~Love Stories~ How did you meet the love of your life?FReeper Canteen 1-11-07

[fatima]

~Love Stories~ How did you meet the love of your life?

At Last My Love Has Come Along Dedicated to To My Dear Husband, Peter by Anonymous My husband is currently serving in Iraq, and I dedicate our love story to all the soldiers whose love crosses the world this Valentine's Day. At the end of my first date with a man named Peter, I heard a perfect stranger telling him "he had better marry that girl".

The story goes like this.... I was asked out on during summer break by a man with whom I attended college. I was a nervous woman, but we had a fabulous time together in downtown Houston, Texas. Our night ranged from a Chinese restaurant for dinner, to St. Petes Dancing Marlin for strawberry cheesecake, until we arrived at a jazz cafe named the Red Cat Lounge. Peter had been a perfect gentleman all night, and I let him know I was ready to leave the jazz cafe as the night wore on. He kept stalling and saying that we would leave soon. After our agreed upon thirty minutes, I stood up and told Peter "Let's go". Well, that's when the lead singer of the band looked at me and said "You can't leave yet". At that moment, the lead singer looked at me and said "This is for the woman with the beautiful green eyes" and began playing the song "At Last" by Etta James.

Peter knew that was my favorite song and had apparently secretly requested it be played for me. He had never heard the song before, and did not even know it was a love song until he heard the chorus that night. "At Last My Love Has Come Along, My Lonely Days Are Over, and Life is Like a Song" is the chorus, and little did we both know that night the song actually had come true in the beginning of our love relationship. At the end of the song, the lead singer turned to Peter and said "you better marry that girl".

How pleased would that perfect stranger be to know that "At Last" was the first song that Peter and I danced to as a newlywed couple exactly two years later on May 29, 2005. Since we have married, Peter and I have longed to visit Hawaii to celebrate our love and our marriage. The thought of lying on the beach at night, sipping margaritas while lying in a hammock, while feeling the ocean breeze on our faces is a dream. To walk along the beach at night, explore the lushness and the vegetation, and to experience the mystery of the island would be a priceless experience.

I am planning on surprising my husband with a trip to Hawaii when he returns from his tour in Iraq. After being apart, I can't even envision the joy it would bring to be together in a fantasy land "at last".

I used to work as a probation officer in western Washington State. I had one difficult parolee who kept reoffending. I was forever convincing him to go to the eastern side of the state—out of my jurisdiction. Once there, he'd reoffend and another parole officer would get him to move back west! Finally, this other officer and I decided to meet to discuss the problem. "This other officer" is now my wife. We didn't invite the probationer to the wedding. —Bill O'Connor, Anchorage, Alaska

Late one night I heard someone banging around in the hallway outside my apartment door. It was so loud, I finally got up to investigate. When I opened my door, a man fell into my kitchen—passed-out drunk. I tried to shove him back into the hall, but he was too heavy. Instead, I left him on the floor, went to my bedroom, pushed the dresser in front of my door, and went back to sleep. Not long after, I married the lug.

[darkwing104]

Is this still the only photo you're showing?

That is better then the one with the Hillbilly holding the shotgun and an Elvis impersonating minister... :-)

[TomSmedley]

Mine was not loss due to death, but loss due to abandonment. Some argue the latter is worse, because at least when you bury the loved one, you can hold them dear to your heart knowing that they're in a better place and you'll meet again one day.

Rules of thumb: it normally takes guys a lot longer to recover than gals. Some injuries, like that of the fabled Fisher King, can never be completely healed in this life. Some prayer requests, like Paul's triple petition to be relieved of his "thorn in the flesh," get an answer of "No," with or without an explanation. After all, "we walk by faith, not by sight."

A guy I know bonded with a beautiful, brilliant, and bilingual girl who he assumed was the answer to his prayers. When she was unable to join him in his life of "ministry," (a high-demand protestant monestary/street mission), the rupture precipitated a major crisis of faith and decades of lingering resentment towards God and agents of His who failed to deliver on perceived promises. On the other hand, he found a plain but good woman who snuck in under his radar by virtue of her quiet good character. A friendship began that has endured more than 30 years now. (29th anniversary approaching) She won my heart, even though she knew she could never replace that first great passion, and was content with what I had left over to offer.

There's a lot to be said for kindness, respect, and integrity for building a truly intimate joint soul. Marrying her was the sanest thing I ever did, and the craziest, most romantic thing she ever did.

(parenthetically, I later learned The One had already been engaged five times before I came along. Engaged in quite a bit, apparently!)

[beachn4fun]

You two are funny

[Kathy in Alaska]

Welcome to the Canteen, xcamel....meeting at a balloon festival....neat!

[NRA1995]

Hi hon!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Welcome to the Canteen, mosquewatch....nice way to meet.

[streetpreacher]

Her car had been run off the road. I stopped. She had amnesia. I convinced her she was my wife.

[newnhdad]

Job interview.
Her flirty skirt and huge green eyes put a spell on my that I'll never forget.
I got the job and the girl, for a while..

[beachn4fun]

You know something I noticed on this thread?

Just as many men (from what I could tell from reading) posted how they met the Love of their Life. I'm amazed by some of the
"confessions" of love.

My first husband was the love of my life, even though he was not always good to me. Maybe it was because I was a teenager in love and I had stars in my eyes. My first true love, I guess. He loved me for a time, but he was cruel in many ways. We did manage to return to being friends after our divorce. He could be a good friend. He has since passed away.

I've moved on in my life and married a really good man. My second husband is younger than me but we have very similar taste and goals in life. He is a good husband and the kind of man you know will be with you a lifetime. God delivered him unto me once I knew what kind of husband I wanted. I guess you could say when my desire was the same as God's.

Sometimes, the ones we are attracted to and fall for are not necessarily the one who is best for us.

Thanks for your story. I'm glad you got over it.

[beachn4fun]

LOL

[beachn4fun]

Ma, you're back! (((HUGS)))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hiya, beachy....have a good rest of your day.

[Kathy in Alaska]

I am.....it's breaktime and I can actually take a break. LOL!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hey you......last night I heard an announcement about A Medal of Honor ceremony at 1000 this morning.....I set both the tivo and the vcr for 0600...ya know anything about it? I'll watch whatever it is tonight.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Congratulation, Don Carlos and bride, on 43 years. And thanks for your service to our country.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Oh no, Arrowhead.....allergy attack time. Hope you feel better soon.

[fieldmarshaldj]

No, in my case, I don't blame God for the loss (after all, it was He who answered a specific prayer on my part to bring her to me -- quite literally). Part of it is my fault, part of it is the fault of a close family member for doing her part to destroy the fairy tale relationship, and part of it is simply Satanic forces. Any letting up of either of the three could've stopped what happened.

Sadly, no day goes by that I'm not reminded and tormented by the loss, even in the little things (such as one time leaving the dentist's office and seeing a vehicle's license plate reading "Mina" -- perhaps meaning nothing to anyone else, it was like a dagger through my soul -- you see, that was the name my fiancee had picked out for a daughter, once we had children in the future. The name was actually a bone of contention, because I wanted something a bit more exotic to reflect her multi-ethnic background, but she stuck to her guns. A silly argument in hindsight, but to say it reminded me of the loss was an understatement).

Even just this morning, I had another nightmare of seeing my former fiancee, far too frequent an occurance, usually she is cold as ice to me in it, and after I wake up, I feel dead inside. It has all adversely effected my physical and mental health, and I suspect it may end up finally killing me before long. That, sadly, may be the only time I will ever have peace. :-|

[Kathy in Alaska]

wh!!

Tamar.....#500!!
GB.....#550 and #600!
beachy....#650!!
SF.....#700!!

[fredhead]

I'll tell you two stories. First mine.

I was in the Navy, stationed on the USS JFK in Norfolk. I went home to NC for a 4-day Thanksgiving weekend, and went to visit a friend who I have known since 1st grade. At one time I had dated his sister. Well, he introduced me to this lovely little woman, who was so shy she hardly said a word all night. We went out Friday and Saturday night, and I found myself going home every weekend that we were in port and I didn't have duty. I even paid someone $75.00 to take my New Years weekend duty so I could go home. I proposed on Valentine's eve, and we married in March. That was almost 17 years ago.

The other story is my parents:

My Dad, from eastern NC, joined the Army in the spring of 1941 to, as he told me "keep from getting drafted". While on maneuvers in TN in 1942, he was detailed to drive a truck in the convoy. Being that he was in the regimental medical detachment, he was at the rear of the convoy, and would slow way down, get behind and then floor it to catch up. The transportation officer caught him, and banished him to the back of the truck. Shortly after this, while passing through the small town of Alexandria, TN on a Saturday afternoon, he threw his name and address out of the truck to a girl he saw on the town square. They started writing, and he started visiting while he was still stationed in TN. They continued to write throughout the war, through the fighting in western Europe, and when he was discharged in September 1945, he went to get her. They married in October 1945, and Dad just passed away one month shy of their 61st anniversary. Mom passed right before last Christmas.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Mrs.N...((HUGS))...hope you are finally feeling much better today.