Simply Mad About LOVE Stories - February 14th

Happy Valentine's Day!  I have skipped the last few days of love stories because I didn't have any, but Marisol has come to save THE day...the big day of love...

Here is Marisol and Jose Enrique's love story...a rough start, followed by long distance but all along surrounded by heavenly conspiracies to make this couple get together!

Marisol has her own blog, she writes about all the things that she likes, that inspire her and that make her laugh!

Happy reading and Happy Day of Love, Friendship and Affection!

{ In March 1997, Mayra, the friend I used to go out with the most, mentioned that her friend from Venezuela would be visiting Puerto Rico (where I was living at the time) for business and would be staying for 2 weeks.  “Marisol, we will go out with Jose Enrique for the next two weeks” Mayra announced.  The first night they went out I coulnd’t go as a had tickets to go see a play with another friend.

  

The next morning Mayra called to report about what a great time she and Jose Enrique had had the night before and while we chatter she told me I HAD to meet this guy!  That night Mayra and Jose Enrique were going to see the play I had seen the night before and Mayra assumed I wouldn’t want to go.  But I had really enjoyed the play and said “Of course I will go, the play was great and I want to see it again!”

I am not sure I can say it was love at first sight; some things were less than perfect that night…he was wearing and yellow shirt and I don’t like yellow, I was so nervous every joke I tried to make came out anything but funny, it was awful so much so tha even at one point he said saracastically: “very funny”.  Oops!  It didn’t look like a good start.

In any case Mayra had to work the whole weekend and asked me to show Jose Enrique the southern part of Puerto Rico.  They had to “twist my arm” (hahaha!) but I agreed to serve as his toru guide for the weekend.  We got to know each other a bit better and sparks flew!  There was another minor problem though, Jose Enrique had a gilfriend-on-a-break (he had asked for some alone time to think) back in Venezuela.  Obviously I was very disspointed when I found out.

Jose Enrique returned to Venezuela when his two weeks in Puerto Rico were up and that same night he ended things with the girl back home.  He started calling me every day until he had a chance to come back to Puerto Rico.  During that second visit, on April 29, 1997 we became boyfriend and girlfriend and we kissed for the first time.  That night, he asked me how long did he have to wait to ask me to marry him. I almos had a heart attack and I said more, you have to wait a lot more time!  OMG!  I wasn’t ready for that question.  We had just embarked on a long distance relationship and we had many concerns about how to make it work.

Around that time I was looking for a job as an international auditor.  I didn’t like my first interview in the US or the whole US experience for that matter so when I got a call for a second interview I was apprehensive, but Jose Enrique convinced to go to the interview.  I went and the first thing they said was that I would have to move to Tampa but most of my time would be spent in Venezuela.  I couldn’t believe it.  God is Great!  I got the job, moved to Tampa and indeed I started speding most of my time in Venezuela.  It gave me the opportunity to meet Jose Enrique’s large family and to fall in love even more with him.  Even when I didn’t have to go to Venezuela, we would always found a way to see each other.  One time I was in Venezuela for work having dinner with his parents while he was in Puerto Rico for business having dinner with my parents.

We got married on August 29, 1998 and planning the wedding an adventure.  All my work colleagues had been accomplices and witneeses of this love.  Our wedding was in Puerto Rico while I was still living in Tampa and he was still living in Venezuela.  More than 50 people from Venezuela flew to Puerto Rico for the big day.  It was the best wedding of my life!  (hahaha!).  Truth be told, our biggest accomplice was God…he created the path for us to find each other and create a life together even when there was great physical distance between us.

Jose Enrique was waiting for his visa so we had to keep our honeymoon in the US, so we went to Maui, Hawaii.  WOW!  A dream!  We lived in Tampa until Spetember 2000 when we moved to Puerto Rico.

This year we will celebrate out 15th wedding anniversary and we have to beuatiful children who have come to enhace our love and help it grow every day.  Thank you God, Jose Enrique has been, by far, my favorite gift! ]