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! ]

Simply Mad About LOVE Stories - day 4

Hello! It is day 4 of "14 Days of Love Story".  Angela from Never Nola has shared a second story with us.  Thank you Angela!  This time is her grandparents' love story we get to enjoy.  It is beautifully written with lessons about never giving up and it shows bad weather is not always a bad thing...read on & enjoy!

{ send me your story } who are you in love with?  tell me! you can send your story to simplymad@ymail.com

Here is Gladys & Aldo's LOVE story

{ My grandfather Aldo caught his first glimpse of HER at his fathers funeral in May of 1946. It was her family who owned the funeral home, and she was working in the office for the summer.

During the months that followed he was so Intrigued by this beautiful woman that Aldo would find business and personal reasons to develop a relationship with her father, hoping to know Gladys better. Aldo sent penny postcards almost weekly, asking where he could meet her…Gladys on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with him.

A few months later Aldo was invited to have dinner at Gladys’s summer home in Bayville, NJ. He anchored his boat- the NOLA just beyond the reef and swam to shore. He walked up to the home to find Gladys’s wearing a Tattered Old Swimsuit and her fathers Overalls, painting the house… She stared back startled at the soaking wet man in his swim shorts, horrified that he was their dinner guest.

Several weeks passed and Aldo and his friends decide to embark on a 2 week adventure aboard the NOLA. They sailed along the Hudson River as a Northeastern storm began to encroach upon them. They were in Bayville at the time and (strategically) decided to anchor outside of Gladys’s home. That night the storm hit and beached the NOLA on shore. Aldo spent 3 days waiting out the storm; sharing stories, playing games, and woo’ing the woman he would later marry.

Finally, they were dating… and were attending the Military Ball In NYC. They danced until 2am, and then went to an early morning Mass. It was LOVE.

When Aldo was transferred to Alaska for several months on business, he and Gladys promised to be in touch. They wrote each other every day while he was gone. He returned on Valentines Day 1947 and within a week of his return, he proposed.

July 26, 1947 they were married.

From the Storm that washed the NOLA on shore, the girl who was NEVER interested, and the boy who NEVER gave up,  bloomed a Love story made for the movies. A story so inspiring that it needed a name. An idea so simple that NEVER giving up on what you want, will eventually bring your NOLA to shore… }

Simply Mad about LOVE Stories - day 3

Welcome to day 3 of "14 Days of Love Stories".  Today's is the story of a dear couple friend of ours, who preferred to stay anonymous...:o) 

This is a story of sweet love found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  A master love plan in his mind...a total surprise for her heart!

{ send me your story } there is plenty of time and every love story is worth telling - email  me at simplymad@ymail.com

Here is their story...
{ We were business partners in a cruise vacations business.  We became very close almost inseparable.  At that time he was going thru a divorce and I would give him advice about how to try and work things out with his wife and when that didn't seem possible, I would introduce him to and try to set him up with my friends.  In October 2007, we attended a business conference held on board a cruise liner while it made its way from NYC to London across the Atlantic.  In attendance were many colleagues from the travel industry who knew us well and with whom we had attended previous conferences. 

One of the formal nights the entire group ended up in ship’s disco as it pretty much happened every night of the 6-day trip.  At one point during the night we went to the outdoor area of the disco to have a cigarette but we could still hear the live music playing.  As if fate was waiting for the perfect moment – a moment when we would be alone - the music switched from danceable to slow and the singer said: “those of you who are in love and want to express that love to your partner, this is the time.  Dare to do it!  This is your chance!”  He asked me to dance repeatedly and I kept saying noooo…it was a slow song and I was shy.  He insisted so much that the man sitting next to us started egging me on to accept the invitation to dance.  At that point I couldn’t say no anymore without starting to look childish so I agreed.  Half way through the song he whispered in my ear: “it seems I am falling in love with you”.  I pushed back, looked at him and laughed.  I couldn’t believe it!  He then  said: “what you say is not important, I just had to tell you how I felt regardless of what your response or decision would be". 

My sister in law had always told me he liked me…she would say: "look at the way he looks at you" and I would always say" “noooo, he is my partner…no way!"

We finished dancing and re-joined the group inside.  I thought about what had just happened and the truth was that I liked him, I liked being around him, I felt very comfortable around him and at that point nothing else seemed important – why not give it a shot?!  I looked at him, I caressed his hair and then he kissed me!  That’s how it all started!  We tried to hide what was going on from our colleagues on board, but our efforts to conceal our new found love went out the window when we were caught kissing in a dark corner like two teenagers.  That was over 5 years ago…today we live together and we are happier than ever! }