, a 18-wheeler was just ready to run it over but I saved it”. To make a long story short, he asked me to marry him at a hs basketball game, at half time with the cheerleaders opening a huge hand made sign, “Debbie will you marry me?” Of course I said yes. I was able to have 10 wonderful years with him before he passed away. He will always hold a special place in my heart.
My best friend and I were in our late 20s and tired of being single. We cooked up the idea of throwing a singles-only cocktail party (we even built our own bar tables!), sent martini-themed invitations, hired a friend to play bartender and required semi-formal dress. I was definitely nervous about that night, but I put on my favorite cocktail dress, rubbed my sweaty palms on a dish towel and planted a smile on my face as I mingled throughout the crowd. No one really caught my eye until….the doorbell rang and in walked a tall, blond, broad-shouldered gorgeous man in a black turtleneck….and I thought immediately to myself, “I want to meet HIM!” I turned to my best friend and said “Do you know who that is?” She laughed and said “He works with me!” After I playfully punched her in the arm for not introducing me to this guy sooner, I kept my eye on him as he circulated the room. Eventually he joined the conversation circle I was in, and before I knew it, he and I wandered off and sat together, talking and laughing together. He offered to bring me coffee and dessert and I was almost too nervous to eat! By the end of the night I was desperately praying that he would ask for my phone number. As he and his friends headed out the door, he turned back and gave me a bear hug and said “It was so great to meet you” … and was gone.
I bugged my best friend every day to find out if he had said anything about me, or asked her for my number…it was an agonizing 5 days and then finally my phone rang! Those first couple of nights we talked for hours, and our first date (a scary movie) followed. When he dropped me back at my place after the movie, he asked if we could do it again sometime, I smiled and said “YES!” and he leaned in and kissed me….my legs turned to Jello! For our second date, he cooked me dinner at his apartment…I was highly impressed! He told me that he almost didn’t come to the cocktail party, but when he first saw me there, he knew he wanted to meet me too!!!
And 10 years later, we’ve been married for 6 years and we have a gorgeous 16-month old son. It is a real-life happily ever after story!
I had been on again off again with my sons father for some 11 years, one day I come home for the appliance delivery people to deliver our new stove and low and behold who is at my door but my sons father. At this point I had not seen him in about 5 years, we chatted a little while he installed my new stove and I didn’t really think much of it. When he left he gave me a kiss and said he missed me. We have been seeing each other ever since and about 5 months after the stove delivery we moved in together and have been a very happy family ever since. It is true that if you love something let it go and if it comes back it was meant to be.
It was a cold and windy day when he arrived on my door step. I didn’t want to fall in love, I didn’t want to risk having my heart broken again, but who could resist those deep blue eyes and black hair with strategically placed gray speckles. He trusted more than I did. He’d obviously had a rough life and wandered the streets homeless and alone until I finally opened the door and let him in to my home and my heart. Each evening, when I come home from work, he is there at the door, greeting me and happy to see me. Although he doesn’t smile, doesn’t speak, and doesn’t hug me, nevertheless I know. How? By the wag of his tail.
Mike fell in love with me two years before I fell for him. It was tenth grade, and I didn’t have many friends because I’d just moved there the year before. Mike and I were in a few of the same classes, but I didn’t really pay any attention to him. There was a boy I’d had a crush on and of course all I could think about was him, him, him.
In eleventh grade I started to pay more attention to Mike. We were in gym class, math, and a study hall together. I found out later that our friend thought we were meant to be together, and that if Mike liked me he should just ask me out. He tried, but he was too shy and didn’t ask me…
On the morning of the first day of twelfth grade, I walked into study hall with Mike right in front of me and said, “I got a boyfriend!”. It turned out that earlier that summer I went to summer camp and met a guy there. I could tell by the look on Mike’s face that he was disappointed, but I didn’t pay any mind to it.
Throughout the whole year Mike was one of my best friends. I told him everything, even things about my new boyfriend. In April of that year my ex-boyfriend broke up with me. Mike hugged me and let me know that it was okay. He comforted me more then anyone else did. He asked me out a couple of times after that, but i kept telling him “No, I’m just not ready for a relationship.” He even asked me to the prom that was in May, and i also told him no.
I went to prom alone only because I’d already purchased my dress months before. When I arrived Mike was there to greet me. He said, “Come with me out to the car, I have a surprise for you.” I went out with him and he handed me a bouquet of flowers matching my dress. I asked him how he knew. He said, ” I remembered what color you told me your dress was, I ordered them awhile ago hoping you’d come with me…”. I felt so bad!
Needless to say, we were a “prom couple” without being a “prom couple”. Even though we didn’t sit at the same table and our outfits didn’t match, we were together the whole night. After the slow dance I realized my feelings for him. Later that night, we went bowling together, just us, because everyone else bailed. He looked at me and said “It’s gonna kill me if I don’t do this”, and he kissed me.
To this day we are happily in love, and engaged to be married in November!
I met my true love when I was 16. He saw me and fell in love when I was 15. We were going to a school where boys and girls could not talk in Canada. I noticed him and admired him, but I did not know he had seen me. In the summer the rules were not strict and we could talk and meet. It was then he let me know he loved me, and I immediately fell hopelessly in love with him. In the summers we would write and meet, and so I got to know him and how special and sweet he was. My brother also became his friend, and through his kindness to my little brother I also found out what a precious heart he had. But then my mother was given a position of being the dean of girls and she found out that we were writing and loved each other. That year when he did not come back to school she told me I had to break up with him. I wanted to please my parents and so I did break up with him, as they convinced me that since I did not know him very well except through letters that how could I love him. For the next two years he would call me or send a message to me that he still cared. I could not get him out of my heart even though I had obeyed. Then another man, more approved by my parents, entered my life and affections. I married him and had three children. My former love, Phil, married another person as well and had four lovely daughters. He went through a divorce, and at the same time I was noticing that my husband was finding other women more interesting than me. Eventually this led to my divorce. One day I just called him after inquiring with the 411 phone service just to see how he was. I left the message that I was praying for him. Then when my divorce was final and my husband had remarried, I came across an ad on the internet telling me I could find anyone, so I looked him up. He was living just up the Columbia River from me, so I called him and we resumed our friendship. It was not long before we met again and found that we still loved each other. He shared that he had always kept track of me, but out of faithfulness to his wife had never contacted me. He shared that my message that I was praying for him and cared about him also saved him at a time when he was very discouraged at losing his marriage and family. Three months after reconnecting we decided that we had waited long enough and could not live without each other. We married and it has been one long honeymoon for the last eight years. The heart always knows who it wants.
Somehow it felt comfortable those four or five days when my widowed brother-in-law worked, installing the vinyl, six foot, privacy fence around my small, city yard. After twelve years of being a widow (my deceased husband was Russ’s younger brother), I had moved from a large, country home to an efficient, small ranch home in the city. Still, I longed for some privacy. Russ had come to our Northern town to visit relatives and to get away from his now lonely home in the South. We visited, ate together, went to his class reunion, and enjoyed each other’s company, while he worked enclosing my own little sanctuary. When it came time for him to leave, we stood in the kitchen to say our goodbyes and exchange our usual hug. He left and started his journey home. Only this hug was very different than any we had ever exchanged! Over the next few hours, I pondered what had felt so different. About halfway home, Russ called and said that he realized he had no recollection of making it to that point, because all he had been thinking about was me, and, the “hug in the kitchen”! Thus, began our romance. Over the ensuing months, as we explored the possibility of being together and marriage, we were able to take the “fast track” to that decision. After all, we had known each other for over forty years! While I had been dating his younger brother, I had babysat for Russ and his wife’s young family. We had a shared history and common values. We also knew the good, the bad, and the ugly about one another. Was it too weird? Perhaps, yet everyone we have told our story to, in the last six years we have been married, has thought it “Perfect”!
My wife, Petunia, and I had a very normal relationship from the first date to the messy break up to the wedding. Normal, that is, if you don’t count the sex change. I dated Petunia, initially, as Christian, a bright, young, painfully handsome freshmen at college. We were both rather introverted and immediately became friends. Dating wasn’t far behind. It was only weird whenever I’d want to be intimate. I would learn later it was the shame over his body that kept us apart. He broke up with me one rainy morning when it should have been snowing. I love to watch the snow. But that day I had to watch the rain stream down my window while I wondered why Christian had left me insisting he wasn’t gay but that he couldn’t tell me why now. I hate the rain.
Nine months later I received an email from Christian inviting me to lunch. He told me he was at a crossroads and needed my help. I thought he was going to tell me he was finally accepting that he was gay and we could get back on track with our lives. That was the afternoon he told me he was transsexual. He was a woman trapped in a man’s body. He told me with tears in his huge, aqua eyes how he was treated by his family, how he’d wanted to die throughout high school and how he’d mutilated his genitals. I asked what the needed my help for. He smiled and the storm behind his eyes cleared. He was going to transition. His therapist had encouraged him to finally go ahead with his Real Life Test. And he wanted to live with me. His family had already wanted him out and he had nowhere else to go. I was stunned more ways than one but I’d yearned every day since he left me to be with him. I agreed.
The next two years, while Christian began life as Petunia, were hell for us both. On top of everything you might expect with estrogen and coming out as a woman and facing a lot of discrimination, our love was still evident in both parties. But I was a gay man and she was a straight woman. Petunia had always seen us this way but I definitely had not. It got heated towards the end and, as I saw her off into surgery for the biggest change of her life, I resigned myself to Christian’s death and Petunia’s birth and the end of the greatest relationship of my life. Waiting in agony, I received news that the surgery hadn’t gone well. Petunia was dying. In that moment I knew that her death would kill me too. I didn’t leave the hospital for four days. When she was finally recovering I promised I would never leave.
One year later we were married. It was a gorgeous outdoor ceremony. We choose the spring because of the power we believe is inherent in rebirth. There was a lot of confusion and pain and joy not just in our family and friends. How am I with a woman against all my previous desires? I simply couldn’t live without her spirit.
I met the love of my life two years ago in college while he was dating one of my good friends. When they broke up I was the only one willing to listen to his side of the story–the only one who still wanted to remain friends with him. And one night, at 4am, after endless hours of talking, he kissed me and the realization hit both of us that the attraction we had felt before was no longer wrong.
He moved away shortly after because he was graduating from school. I thought that would be the end of it–a fleeting moment of passion. But he suggested he come visit me for my birthday two months later.
“We can drive down the coast to a little bed and breakfast. We can get away from our lives and your work and my ex girlfriend. It can be our little secret”
When he came, we snuck away just as he promised. In an area where no one knew us, we could do exactly what we wanted without fear of mutual friends judging our actions. It was then, after our first real date and a night that felt like electricity flowed in our veins, that we realized we were absolutely in love with one another.
Hi everyone!
I met my love in high school. I really liked him when I was freshman, but he had just asked out another junior girl (he was a junior at the time). Then, in the summer before my junior year, Josh and I started talking to each other online. When school started, we went to a few football games together, and then one night when we were talking, he finally asked me out. I was so excited– he was my first REAL boyfriend (you all know, the one where you’re NOT afraid to go up and talk to him or hold his hand?) Well, about a month after this, my family decided we were going to move to Florida. I was crushed. I mean, I wanted to go to college in Florida, but it was hard to imagine not being able to be with Josh or spending my Senior year in high school with all my friends and teammates. I ended up moving, and it was really hard, but Josh and I stayed together. Since we were both still in school and both headed to college, this was the start of our long distance relationship. We both looked forward eagerly to the Christmas and Summer breaks in school so we could see each other, but the time always passed too quickly, and we said our goodbyes. This kept up for 2005-2010. Finally in the summer of 2010, Josh moved out to Florida. We road tripped across the country in his Mustang. So, this October, we will celebrate 7 years together. I tell this to my girlfriends at the school I work at, and they just can’t believe it– especially for two young people, I am 23 and he is 25. Right now, it’s only a matter of time before we take it a step further and we get engaged (that’s what Josh tells me!) I can’t wait for our future together, and I am so happy and blessed that I have my love, and it’s only grown stronger from our MANY years of distance!
Please delete my above post, I didn’t realize I was a few words over the limit. Thanks much!
I met my love in high school. I really liked him when I was freshman, but he had just asked out another junior girl (he was a junior at the time). Then, in the summer before my junior year, Josh and I started talking to each other online. When school started, we went to a few football games together, and then one night when we were talking, he finally asked me out. I was so excited– he was my first REAL boyfriend (you all know, the one where you’re NOT afraid to go up and talk to him or hold his hand?) Well, about a month after this, my family decided we were going to move to Florida. I was crushed. I mean, I wanted to go to college in Florida, but it was hard to imagine not being able to be with Josh I ended up moving, and it was really hard, but Josh and I stayed together. Since we were both still in school and both headed to college, this was the start of our long distance relationship. We both looked forward eagerly to the Christmas and Summer breaks in school so we could see each other, but the time always passed too quickly, and we said our goodbyes. This kept up for 2005-2010. Finally in the summer of 2010, Josh moved out to Florida. We road tripped across the country in his Mustang. So, this October, we will celebrate 7 years together. I tell this to my girlfriends at the school I work at, and they just can’t believe it– especially for two young people, I am 23 and he is 25. Right now, it’s only a matter of time before we take it a step further and we get engaged (that’s what Josh tells me!)
Our friends told us both that they each had the perfect person for us to meet. We both said that we were NOT going on any blind dates. They invited my-now-husband and I both to a group activity and when we got there said Melissa-meet Tim, Tim-meet Melissa. We have been together ever since. 10 years and we thank our friends for that blind date set up! We always tell everyone-Go on that blind date it MIGHT be the best decision you ever make!!!
my husband and i were introduced through a mutual friend. on our very first date, the waitress asked how long we had been married!!! Tom is a sweet, thoughtful guy who became my better half. i say that because we are both disabled and between us, Might make a complete human being. i chose to accept him with all the bells and whistles. 3 years later when i was diagnosed with a rare. sometimes fatal disease- he stayed by my side and there still.
I was 15 and just moved to a new city, i started working at a popular bakery to cure my boredom. One afternoon a guy walked in and i was amazed, he was the guy of my dreams (yes my prince charming) i thought to my self that’s the guy I’m going to merry, i gave him some free croissants and watched the guy of my dreams leave, the next day he came back and a few times after that yes i gave him free croissants every visit, all we did was smile at each other, A while past before i saw him again the funny thing was it wasn’t at work i met a friend at school and he invited me over to his place after school I’m sitting on his couch and i happen to look up and this guy is coming out of the bathroom with just a towel on, it was HIM it was my friends older brother we were introduced and became good friends for 3 years. Finally on my 17Th birthday i told him i wanted to be more than friends so scared of his reaction i quickly told him forget it and his reply was no we can work something out. when i turned 21 we were married and had 3 beautiful children our 24Th anniversary is coming up on the 16Th of Feb we are still very much in love as we were 24 years ago but i loved him from the day i first saw him 27 years ago, fate has it that i also met his other brother at a get together before i met him so i would have to say that us meeting was inevitable as fate would have it
I have known my love for over 15 years, but have been with him for only the last month. You may not believe me, because I know it sounds silly. We were acquaintainces in high school, but I had a serious boyfriend who I later married and then divorced. A month ago, he contacted me as a “secret admirer” and poured out the feelings he had been harboring for 10 years. I was shocked! We started talking and went on a few dates. We are now inseparable and I can see us spending the rest of our lives together. He is my other half and I love him like nothing else.
It wasn’t a Valentine that brought us together, but an office Christmas tree.
No one in the office would ever admit it, but I know it had to be some kind of hazing stunt to make the new kid set up the Christmas tree. I spent hours untangling lights from branches (it had apparently hung itself the previous holiday season) and trying to get that sad excuse for festivity to stand up straight.
I embraced my inner McGyver under that tree, attempting to make a better tree stand out of duct tape, wire, and my now shredded and discarded pantyhose. At least it wasn’t going to tip over. Probably. Shimmying out from under the tree, I stood back to get a better look at my work.
“It’s still leaning,” said the dry voice from behind me.
I had seen him before, but I was the new kid. I had seen lots of people before. I couldn’t remember his name and at the moment didn’t care. Unfortunately, he was also right. It was leaning.
Back under the tree. Tighten, pull, unladylike grunting, and let’s try again.
“It’s still leaning.”
Who was this guy and could I kill him with left over tinsel?
Under the tree. Tug. Pull. Twist. Crawl. Evaluate.
“I think it’s leaning the other way now,” he said.
That was it. I walked behind him, grabbed him by the shoulders and tipped him in the same direction as the offending tree, “How’s that?! Now it’s straight!”
I stomped back to my cube and slammed some drawers around.
Surprisingly enough, the next morning, the nameless guy walked back to my cube and asked me out to lunch.
We’ve been bickering and tormenting each other every day since for the past fifteen years. We couldn’t be happier.
Our relationship was a complicated one. I had first met him in my freshman year of high school. At the time, he was a senior, the perfect senior to be exact, and had everything a guy could want and have: stance of class valedictorian, first place in both Math and Debate Club competitions, and a gorgeous girlfriend who with her success, could have been considered his over-achieving female counterpart. There was no way in life, I could have lived up to all that. But somehow I did. By the end of my freshman year, right before he went off to college was when we first kissed. From then on, it’s hard to say what happened, really.
He was so shockingly handsome that every time you looked at him, your breath would catch a little in your throat. It was no wonder he had so many friends and admirers; he was so nice and good-looking and charismatic that there was no way you possibly could dislike him. His smile was so genuine and pleasing to the eyes, that it was hard to tear your own glance away from it. The first time Evan McClare smiled at me was the exact moment I decided that some day, one day, I would marry that same boy. And five years later, I did 🙂
when i first laid eyes on him i just wanted to jump his bones. lust not love. we started dating. he moved in with me, and we married 1 year later. he is my 3rd marriage and i guess the 3rd time is a charm. even though i am 8 years older than him he acts like an old man at times and i guess that it’s true that opposites attract.. i’m the silly one and he’s Mr.Serious. He has been a good stepdad to my 2 kids and he is a wonderful stepgrandpa to our 2 grandkids. our wedding anniversary is feb 18th. we will start 23 years of marriage…but 24 years together. we are just like an old pair of jeans; beat up, torn, faded, patched up, but hanging together with a thread here and there…and ohhhh way to comfortable.
Just a Small Town Girl, Living in a Lonely World
I was working at the Tastee-Freez on July 3, 1978 when my city boy, born and raised in East Detroit, rode up. It was the summer before my senior year in high school. My long brown hair was pulled back in a pony-tail and I wore a red-white-and-blue striped sweater. My cousin, Jill, and I were looking out the big plate glass window wondering how we could possibly have a lull in business when we spotted two guys on ten-speeds turn onto Port Austin’s main street and head our way.
He came up to the small screened window in his bright green, vinyl wind-breaker and ordered a lime slush. His order caught my attention – I had him pegged as a medium chocolate-vanilla twist guy. I asked him about his bike trip. He and his friend were headed to his cottage in northern Michigan. His arrogant and careless manner appealed to me. He rubbed the seat of his Levi’s as he sauntered by the big window and muttered, “Boy, is my a– sore.” I couldn’t help but stare at those back pockets. Before he left, he came back to the front window to talk to me and our chemistry was so strong that we felt an immediate connection. Even though I hadn’t asked his name when we met at the Tastee-Freez that day, it was our destiny to be together. Our first date was a Tiger baseball game.
Two years ago, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the day we met by serving everyone lime slushes at our cottage in Northern Michigan.
I was attending a private Christian university as a music major, and never had time for anything but classes, performances, and rehearsals, rehearsals, and more rehearsals! I did, however, spend a LOT of time at the Starbucks about five minutes away from campus, because I was also (I shudder to admit) a smoker, and as I’m sure you can imagine, a Christian university strictly prohibits smoking on campus. Whenever I had a break between classes or rehearsals, I was at Starbucks having a smoke and a drink. I got to be very good friends with the staff there, most notably the Assistant Manager, Dave. Dave and I got to talking one day, and out of the blue he said to me: “You have GOT to meet my friend, Shay. You’ll love him! He lives in Oregon right now, but he should be moving home soon.” To be perfectly honest, I thought nothing of it. Months passed, and one morning I was late for my Music Theory and Analysis class, so I quickly showered, piled my hair up in a clip, threw on the first shirt I grabbed, blindly stepped into a ratty pair of jeans, decided to skip the makeup since I had no one to impress anyway, and jetted out the door. Made it to class five minutes late, and once class got out I decided to go to Starbucks as I usually did after that class since I had about an hour and a half until my baroque orchestra rehearsal. When I got to Starbucks, there was a mystery man sitting with my friend Caitlin at our usual table. We started talking, and came to find out we had a lot in common; my favorite band was his favorite band, he was a musician and a singer/songwriter, he was a Christian, and so on and so forth. At first I thought to myself, “Wow, this guy and I could be really good friends,” because I honestly was not looking for anything from anyone. Eventually at some point in our conversation I realized that I didn’t know his name, so I stepped forward and held out my hand and said: “I’m Marissa, by the way.” And he said, “Oh hi, I’m Shay.” I looked him square in the eye and said, “Oh, so YOU’RE the infamous Shay!”
We were inseparable from that point on. We started officially (and exclusively) dating two months after we met, and we were married eight months after that. Approximately six weeks after our wedding, I found out I was pregnant with our honeymoon baby. Our son, Ethan, our pride and joy, will be two years old in about two months, and we are still the happy, ecstatic newlyweds we were almost 3 years ago. Some people may accuse me of making use of a cliché here, but my husband is the most amazing person I have ever known. I was convinced at the age of twenty-seven that I would be alone for the rest of my life, and then he just appeared out of nowhere. I am truly blessed to have him, and I honestly don’t know where I would be without him and my son. We both are happier than we’ve ever been…and we are hoping for Baby #2 sometime soon!
This is actually my sister’s love story.
They met in junior high. His family was dysfunctional and abusive. Ours close and loving. In his eyes she was sunshine and wonder; sparkling, with graceful hands. They were mad about each other, and were truly two halves of a whole, but he broke it off several times, sure that she was too good for him and didn’t like him as much as he liked her. That didn’t mean much, however, since they were in the same close group of friends and still together all the time. After his family moved he returned several years later and asked her to marry him. Miscommunication derailed that, but even though she never mentioned him, I knew she still carried him in her heart with fondness and with a sweet memory of their innocent relationship.
After failed marriages, they reconnected in their 50s from opposite sides of the country. He had a Masters in literature, had developed varied skills and kept in shape, all because he hoped that someday it might happen between the two of them. They married after a prolonged long distance relationship and are together again (and still mad about each other).
The two halves are finally reunited and now their hearts have wings.
I was arriving in Paris by train, and unbeknownst to me some friends from back home had arranged with Jean, a Parisian, to meet me at the train station. He and two friends, Patrick and Bernard, watched hundreds of people disembark, and with no physical description of me, picked me out from the crowd. One of them walked up to me and asked, “Vous etes Patricia?” I was exhausted and it was wonderful to be take care of.
My first evening in Paris, these three new friends treated me to pizza (with an egg on it!) and took me bowling. Yes, bowling. I could understand Patrick’s standard French, but wondered what I’d been studying for four years, since I couldn’t understand Jean’s heavy Parisian accent or Bernard’s strong southern French. Within a few hours, my ear started making adjustments, though. Through these guys, I became part of a great group of friends. We would go dancing in ancient underground jazz clubs. I soon discovered that Bernard was an exceptional dancer.
I think Bernard won my heart when he prepared an amazing five course meal for me, and after serving me the veal in wine sauce, placed a newly-purchased bottle of ketchup on the table, …because I was American.
We celebrated our 30th anniversary this year. He’s a keeper. I start squirming when Bernard tells the story of how we met though — he tells people a much shorter version: “I picked her up at the train station.”
My husband, a native Californian (age 21), had just moved to Texas. Apparently, he had always told himself he would meet his wife on his front porch; guess he didn’t want to do any of the footwork and expected God to bring his soul-mate to him directly. Well, the first day in Texas, he set up a big cushy chair on his front porch & waited. If he wasn’t at work he was in that chair! He was attending my church, but we had never been introduced or closer than 30-40 ft to each other. About 3 months later, my girlfriends & I drove past his house & saw him on the porch. So, we drive down the road, park, start walking back like we’re just out for a walk. We concoct a plan to ask if we can borrow his phone, of course he said yes, and I fell in love with him that very hour! I knew then I would marry him.
The day after next, a few of us went exploring in an abandoned old college. It had gotten dark on us and we had no flashlights! On the way down the precarious winding staircase, I stopped in a hornet’s nest! Since it was practically pitch black, I had no clue what was stinging me all over my body! When I reached out to balance myself, I placed my hand on his back. He said it felt like a shock of electricity (not a hornet sting!) shot through him and he knew he loved me at that very moment. So, love at first sight for me and second sight for him. We married 4 months later and we celebrate 13 years of marriage next month.
I had been a single Mom for five years, working and actively involved in my church. I was a board member, and as such had promised to attend every service during my tenure. After working all day, I was exhausted and napped before the mid-week evening service, waking just before it started. I threw on a clean t-shirt and glasses, which I rarely wore in favor of contacts, and ran out the door with my daughter. We slipped in and sat at the back, intending to make a quick exit. Needless to say, my heart wasn’t in it that night. There were only a handful of us there, and one other guy, sitting with friends wearing a t-shirt that had “England” emblazoned across the back. When service ended, my friend grabbed me by the hand and said, “C’mon, you’ve got to meet Paul!” I said, “Have you looked at me? I’m not in any condition to be meeting anyone!” But she insisted, and made the introduction. When we shook hands, I noticed he had the most gorgeous green eyes and his sweet English accent. We chatted briefly, and then everyone headed out to the local Dairy Queen, as the owner is also in our congregation, and it was always a fun time of chatting and joking. Turns out, the only seat available for Paul was next to me. We talked and talked, and we all ended up going to someone’s house for coffee. Well, the only seat available on the sofa for Paul was next to me. It didn’t matter, we were enjoying each other’s company. We slowly straggled outside to leave, and it was beautiful summer evening, and we talked until past midnight. As he was in the country travelling after working at an inner city VBS on a mission trip, I didn’t expect to see him again. We agreed to exchange addresses and write. Our host invited us to a swim party the next night, and we agreed we might see each other there. The next night, I missed the party because I had to attend a funeral visitation that I learned of at the last minute, but I dropped by the house to exchange addresses. He surprised me by taking my hand and kissing it, and asking me out on a date the next night. I thought it was very sweet, and a little hokey, but I accepted. We went to the movies, and saw Eddie Murphy in “The Nutty Professor” and he kissed me for the first time. Then we snuck into a large park after hours and walked on the walking trails and fed the geese at the lake in the moonlight. It was very nice, and we never seemed to run out of things to talk about. After that, he just stayed in the area until his visa expired and asked me to marry him before he left. I told him “no”, because he might have gone home and forgotten I existed. But he didn’t, and then the enormous bouquets of flowers started arriving, and we talked on the phone every night. I accepted his proposal two months later, and he arrived to surprise me with a visit. Then my daughter and I visited his family and enjoyed them very much. After a year of long-distance romancing, we were married. That was 13 years, and three more children ago. He recently attended his swearing-in ceremony to become a U.S. citizen and we were all there proudly watching…along with our friend who introduced us. It seemed only fitting.
Once upon a time there was a girl from NYC who moved to Chicago in hopes of a better life. But when she got there she realized the corporation she was working for was failing, because of greed and lies. So she decided if she could make it in NY then she could make it anywhere, as the song goes. In small town Illinois she decided to finish her bachelors degree.
Then while living there the unexpected happened one night. To escape from her nagging (visiting) mother she and a friend decided to get a drink at a local pub. But once there they realized all was not paradise, a scary much older man, who somehow resembled Elmer Fudd, kept following them around the bar upstairs and downstairs, then upstairs and downstairs. Until finally the girl realized this had to stop and they were not about to leave the bar for fear the scary hunter would follow them.
So the girl discussed her plan with her friend, and then searched the scarcely populated bar for some semblance of protection. Then she spotted a knight in shining armor and his sidekick already sitting at the bar. Then without delay she approached the handsome stranger and threw her arms around him. She explained the situation and then stated that she would only stay there a little while, in case they had girlfriends coming back to join them. Luckily for the girl there was no one coming back to join the knight or his sidekick. And they invited the girl and her friend to sit down for drinks. And the rest is history, including the fairly tale wedding and now they are living happily ever after and have two beautiful children. This year they will be celebrating there six year anniversary.
The End
Here’s mine (it’s book-related!)
I met my husband in a bar a month after I started graduate school (he had just graduated). At the time, I was dealing with not one, but two bad breakups (one long-term relationship with someone who wanted to get married, one flash-in-the-pan right after the long-term), and I was totally bound and determined not to date anyone else. He was ALSO bound and determined not to date anyone else, having just got out of a bad long-term relationship with someone who wanted to get married. So he just wanted to hook up, and I was completely sick of all men everywhere and wasn’t going to date anyone again, ever, EVER.
So he asked someone my name and then came and plopped down in the chair next to me and said, “Heyyy, Boop,” like he was Mr. Suave. I completely ignored him and blew him off. He kept trying, and after a while we made small talk, and I thought, “Well, he’s cute. But WAIT! NO! ALL MEN…but, wait, he’s cute.”
(He later told me he figured I was either married, or a lesbian. Hee.)
The next day, I went to school, and there in my mailbox was a copy of Harlan Ellison’s story “The Deathbird.” No name, no signature, no note. WTF? And then it hit me. The weird guy from the bar!
I spent a good day poring over that story, going, “What does it mean? What does it MEAN? What is he trying to tell me?” I couldn’t figure it out. But I was totally touched that he gave me a story in the first place. Obviously it meant a lot to him.
Okay, so: fast forward to Halloween weekend. My long-term ex-boyfriend showed up on my doorstep without telling me he was coming, and my roommate and I wound up taking him to a Halloween party. I walked in, and there was the weird guy, sipping tea (he had a cold) in a suave devil costume.
I said, “Did you leave a Harlan Ellison story in my mailbox?”, and he said, “Yeah, I just always really liked it, and wanted to see what you thought.” We wound up following each other around the house the whole night and talking (also trying to dodge the evil ex, who I think sensed what was going on, and kept trying to get in my way), and at at some point the weird guy said, “Do you want to go out for coffee?”
And I thought, “Wait a minute. This guy likes stories. And he’s a geek. And he’s cute. Wait, wait…no. Crap. NO. NO MORE. Okay, two weeks. I’ll give him two weeks. That’s it.”
A week later, we had our first date. AND! It turned out to be a little bit longer than two weeks. We’ve been together for 14 years and married for six.
Moral of the story: Woo your lady with Harlan Ellison!
I am still waiting to meet my special someone. I can only hope that we have as great of a love story as all those that have been posted!