HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR HONEY?

Lots of us out here talk about our families and occasionally even our husbands. There are some mighty fine marriages going on all over bloggityville and I often find myself wondering how the two of you met.

I see "married to my high school sweetheart" or "married to the love of my life" in lots and lots of profiles.

How would you like to share the story of how you met your soul mate? I'm sure there are some very romantic or funny or even embarrassing stories behind some pretty amazing relationships out here.



I'll get us started. And I hope you'll join the fun by posting the story of how you met your honey and then link it here. Please don't worry about leaving a comment unless you just want to. (Too many comments seriously make me run for the Benadryl to cure my hives. It's not that I don't love comments - it's just that I fall apart under pressure.) Just link your story so we can all share it.


HOW I MET THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

My divorce had been final for exactly two weeks. I was free and clear. I was also terrified. For the entire three-month waiting period Colorado requires for a divorce to be final, I went to work, came home, grabbed a bottle of something I shouldn't be drinking and drowned my sorrows every single night.

My first husband and I had been best friends with one couple for nine years. In the way friendships fall apart after a divorce they had to make a decision and chose to stick by me. Without going into unnecessary detail, let me say they knew why I'd filed for divorce.

They were very concerned about me during this waiting period. I was sinking fast and even after the divorce became final, I was struggling to pull myself out of a pretty deep depression.

J & W owned one of nicest restaurants in the Denver metro area, a very upscale (code: expensive) steak restaurant. They constantly tried to get me to work there in some capacity or other, evenings, just to get me out of my condo. I steadfastly refused. I guess they figured out I wasn't budging unless they applied to my sense of "sure I'll help you out." So they called me and asked me to come to the restaurant one afternoon to help them work on a new menu design. I went.

I was standing at the end of the bar in the lounge, burning the edges on a piece of parchment as I recall, when I felt myself being stared at. I looked up and saw a man with the most mesmerizing blue eyes I'd ever seen staring at me. And then he smiled. And then I was a goner. And then Paul the bartender said, "Bob meet Barb. Barb meet Bob." (They called him Bob - blech.)

Rob was sitting there having a glass of iced tea and working the NY Times crossword puzzle with Paul the bartender. Being all clever and everything, he asked me if I could help him out with a word. Being all helpful and everything, I helped him finish the puzzle. He liked the way I make my "e's." He asked me if he could buy me dinner. J & W gave us the most romantic secluded booth in the house. We talked for five hours. I discovered his father had recently died and he cried a little when he spoke of him. I fell hopelessly in love. That night. We haven't been apart since that night almost twenty-eight years ago.

I later found out it was all a total setup. Rob was an air traffic controller and stopped at the restaurant every afternoon to have iced tea, work the puzzle with Paul the bartender and just wind down. J & W had really come to like him, they loved me dearly and they thought we should meet each other. He knew I was going to be there. I was clueless. It amuses me now to know they gave him the opportunity to check me out before he decided if he'd like to meet me. Nine months later they hosted our wedding dinner at their restaurant.

Romantic? Yes. Kismet? Definitely. The best night of my life? Absolutely.

How did you meet your soul mate?