I was talking with another author recently. We were brainstorming the start of a book, and she was stuck on how she could realistically take the hero and heroine from complete strangers to the point that they trusted each other enough to share some deeply personal secrets. I kept coming up with ways for the characters’ paths to cross, and she kept telling me that it was too convenient, that it wasn’t believable enough.
And I have to be honest. Some of my ideas were a little bit ridiculous. That’s sort of how brainstorming works, though. At least, for me it is. I come up with all kinds of ludicrous ideas that will never make it into a book, but somewhere in between all that craziness rest a few really good tidbits that are perfect. Or – and this works especially well when brainstorming with another person – one of my insane ideas will spur them to have a good idea or vice versa.
But I’m getting off track.
How do people meet? What makes them want to spend time together?
I don’t have a ton of experience at this. I met my husband in high school. We had a couple of classes together. We became friends and stayed that way for the next several years. We came into contact with each other because life (school, in this case) put us together. That was the vehicle through which we got to know each other.
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Here are some of the first meetings I’ve had:
An Informal Christmas – She’s a Child Life Specialist, and he comes to the hospital to make a donation to Child Life.
An Informal Arrangement – She’s an ICU nurse, and he’s a patient. She later becomes his home health nurse as he recovers from his illness.
An Informal Introduction – He’s a state trooper who pulls her over when she’s driving to work. That same day, she ends up being the ICU nurse caring for his mom.
An Informal Date – She’s a coffee barista, and he’s a research doctor who goes all the way to the other side of the hospital to get coffee from her kiosk.
An Informal Affair – They’re in the same class at church, but they also both work at the hospital – she’s an ER nurse and he’s the IT guy. They make a pact to try online dating to try to find their special someones, and then they bond as they tell each other about all their horrible dates.
Ten Million Reasons – He needs to get married to preserve a special inheritance, so he hires a company to do a survey in the mall. She’s a freelance writer who can’t for the life of her say no to those poor survey people who always catch her when she’s at the mall. She ends up having the best answers to the survey…and a marriage of convenience is born. (Talk about coming up with a way for two people to get to know each other! Get married…then you’ll have plenty of time to learn about one another. ^_^ )
Skye – They met on a plane, but she later ended up sort-of-against-her-will volunteering at the homeless shelter he ran.
Definitely – He’s the pastor, and she’s in the congregation. The first time he asked her out on a date, she thought it was a committee meeting and couldn’t figure out why nobody else was there.
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Okay, so those are some of my fun ways of introducing characters to each other and getting them to spend enough time together to set off those first sparks and/or to build a solid foundation for their relationship.
Now I want to know about you.
If you have a significant other, tell me how you met.
If you don’t, tell me how your parents met, how your cousins met, how your BFF met someone – just pick your favorite real-life meeting-and-falling-in-love story and share it with me.
One commenter will be randomly selected to receive a $5 Amazon gift card. 😊
Heather Gray loves coffee, God, her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order! She writes approachable characters who, through the highs and lows of life, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her. And, yeah, her books almost always have someone who's a coffee addict. Some things just can't be helped. Despite their different lives and situations, Heather’s characters have something in common. They're all flawed...but loved anyway.
I met my hubby online while doing research for a humorous romance story. Seriously.
The Mister and I were encouraged to attend a party by different friends. Neither of us wanted to be there, we met and we left and went for a drive. That was that.
My parents met at a roller skating competition.
I am single but the first time mum saw dad she was leading a CE meeting. She became a Christian during WW2 and in came this man. She saw him and knew who he was even though they had never met. The church were praying for Dad during the war. She was so nervous cos it was one of the first times she lead the meeting. I think it was love at first sight for them both but they didn’t actually go on a date for about 6 months turns out he wanted to ask mum out but was to scared she would say no.
My brother met his wife at a Christian camp where they were both leaders. Everyone was praying for his wife to find the husband God had planned for her they didn’t know at the time she had already found him.
Hi Heather! Intriguing blog. Great question. Can’t wait to read the responses, especially since June is wedding month. Lots of older folks celebrating anniversaries and Sunday is Father’s Day. My German WW2 parents meet on a train coming home to Germany from the Eastern Front. My mom was a Red Cross Nurse, whose family lost their East Prussian farm. My dad was returning to his home in Berlin after being a prisoner of war in St. Petersburg. The corresponded. Dad proposed in a letter. Mom declined and sent the ring back in a letter. Dad persisted. They married. Immigrated to the USA and where married for 59 years.
Hubby Michael and I met at a Church College and Career Sunday night get together. The young man Bill, who had a crush with a VW Beetle volunteered to also take Michael back to his dorm which was near mine on campus. When I found out Michael was studying German, I sat in the back seat of the VW while Bill drove us home. Not the most Christian thing to do. Michael had a German class between the two classes I was taking – so we saw each other between classes. Then at church – Sunday School, worship service, and Sunday evening get togethers. Michael and I will be married 47 years on Tuesday. Glad to report Bill got married. Meet his wife at a wedding we all attended. Best wishes and enjoy your weekend.
I met my hubby when he came to pick up his little nephew from my day care class :)
My parents met through my Daddy’s first wife. She and Mom were best friends, and when she was dying, she told Daddy he needed to find someone else, so he told her he would marry my Mom. Mom said she didn’t like Daddy much when she first met him. However, Daddy changed her mind! Daddy and Mom were married 42 years before he passed away. On their dates, they’d go to gospel singings around the small town they lived in.
My husband and 2 friends drove across the country on motorcycles. I was home at our log house (2 miles from our nearest neighbour in northern B.C.) by myself when they drove up. I didnt know whether to answer the door or run and hide. I opened the door and said, “Who are you…what so you want?” My sister was married to one of their friends in Ottawa so they had stopped by to visit. They stayed the weekend…One of them wrote to me and we got married 2 years later. 40 years and 5 sons and we are still together living in Ontario.
This is a cool post. People are meant to be together.
Our church had a group called “College/Carreer Age” Every summer the group would go up to the upper Wisconsin that the church had a camp. One summer my mom signed me up without asking me about it (she knew I would say “NO”) LOL than she packed my bag and dropped me off at church. What? I didnt want to go with all these people and spend a week. Sigh. But at that point I had no choice. Might as well make the most of it. Though mom was going to hear about it when I got back. Yes I was mad. Well the week went fine enough. We had to cross a river to get to/from the camp. So when we packed up and left I gave my suitcase to a young man. He was so skinny and his hair was greasy. (no shower will do that to a person) but still, really? We had two buss’s. One was air conditioned and one was not. Half way home we stopped at a McDonalds for lunch. I was sitting by myself when this young man who took my suitcase got on the bus. He was on the air conditioned bus. Why couldnt he stay there? The only seat for him was with me. Arrrggghhh. Oh I was so not happy. We ate our lunch in silence. I was quite happy to not talk. But he had to strike up a conversation. And when I only gave monosyllables, HE KEPT TALKING AND ASKING QUESTIONS. What was wrong with this guy. Didnt he get the hint? Well from McDonalds to the church was another 4 hours. Can you believe it, we talked the whole rest of the way back to our church. Our first few dates were rocky to say the least. He gave up. Ok, if that is how he feels, that is fine. But a girl friend from church, who also worked with me, would not let it drop. She made sure we got back together. “You guys were meant for each other” she would say. What did she know. Oh my goodness. And she did. The rest is history. We have been married 36 years now and still very happy. We have two lovely children who are on their own. One has been married for four years now. We are looking forward to our empty nest life. Our differences are what make us such a happy couple. He is an engineer and very intellectual. I am a farm girl that loves life and the simpler the better. So I have helped slow him down and look at life through Jesus eyes. He has helped me to look at things in my life that could use organization and speed up a bit. Jesus really was behind my mom putting me on the bus for camp. I have always been so grateful to my mom (and I have let her know many times) for being obedient to Jesus. Oh and I am not such a self absorbed woman anymore. LOL My God and my family come first. And this makes all the difference in the world.
I love it! But the real question is…how did the story turn out? ^_^
My parents met when they were away at school.
Talk about divine intervention! Only God could orchestrate something like that and have it turn out well in the end! :-)
Ooh…any chance they were competing against each other? (I don’t think roller skating competitions are co-ed, but I might be thinking more of roller derby, there.) Regardless – what a FUN way to meet! ^_^
Wow! Those are both great stories! I love the way God so clearly orchestrated both of those meetings. I’m trying to think of what CE is. I know of CEF, but I’m drawing a blank on CE – what is that?
Wow, Renate – I love your parents’ story. There’s something fundamentally romantic about meeting on a train. Maybe not so much in today’s world – I haven’t been on a train recently – but certainly in that classic, historical sense of what trains are. I wonder what the modern equivalent would be?
And – ha! I’m glad Bill met someone, fell in love, and go married. ^_^ It’s funny how sometimes God takes us down certain roads not so much because he wants us to get to the end of that road, but more so because he wants us to take another path that we can only get to by traveling that road. Had you not been at that get-together with Bill, you might never have met Michael. It’s hard to say. Regardless, God clearly had His hand in things all along. And congratulations on 47 years – Happy Anniversary!!
Aahhh… (Seriously, I did the sigh and everything.) That would be a perfect romance book meeting. While it’s a bit of a stereotype, men aren’t often considered the most nurturing of people, so when a man takes time out of his schedule to do something for a child that’s not his own, it stands out in a special way. :-)
Wow – what a beautiful story of love. An emotional one, too. I can’t imagine that either of them moving forward with their lives together was 100% easy, especially united in grief like they were. What a blessing that God brought them into each other’s lives, and what a testament to His faithfulness! Thank you for sharing!!
You married the biker dude! I love that story! Of all the log houses in all of British Columbia, they ended up at yours. ^_^ I’m not sure I would have been brave enough to open the door. I’d have probably opted for hiding…but how embarrassing would that have turned out to be once you realized they were actually supposed to be there? You (obviously) made the right call! :-)
Ha! What a great story. The funny thing for me is that I’m great at writing, but I’m not the best conversationalist in person. At least, not until I get to know a person and feel comfortable around them. One of my dearest friends is maybe 25 years my senior, and we became friends because she wouldn’t stop talking to me. God had put me on her heart, and she pursued a friendship with me even though I never knew what to say to her and often didn’t say anything at all. Her persistent kindness and warmth (and, yes, even the talking!) eventually made me comfortable enough to open up. She’s still the bigger talker of the two of us, but we stand on equal footing now and hold actual two-way conversations. ^_^
I love your transparency about how you felt during the bus ride and lunch. Isn’t it funny how much God grows us in (or in spite of!) our own obstinance? Thank goodness for His grace and patience!! And you two do sound like you’re perfectly matched – just the way God intended for you to be. :-)
School romances that last tend to be pretty strong – at least that’s my two cents on it. ^_^ Thank you for sharing!
I’ve got a couple of good ones to tell you :-) First, my parents. My mom grew up in Michigan. During WWII, she worked in a bomber plant, and the gal she worked next to started talking about joining the Marines. My mom got interested too, and did join the Marines. The friend never did! Well, my mom got sent to Washington, DC. Her dad was a Free Methodist pastor, and the Free Methodist Church put out a book for service personnel with addresses of contacts in various cities. So my mom called the number in the book for Washington, DC. The young man who answered was from California. He was in the Navy. He “extended the right hand of fellowship” and gave my mom all the info about the local church (he was living with the family whose name was in the book). Well, he had duty the next 2 Sundays, but finally met my mom at church. If I remember correctly, this was in April. He started seriously pursuing her. She really wasn’t interested in marriage, but after he asked her to marry him every day for a week, she finally said yes. They married in November, soon after the war was over. They were married for 60 years!
Then, my husband had 2 close friends in high school. One went to the Free Methodist Church and one to the Presbyterian church. My hubby went to the Lutheran Church (one Sunday they managed to hit all 3 churches in one morning). He often went to the Free Methodist friend’s home to study, and observed their family devotional time, and realized they lived what he heard preached at his church. He started going to the Free Methodist Church, and his faith became personal. When he was ready to go to university in the city where my family lived, his pastor made sure he connected with my dad. I was away at college in a totally different state, but started hearing in letters about this new student who started coming to Bible studies at my parents’ home. Eventually I was home for a school vacation before Jim left for his vacation, and we met at a party for the Bible study group. He was a nice guy, but had a girlfriend at the time. We connected on and off over the next couple of years. I graduated and came home. He graduated and went into the Air Force. He was stationed a couple hours away, and would come back to visit friends… We had one date, during which he said he wasn’t ready to get serious with anyone until he was out of the service and established in a career. We started corresponding (he got stationed overseas), and were married while he was still in the service :-) We only had a couple of real dates before we got married, but writing letters helped us communicate well. This year we’ll celebrate our 47th anniversary!
Dan and I met in our freshman algebra class! I think we were both a little smitten, but I was already dating someone, so it never went any further than that. Fast forward eight years: I had been married, had two daughters, and divorced. He had graduated, and was working in his field. A well timed email (which he almost deleted as spam, and then something stopped him) Brought us back in touch, and after a few weeks of instant messaging and emailing back and forth, we had our first date. I don’t think I knew immediately that we were destined for each other, but I sure liked him a lot. After a short time, the world experienced 9/11, and I figured out pretty quickly how much I cared, especially when everyone was so frightened and uncertain. We were married in April 2005, and just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary!
I love knowing how people meet. As for me, I knew his entire family before I met him. My sister and I used to go to his parent’s house each Sunday for dinner. The first time I met him was while with his brothers and their families at a dinner, and I wasn’t impressed. The next year, I met him again. I was very late getting to the house and planned on showing his parents cruise pictures. I was so late he was the only one there, with his two kids. I showed him the pictures, we talked for three hours, I was even later to the subsequent events for the day, and he showed up later that night for bowling. When I arrived home my mom asked why I was so late and I complained about finally talking to the Arduini brother and he made me even later, than never told the rest of the gang I was running late to bowling. Mom wrote it on the calendar—she knew he was it.
That’s hilarious!
I think “life” (AKA, Providence) throws most couples together. I met my hubby in Freshman Speech 102. We didn’t talk to each other, because we were both interested in the more good-looking people (we were both so immature), but I did spark his interest when I commented on a speech evaluation that I loved his illustration of Data from Star Trek: TNG. I had grown up watching it with my dad. He tried to talk to me a few times over the next year and a half, but I was shy and couldn’t remember his name, so I felt too embarrassed to open up.
Then we were reintroduced when one of my best friends needed a math tutor, and he was the one she found on the bulletin board. They were interested in each other, but she didn’t want to start out dating him privately yet, so she invited all of us to do stuff as a group. He brought his roommate, and she brought all four of us. We had a blast for a semester as friends.
Then he visited her at her home during the summer, and I thought they were going to get serious. But when we came back for our Senior year, she just blew him off. Chris thinks that her dad talked her out of it. I knew he was too great to deserve that. He asked me if I would meet him for breakfast to help plan a birthday for her. After two breakfasts, we didn’t even talk about the party anymore, but we still kept going to breakfast together. I realized then that I liked him myself as more than just a friend.
It took him a little longer for him to realize it. (I was in the agony of unrequited love yet again.) But after I emailed him every day of during our Christmas break, he realized that I was faithful, and he asked me out to the Valentine’s Fine Art for our first date. By graduation, we already knew we were going to get married.
I loved reading all the stories of how people met. I was a teacher and shared an apartment with another teacher. She was over at another woman’s apartment where she met my future husband. She invited him over to meet me and then invited him and his roommate to a birthday party we were going to at our old apartment complex that night. We went in separate cars, but he asked to drive me home and the rest is history. We’ve been married 44 years.
My husband and I met at the bowling alley! My dad and I were in the same bowling league for several years in a row, and one year he and his brother joined it.
To hear him tell it, he noticed me right away=) I was actually in my late 30s and had not necessarily given up on the idea of marriage, but just didn’t know if it was gonna happen. It was a good time to observe him in a group setting, how he interacted with people and such. Plus what sort of competitive nature he had, and how he dealt with not doing well, frustration etc…
He asked around to make sure I wasn’t married, and asked me out a couple months into the league. As I say the rest is history. We just celebrated our fifth anniversary.
I am really intrigued by your book “Definitely” but can’t find it on Amazon or your website. The thought of a Pastor wanting to date one of the ladies in his congregation is one theme in a book I don’t think I’ve ever read. And then she thinks it’s a committee meeting & wonders where everyone else is, funny stuff! You have me very interested in that one!
My love story is very long & complicated, way too long to go into everything here. When my husband and I met, we were married to other people at the time. We met in the church where him & his first wife attended. My ex-husband moved us around all the time & he took us from Illinois where I grew up, to the Oregon coast where the church was. Long story short, my ex-husband was very abusive, he moved us (myself & my 18 month old daughter at the time) once again to Arizona where he isolated me from everything and everybody. I finally had the chance & courage to get away from him, called my family in Illinois and they immediately bought me a Greyhound ticket to flee with my daughter. That was just before Christmas 1994 (of course I filed for divorce). Then I received a phone call in summer of 1995 from my now husband letting me know his first wife had passed away in a car accident. He knew that she had become a good friend to me & took me under her wing. She was the reason I realized that my ex was abusive…I was too young and naive to know at the time. Anyway, that lead to many phone calls & letters, eventually we realized we where falling in love. In 1996 I decided to move from Illinois to Oregon to be with him since it was too hard to do long distance. We married in ’97 and have been together since. So I would say a good solid friendship was formed before love blossomed for us. There are many other things that happened, but I can clearly see God’s hand in it all when I look back. Too many things happened like puzzle pieces coming together not to be the Lord! :-)
I think this is why I love a good friends-to-more romance because I lived it out in my own life. Mine is not a pretty story, but God brought beauty from ashes for me. My husband is the best thing that happened to me and I’m so glad God intersected our lives when I needed it the most. :-)
Asking every day for a week – that’s a man who takes commitment seriously! And who’s not about to let a little thing like rejection discourage him! What a great story! ^_^
As for you and your husband – I ADORE letter-writing! I still think it’s the best way to communicate, and I love hearing stories (or even reading books) where the people fall in love through letters/emails/etc. before they ever meet face-to-face. Obviously, y’all met in person, too, but still – I love those kinds of stories! Congrats on 47 fabulous years! :-)
What a beautiful story of redemption and rebirth! And math, of course. I’m a fan of any story that includes algebra. ^_^
My husband and I met during my freshman year, too. It was geometry, though. Although we also had a computer programming class together, too. We became friends, though, and nothing more…until 5+ years later. :-)
Ha! Leave it to good ol’ Mom to know what’s what, right!?
What a beautiful story! I love that he saw your faithfulness and commitment. And that y’all went to breakfast a lot. There’s something more casual (in a get-to-know-you way) about breakfast than any other meal. :-)
He knew from the moment he met you that he wanted to know you better. (I’m reading between the lines here.) What a great story! Congratulations on 44 years of togetherness!!
Try googling “Christian Endeavor” and check the Wikipedia link.
My son bowled for years and years. I’ve been to more tournaments than I can count, so I totally get what you’re saying. Bowling is a great way to see if someone has a temper, how they handle adversity, how they handle other people’s mistakes, how they handle their own mistakes, and how they treat people in general. You can learn a LOT about someone by watching how they bowl. So, obviously, he was checking out your bowling behavior there for a little while, too, if it took him two months to ask you out. ^_^ Congratulations on five fantastic years! :-)
Beauty from Ashes – Amen!! Thank you so much for sharing your story! What a precious tale of grace, patience, and the goodness of God. Not every story is pretty, but when we keep Christ at the center of our story, each story is filled with redemption – and you’ve lived that out in more ways than one!
As for Definitely – it was in a box set but hasn’t been released as a solo title yet. I hope to have it out later this year! :-)
we met in a mutual friend’s dorm freshman year of college, but we didn’t date till after graduation. we saw each other over the years, but we really didn’t have a chance to connect till after college–when he moved an hour away. lol we had an hour-long distance romance.
God’s timing is always perfect, isn’t it? Who knows how things would have turned out if you guys had gotten together sooner? I’m glad it all worked out! :-)
Oh, my! Such wonderful stories! My wife and I met at church where she promptly thought that I was something the cat dragged in (although, thankfully, not out loud). We had plenty of things in common. We were both computer people (though, she in business and I in science). One of the early gifts I got her was a book on IBM Job Control Language (still on a shelf here somewhere). Before I graduated from cat-dragging status, we wound up working together on a singles ministry for our church (cue the foreboding music). Both of us were afraid of going deeper but for different reasons. Our friends saw our deeper connection before we acknowledged it to ourselves. She took the first step to open the door to more (on a singles retreat, of course). I was the man of her dreams. They were nightmares at first, but you have to start somewhere. In that nightmare, she was pursued by a dark, cloaked and hooded figure whom she could not escape. When that figure approached her, he pulled back his hood. It was me and I wrapped her in my arms and she was safe. We dated for 2 years, had a June wedding and we just celebrated 31 years together. She says I’m still the man of her dreams but they are definitely not nightmares any more. LOL
My parents met on a blind date. My mother’s best friend was married to a man my daddy worked with and they set them up.
I met my husband in a singles’ Sunday School class at church.
Hahahahaha! Congratulations on 31 years of marriage – even if it did get off to a bit of a funny cat-dragging start. ^_^
I’ve often wondered about singles’ classes at church. Our church has classes that are kind of divided by age, but we don’t have a specific class for singles. We have a “college and career” class, but we also have single people who are in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and older – and they’re definitely not going to the college & career class! :-) Still…be it a blind date or a church class, there’s always something special to be said about that first meeting.
We met in 1980 at church through his sister, but I was married with two children. Eight years ago he found me on Facebook and six years ago we married.
It’s always fun hearing how other people met. Both my mom & dad, & my husband’s parents met their spouses at the local rural roller skating rink during the late 1930’s – just before WWII. Both cpls married before the war & my husband’s family began working the farm. My dad served time overseas & my parents chose to not have children until my dad returned.
My hubby & I met where we worked from the end of HS & throughout college (5yrs). I knew my hubby for 3yrs before we began dating and then we car-pooled to college the last 2yrs. I watched the way he treated others at work, and enjoyed being with him in our large work gatherings. I knew him pretty well by our 1st date. I love his sense of humor, adventurous nature, integrity, hard-work ethic, and confidence. He represents the a Home-grown farm boy very well. :D
In highschool, My sister was dating hubby’s best friend. They were out target practicing at the old third rail by our house with old muzzle loading rifles. This was in 1965. They stopped by the house . I was wearing short overalls and had my hair in braids. They handed me a rifle and called me Granny Clampett! Couldn’t they have called me Ellie Mae?
He asked me out to a school dance. We got married in 1969, 51 years ago this month.
My parents met at a Church outing. Hubby’s parents met at College.
Our church was quite large number at that time. The singles’ class we were in was in the college\ career age group, up to about age 30. There was also a singles class for older singles.
We have been married for 41 years and still attend the same church.
Thank you for the trip through memory lane. I enjoyed revisiting your books. Loved them. Re-read all of the ones I own,. some more than one.
As for a meeting.. my husband and I sang at the youth choir together, but we had a bit of a weird start as I ended up having to leave choir at the same semester he joined because I had a college class at the same time. My sister was in choir too though and I had to pick her up after class. So he and another long time friend (who introduced him to choir) always stayed with her waiting for me to pick her up (we shared a car). I ended up driving them both home on my way home (he lived closest to my home and we chatted a bit during this first semester). Later I went back to choir and he ended up joining the same youth group I was in… thing is, we didn’t date for another 2 years.. and I don’t think any of us had any feelings for one another during the initial years…
My husband and I met at a singles volleyball night at church. My parents were set up by his mother who was my her father’s secretary. They both went to the same university and dad needed a ride back to Tucson.
We met at work, my parents met at work, my maternal grandfather spotted my grandmother on the train to the country where she was moving for the dry air after recovering from tb. No one could work out why grandfather was getting spiffed up and leaving the farm to go to the pub in the local town every night. Turns out he was enamoured and trying to get an introduction to grandma. He succeeded and they were together happily for a few decades before he passed away.
I LOVED Definitely! My favorite of all your stories that I’ve read!
My husband and I worked at the same place but in different sections. We knew each other but not well. I was married to my first husband at the time. When he left me, John sold me a pistol for self-protection. My separation ended in divorce. My “now” husband had me over to his farm for target practice. We fed the catfish in his pond. I got in my car to go home, he leaned in to kiss me and his hat fell off. We both laughed, relieving a LOT of tension and they all lived happily ever after. At least 30 years so far.
Wow! Facebook to the rescue! Congratulations on six years!!
What a beautiful testimony about your husband’s character – thank you for sharing! Aside from my husband’s senior prom – which we went to just as friends – we knew each other for 6 1/2 years before we went on our first date. There’s a lot to be said for slow and steady winning the race. ^_^
Congratulations on 51 years! That’s definitely something worth a few cheers!! And I’m 100% with you – Ellie Mae all the way! (Seriously!? Granny Clampett? What were they thinking?) ^_^
As I was just telling someone else – there’s a lot to be said for slow and steady winning the race when it comes to romance. I knew my husband for over 6 years before we went on any kind of a real date. It’s okay to take time to get to know one another. After all, whether it’s a love-at-first-sight or a knew-him-for-years situation – God’s timing is always perfect! :-)
Singles volleyball – that sounds like a great way to meet someone! As someone else mentioned earlier, when you see someone play sports (even if it’s just a fun pick-up game), you get to see what they’re like when they win, when they lose, when things go well, when things don’t go well, etc. – It’s a good way to see the best and worst of someone in a single situation. Your hubby was obviously a good sport to have caught your eye. :-)
I love train stories! Work is also a great place to meet someone – you really do get to know someone well when you see them day in and day out in a work environment. You might not know their middle name or how many siblings they have, but you know their work ethic, their integrity, the way they treat other people, and all that really important stuff. ^_^
Congratulations on thirty years!! I love that story and the visual of his hat falling off. You’re right – that’s a great way to relieve tension. (It should totally be in a book, by the way!!) So…he had a pond with catfish. Did he eat the catfish? Or just raise them? I lived in Texas for a while when I was younger, and I’m telling you now, no catfish would have survived a pond where I lived. They’d have been fried up and served with a side of hush puppies faster than you could say, “Don’t touch my catfish.” ^_^
In their (limited) defense, Granny was the one toting around the shotgun, never Ellie Mae. The outfit was definitely Ellie Mae. Shame on ’em. :)
No, he didn’t fish. Just enjoyed feeding the catfish in his farm pond. They would come up in swarms and skim the food off the top of the water. Fascinating to watch. I do love some good fried catfish though. We have mostly bass in our pond now. Friends caught a big mess yesterday and went home happy. We actually bought a fishing pole a couple of years ago but it sits unused in the garage. ;-)
I was 17 years old, in my last year of high school when my father was transferred and moved our family to Richmond VA. Bill was 20 years when his father took a new job and moved his family to Richmond VA. Linda, a new friend from school knew Bill because their fathers had both worked for the same regional corperation. One day after school she said, “I know a great guy who would be perfect for you! Would like to meet him? His name is Bill.” We double dated to the school dance the following weekend. Bill and I were inseparable for the next 4 years until I graduated from Nursing school and we married. I was widowed after 44 years of marriage. We shared 2 children and 5 grandchildren.
Great post – I love how different these meeting are.
My story is simple: I am my husband’s birthday present – yep.
I came to US with my family on his birthday :) We were staying with my cousin and she asked me if I want to go with her to deliver a birthday present to her friend (she had a crash on him…). I agreed :) God’s timing is always right <3
We started dating three months later, he proposed five months after that. 17 years and four kiddos later we are more in love than we've been before!