Happy Valentine's Day
It was 13 years ago on this day that I boarded a plane to travel overseas to a place I had never been before.
The Netherlands, Holland
What brought me on this exciting trip?
Well three bored women one labor day weekend had nothing to do..two of them were married..I was hanging around enjoying their company..when one of them..my makes me laugh all the time friend Stella..decided to call the party line..that was advertised on TV.So..1-800 here we go..and left a message!
We were taking turns as to who would answer the call..and just being silly girls, enjoying our day..
It was not supposed to be anything serious..!
From out of the blue .. comes the lovely accented voice .. of this man.
Hey, he did not want to know ... any of the wrong things .. He had such a sweet voice..
We chatted, exchanged addresses and promised to send each other a little bit of information..about where each other lived..
I had no intention of taking any of it serious..I had told a white lie..about my weight..and my age..of course..I made myself younger and weigh less...what women wouldn't smiles..
That was the end of the call .. so I thought.
Low and behold...I got a call again the next day .. just thinking about you..and wanted to chat again.
Well one call..lead to another call .. and big phone bills .. and letters daily back and forth to each other.
I was in love with a perfume .. called ombre rose .. and sealed the envelopes of the letters I wrote with it.
He carefully wrote each one to me in calligraphy..!
We sent each other little gifts..He sent me a tape of love songs..
Eventually the two of us..talked about meeting each other in real life..
exchanged words of love..and looked forward to each moment..we could talk or read a letter from each other..
We said I love you!
The country mouse and The city mouse
I live in the boonies..and him in the big city.
I had lived alone 8 years..been there done that and had made my mistakes in relationships..I knew now what I wanted..and he to had done the same..and knew what he wanted..we learned from each other..we had many of the same values and beliefs for a relationship..
He learned more English, I learned more Dutch..at least the words that mattered.
I decided enough of this..I was going..to see this man that I spent my evenings and nights listening to music he sent..dreaming of ...for the better part of 5 months.
I saved my pennies and dimes..ate next to nothing..I mean I had to loose weight..in order to meet him..after all I did tell those little white lies in the beginning..that I somehow could not get around to telling the truth about..so diet I did..and tell him I was gaining weight..all that time..my age..that was another matter, was not sure how I was going to fix that one..but did I ever have regrets..for having done that..We had pictures of each other..that left something to our imaginations..his when he had been working out..and in top notch form..and mine..hiding behind Santa..
I had lost a lot of weight..was feeling pretty good about it..when I boarded the plane..I was still overweight..but ..was happy with myself..he on the other hand..did not believe that I was really going to be there..when I told him a package would be arriving wearing a heart on her coat..for him..on Valentines Day at the Amsterdam airport..
So here I am ..boarding the plane to go meet him.
I had booked my ticket so I could spend three months there..had back up plans for almost every foreseeable event that could be less then what it was supposed to be..my minister thought I was nuts..one of my friends thought I was going to be put in a slave ring..and oh the possibilities of what could go wrong..all carefully gone over.
My mom..well..we had a little gig..set up to make sure I got there okay..she silently worried..but she never once said do not do it..if anything she trusted my instinct..and the fact that she knew me as a daughter who would analyze anything to pieces..one of my better qualities..and worst ones..at the same time..
As I neared..Amsterdam..my mouth grew amazingly dry...I could not swallow..and the person sitting next to me..gave me some gum..thank goodness..well I was here..and it was happening and there was no going back..
I got off the plane..it was so different..from the little tiny airport I had left..it took forever to travel that long belt..to where..I checked through with my passport..collected my luggage..there were no people around..anywhere..where were all the people..did I go the right way..etc..going through my mind..
Would I recognize him...would he see me..would he be there...so many questions..
He was my soul mate..I could feel it!
I went through the door to where the people were that had a corded of barrier rope..I was looking at where I was steering my cart..and heard my name....I looked up...oh my...he is so tall..and so much bigger then his photo..He is here, I am here!
We drove to Den Hague..holding each others hands all the way..once there we sat together chatting..he could not believe I was there..I was not in his apartment long..when a knock came to the door..and his father poked his head in ..to make sure his son..was not hurting from a girl that did not arrive..his father put the warmest smile on his face..when he met me..
I had the time of my life while I was in Holland..I felt like I was 19 all over again..but a better 19..a 19 that I had missed..I hopped trains..went to the efteling...bought salt instead of sugar..rode sneaky snakes..(the city trams..) and visited all his family and friends..then he asked me to marry him..and stay there forever..but I owned my own home back here..had commitments..I had let my house to someone while I was gone..and had to go back..in May..and I needed to know something more about him...could he do the same..be committed enough to come and see my world..!
Housing in Holland is not cheap..and giving up a house that is owned is never an easy thing to do..so I asked him to save his money and come and see my world..
Saying Good bye from Holland was not easy..for either of us..!
That September..he came here..and has been here ever since..we married..and the following November a little over a year later...our little miracle of life was born...neither of us..were suppose to be able to have children..
Last night after 12 we wished each other.. a Happy Valentines Day..and thought back to that first moment..when we physically met each other and what we first thought..
me..oh my he is so tall..him..oh my she is really here and some short..and after 13 years of marriage..I still have to get him to put things down on a level I can reach....smiles...we have been there for each other through good times and through hard times..we have faced the world hand in hand..what more could a girl ask for..!
I did within the first week of being there tell him..how old I really was...it was a very difficult thing for me to do..as I knew I was falling deeply in love with him..and one night..after he had brought belgium chocolates and icecream to bed, I knew I had to tell him that I was actually five years older then I had told him..that meant a 12 year age difference and that I was actually closer in age to his parents then I was to him..He sat stark up when I told him..looked out the window for a bit..no saying anything then turned to me and said..I still love you and know you must love me to..because that was not easy to do. We made a promise then to always be true to each other and me...I learned a life lesson..that even the smallest of white lies..can lead down a road that you may not want to be on..but will come back on you.
While I am not rich in Gold, I am rich in love and thankful for so many things.
I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy..but lost my health..and stength..and have not been able to walk proper since, but he has always stood by me. I think of our marriage vows..for better ....for worst..in sickness and in health..till death do you part and feel blessed in love.
13 comments:
Dat was een heel verhaal zeg, maar wel leuk om te lezen dat je met een landgenoot getrouwd bent!
What a lovely story of how you met. Blessings to you and your family!
Thank you so much for theses beautiful frames.
What a very Lucky lady you are Joanne {{{Hugs}}}
What a sweet, sweet, story of you and your love. Thanks so much for sharing it. I think that frame is very sweet also. Thanks so much. patty
That is an amazing story, thanks so much for sharing such an important part of your life, it was incredibly heartfelt - thanks for the frames too!
Thank you so much for the Gold Frame Freebies. Warm {{{{{HUGS}}}}} to you. You're so right about the value of a smile and a kind word and so true is the saying something about 'when you give them away, they come right back to you' I do try to put this into practise at the local shopping centre when I see seniors sitting, waiting. So generally stop and chat for a bit. They seem to enjoy the attention.
What a beautiful love story for Valentine Day. Keeping you in my thoughts.
Joanne, this is such a sweet love story. I'm happy that your husband and you had a "fairytale romance" courting, and have a happy loving marriage. Doesn't matter what you look like, or he looks like. As long as there is love, all things are possible.
My husband and I have been married for 38 years. He loved me when I was skinny, sick, fat. I asked him once, "You'd love me if I had poop dripping off me woulnd't you?" He said, "YES, you're you, no matter what you look like." That's real love. :)
I almost forgot to thank you for the beautiful frames, thank you!
wow you are very busy on your blog and i will come back every week when i have time ,hope you will by better very soon ,and that will your little family all going good
send you many hugs Hexana
Thank you for the frames, they are wonderful and your love story with your husband is beautiful to read, tfs :)Hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day!
Joanne,
I love the story of how you and your honey met! It is so romantic. Thank you for sharing with everyone. Hugs to you and tell Sammy hello and glad he is doing well with the home schooling. I hope you are feeling better. Also, thanks for the beautiful frames. I will try and email you when I get the chance and maybe make something to send to Sammy. Things here have been a little hectic lately. We had tornadoes all around us but were very lucky and did not get any damage. Lots of people we know lost their homes and there were some deaths. There were 7 deaths locally in two communities on either side of where we live. The devistation was awful, it looks like a war zone. The same tornado stayed on the ground and continued from Arkansas on into Tennesse where it continued its destruction and killed even more people. I will email you and send you a link to some photos. Linda
My Dear Joanne,
What a wonderful story we don't hear enough of them these days. Hope you, Sandy and DH are well. Not much new here except lots of pain most days but Alyssa makes up for it. She has known her ABCs and to count to ten since she was about 15 months, she is now 2. When you give her something she says thank you meme Thank you for the emails they pick me up a lot of the time, I really appreciate it. Have a great day/evening. Thank you for the frames they are awesome.
Colleen from PEI
I just started digiscrapping recently and this is an old post as I am reading it, but I wanted to tell you thank you for sharing your beautiful story with me... :) And your beautiful scrapping pieces!
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