Ten years ago tonight, I walked into a bar and fell in love. Everything about how we met danced with cliché: we met in a bar; he told me he was an artist and offered to show me his sketches (I said yes and followed him home); it truly was love at first sight.
If I can’t remember my life before the boys, I certainly can’t imagine life without Beloved. We were living in different cities when we met, and I spent the better part of a year making the six hour drive from Ottawa to London and back every second weekend to be with him. We started seeing each other in March, started talking about him moving to Ottawa in early summer. In September 1995, we planned for him to move up in May 1996. In October we bumped it up to February. We finally settled on New Years Eve, 1995. We were married on July 3, 1999.
I remember the day I knew he was The One. Before we met, I had planned a backpacking trip through Europe. It was to be my big adventure, a trip through five countries all by myself – no tourguide, no travelling companions, just me and my Let’s Go Europe. The trip itself was amazing, terrifying and wonderful – fodder for another blog.
But on the very last day, I got lost in the Paris RER and missed my flight home. Beloved had driven from London to Ottawa to meet my flight, and was staying in my apartment. I called him at 7 am Paris time – sometime in the middle of the night in Ottawa – and tearfully sobbed that I had missed my flight, I was stranded, and the only way I could get home was to fly into Toronto later that day. Would he drive back to Toronto to meet me? He never hesitated.
I knew if he could calm hysterical, exhausted me with an entire ocean in between us, he was The One. And I was right. There is no one who could be a better father to my boys than Beloved, no one I would rather see at the beginning and end of every day. I am a lucky, lucky girl.
How did you know it when you met The One?
OMG Dani
What a beautiful Story. And Happy Anniversary. I knew I met the one when he didn’t try to jump me or get me in the sack. Which to me up until that point was all men were going to do with me. i had enough self respect to know I derserved much much more. I met him in the yard of my parents Place. He was leaving with his dad who had stopped to talk to mine. We talked for abit and then 2 days later he asked me out to a church supper and drinks after ward. It was nice.
He was the first man to dress up to see me and the frist one to take to to a movie that wasn’t porn. (Still hasn’t done that one)AND the only one with a edcucation. WHich to me was important. He is gentle and patient(well most of the time) 😉 So I think I knew from the begining this was my soul mate and life partner. When it really hit was when he left to work for an oil company in Texas and called me every chance he got. Gosh that was a hard 6 months. We married when we got back that same summer
Will write more later after I finish sobbing…beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, thanx for sharing.
Dani, that was a beautiful post. The love you have for your husband came pouring through in every word. You are both very lucky :~)
PS…..Immediately after kissing my future husband for the first time, I thought to myself…I can’t imagine this ever ending. That was literally my first thought. I still remember going for a walk with him after that and the feeling of peace I had. I didn’t know at the time it was love but I knew I felt a happiness and sense of contentment I had never known.
Dani,
10 years ago today I was celebrating my 27th birthday and planning a summer wedding. 4 years ago I was have my first retrieval. One year ago I celebrated my birthday for the first time as a mom! Who knew that we would become friends and would share a special day!
Happy anniversary to you and Beloved!
Barb
I love wedding stories, and ones about how you got engaged. But, I have to say my favorite is how you met? I love listening to that story the best because you can see the love in the persons eyes or in this case hear it in their written words. 😉
I met my love in a bar. Which in my opinion is the only place worth meeting anyone. JK
And I knew he was the one because on our first date he had a plan. He did not ask where I wanted to go? or what did I want to do? He made reservations and took me to dinner. So we could sit and talk. That’s how I knew. 😉
Robin
ps. another time I will tell you how he knew. And it was not SEX…
Robin
He sounds like Mr. Right for sure. Thanks for sharing your love story.
Hey I thought I was married to The One? 😉 A fabulous story!
I knew mine was the one, because for the first time in my entire life I was so willingly to give of myself. Gone was the selfishness; the gift of giving had arrived.