LOVE STORIES!! ACT ONE: Randomness, Serendipity, and Surprise!

"BLIND DATE"
My hubby and I met on a blind date. He always tells me that fior him it was love at first sight. But he had to work to convince me. After months of dating he admitted that the night we met he erased all the numbers in his phone that belonged to women because I was the only woman he wanted. After that how could I not marry him!

"BLIND DATE"
I met my husband on a blind date where we were just tag a longs for our best friends. They ended up not being a match but we were married 3 months later. That was 8 years ago and we now have two beautiful children and are still very much in love.

"LOVE COMES A KNOCKIN'"
I was selling my car, my husband to be came to take a look at it. I opened my front door,and there he was. That was 28 years ago! You never know!

"LOVE AT FIRST BYTE"
I met my husband of 12 years online.He lived in Scotland, I in PA. He proposed after our first face to face meeting when I flew to Scotland for a 3 day weekend.I moved to Scotland, we married & we lived there & traveled the Mediteranean until moving to the US in 2007.We now live in Texas & I run a pet sitting, pet rescue & adoption business by myself.We care for about 40 dogs at our home until they can be vetted & adopted to good loving family homes.We are blessed!Our wedding anniversary is on Valentine’s Day.


"REAL LOVE"
My husband XXX and I were set up on a blind date. Our first ‘real’ date was on February 12, 1994, when we went to an exhibit gala at the Baltimore Museum of Art. XXX was nervous about whether it was too early in the relationship to get me a Valentine but did end up getting me a box of heavenly hand-made truffles from an elite German chocolatier in Baltimore. On this date, my husband quickly learned that he needed to learn to cook for his own survival….for when I said that i would make him breakfast, it meant a smoothie from a blender with granola on top! We dated long distance for the next three years – he in San Francisco and I in Baltimore, for work reasons, including our first year of marriage, when we took different planes back to our respective coasts, after a brief honeymoon in Santa Fe……It has been sixteen years and a lot of life since that first date. We’ve had our share of good times and bad times, triumphs and disappointments. We’ve been best friends, and at times we’ve been adversaries. We have grown closer, and we have hurt each other. And at times, i forget where I am, or what I have, but I only need to watch XXX kick around a pink soccer ball with our three little girls, help them dress their Barbies, watch endless ballet recitals (instead of ESPN), sew a button on one of the girls’ favorite jeans, or plant sunflowers and (giant) pumpkins with them….and I am reminded of this real love……

"SURVEY"
When I first met my future husband, back in 1961, he asked me for a date. I asked him if he was willing to fill out an application for a date, to which he responded, it that’s what it takes to date you, YES! He did filling it completely out and I was impressed, others weren’t so willing or didn’t fill it all out. Now let me tell you, I was dating others, so it wasn’t a lack of dates that prompted the survey.. To make a long story short, we did date and did marry the following year. I said he chased off all the other guys (he did), he said he had too much invested in me (okay, he did help with my car). When our kids were ready to date, he brought up the application, and wondered if we should use it. He thought it was great for us, and our marriage lasted 46 years, three children and six grandchildren. So I’d have to say I agree with him.

"TWO SHIPS AT NIGHT"
For almost 3 years my partner and I were circling each other, trying to find each other and never succeeding, until one day…but that is the end of the story… For four years I worked (almost full-time) at a bar, XXX tells me now that she came in often for lunch and after work. I never saw her there. I lived in Back Bay, and the only window I had in my studio faced the Hancock Tower. XXX worked in the Hancock and her office faced my apartment. She says she would often find herself staring out the window in the direction of my apartment. Many nights I would go to yoga all the way across town. I would walk there every time. At this same time, XXX would go for long runs at night in her neighborhood. The yoga studio I went to is one block from her apartment. While working at the bar I also ran a store in downtown XXX. I was only there two days a week, Wednesday and Saturday. One Saturday in the fall of 2007 XXX and a few of her friends were planning on going up to XXX to do a little downtown shopping and check out the town because they had never been there. XXX and her friends did not go because it was pouring rain that day. XXX made a list that was 3 pages long and very specific describing the person she wanted to meet and fall in love with. Some specifications were they had to be shorter than her, make her laugh, have dark hair, be spiritual etc…the list was exhaustive, but XXX knew her mate was out there. One day in the summer of 2007 a friend of XXX told her that her soulmate was close and that we would soon meet. Another friend of XXX told her she wanted to introduce her to another friend, she thought her and I would hit it off. It never worked out for us to meet up. A friend of mine really wanted to introduce me to another friend, she thought we would hit it off. It never happened that we could work the timing out for us to meet. These things went on for 3 years,XXX and I circled each other unbeknownst to one another… Then on December 11, 2007 I was working at the bar, it was a pretty slow Tuesday night with plenty of empty seats at my bar. In walked XXX, we caught each others eyes immediately and in that instant we each knew there was no one else. She sat down in front of me and we talked until her friends came that she was meeting. Next Tuesday, she came back to ask me out. It has since been two wonderful years and we have a lifetime ahead of us. XXX later told me that one day she was looking for her list that she made and after tearing apart every thing in her apartment (which is always exceptionally organized) she could not find it. She had found it in person! p.s. The friend that wanted to introduce XXX to me and me to XXX, we shared the same friend…


"A LOVELY MOMENT"
To keep it brief…..I’ve been married 22 (this June 25th) years to XXX and in the early days, I was physically stressed and sick from going through a divorce. I lived on the floor of my single wide, trying to figure out what I was going to do next with my life, and had met XXX at work some 2 months before. He knew I was struggling, even though I was not out there begging for help, and had made a “friend date” to take me to lunch and out for a pleasant Saturday. So I tenatively said yes, and waited for Saturday. On Saturday, our 10:00am meeting at my place didn’t happen. So I waited….no phone call, no XXX. About 1:00pm I decided to go out for lunch on my own….when a quiet knock on the door was heard. There stood XXX; slightly disheveled and dusty with tears in his eyes…..apologizing to me (?) because his car broke down, no phone on him, and he had walked about 6 miles to come see me so I wouldn’t be let down. Needless to say I wasn’t angry and totally melted for this gentleman and gentle man.


"SAVING THE BEST FOR FIRST"
Saving the best for first. I arrived at Indiana State University from my home in New Hampshire without knowing anyone, for the most part. I knew my buddy from the Army would be meeting me there following my first semester, he had convinced me to head to Terre Haute for school. Okay, and I was in contact with his brother who had a severe love for marijuana, but mostly I was alone. That didn’t last long. I had chosen political science as a major, and during orientation on the first day, I needed to schedule my classes. I was second in line behind a beautiful girl, wearing a black tank top and a rainbow colored full-length dress. Her name was XXX, and I remember thinking “man, if every girl here looks like XXX, this is the right place.” Turns out I didn’t need to search any farther than XXX. We would go to school events, the movies, and gradually we started dating. Whenever I would buy her jewelry, I looked for Alexis Bittar, and found Giving Tree while on a quest for AB. Four years later we are still together, and approaching our one year engagement anniversary. When I asked her to marry me, I used a Pablo Valencia ring from Giving Tree to substitute for the family heirloom ring she knew about (Thanks Mom). She said yes and now we are out on our own, attending graduate school at Syracuse University. Whether we are going out with our classmates in international relations and public relations, taking in a game at the Carrier Dome watching the #2 ranked Orangemen shut down their opponents, or sitting in class, I think back on how persistent I was, and how it is all worth it. Oh yeah, and a final note. Indiana State University’s slogan is “More…From Day One.” Normally I scoff at that notion, the school was mediocre at best, but every time o a friend or family member catches me griping, they say: “but you met XXX there, don’t forget that.” I never can forget, and I must admit, I got more from day one.

"A NEW OLD LOVE"
A few weeks ago, I reunited with an ex love after a 3 year separation! So, this Valentine’s month, I find myself in the delicious position of being all giddy and full of butterflies when first I see his face, and yet deeply comfortable and safe at home when he takes me in his arms. For all the years we were together we celebrated with gifts from Giving Tree, so this contest is very special to me. I’ve been out of work in this crazy economy for more than a year, so winning would mean we could yet again celebrate our love with a gift from GT. Thanks for providing a place where you can just go and know that every piece you find will be a treasure and you just can’t go wrong! And wish me and this sweet man love and luck in this next go round!! Happiness and Romance for us all in 2010!


"LOCKED IN THE NATIONAL ZOO"
I am very oblivious when it comes to men trying to get my attention. When I first met XXX over two years ago I turned the poor guy down for his happy hour requests right and left, and it wasn’t because I didn’t like him. I am just the type of person who’d rather go home and relax after a long day at work. He finally asked me to grab some food after work one day in 2007. Well, he got me there. I love food! After much debate we decided to metro to the Woodley Park Adams Morgan area in DC and eat at Lebanese Taverna. After confessing that we both liked each other over dinner and eliminating the awkwardness we decided to walk up the street and walk around the National Zoo and chat. We sat on a bench in the middle of the zoo and chatted it up for over an hour. We got up and walked toward the gate, yet, to our surprise the front gate was shut! We were locked in! Meanwhile we are laughing and carrying on trying to figure out how to get out of the Zoo. People walking down the street couldn’t help but stop and chat with us through the large metal gate, and help us plan our escape. We made it up and over the 10 ft. spiked fence after about 10 minutes. Meanwhile I also was wearing a dress and got stuck at the top for a minute! Once I got down we couldn’t help but laugh and talk about it for the next few days. What a great story we will be able to tell well into the future. I love you.