A Whirlwind Start

They met online years ago on an internet chatroom. Now, now, before anyone of you out there starts smirking or otherwise makes comments about people meeting in a chatroom, I can assure you that a lot of romances started and blossomed in the early days of chatting. I am proof of that - and so are many of my friends - so don't blame their initial meeting in a chatroom as the root cause of what's about to happen.

Like a lot of young adults in the early '90's, my friend totally got into chatrooms spending wee hours of the night chatting away. She met this guy online and they hit it off. My friend agreed to meet with him - cautiously, I might say - in a public place, in case the guys turns out to be a serial killer or a sexual predator. They met in person and sparks flew! The guy was totally into her, pursuing her tenaciously. This threw off my friend a bit because he was a lot younger than her. She felt that whatever they had wouldn't last because of the age issue. However, in a matter of months, he suggested moving in with her (he's from a different state). Still cautious about where their relationship would end up, she made him aware that if he does decide to move, it would be because he wanted to do it for himself and not because of her.

Well, he did move. He packed up everything he had in his car and drove across state lines to where my friend lived. (By the way, during this time, he was engaged to another girl. I couldn't recall if they were still living together at that time or if they already fell apart before he met my friend. Anyway, remember this scenario as it would be significant later.) Obviously, he was quite smitten by her to actually decide to leave everything behind for her. Quite the romantic, eh?

They lived together for a while and got married a couple years after. Their wedding was very romantic! It was an outdoor wedding, set high above on the hills. Flowers and leis were flown in from Hawaii. It was truly exquisite! My friend worked on each flawless detail -- down to the centerpiece of each table. Okay, now this I have to share: each table has a centerpiece on which were snippets about them - favorite songs, colors, stories about their dates, how he proposed, etc. During the reception, the DJ would shout out the table number and play a song dedicated to that table whose centerpiece matches the song being played. Isn't that the best wedding idea or what?! Anyway, sorry to digress, but it truly was a very memorable wedding. I felt that this was something that would last because I saw the love in their eyes and how perfect they were for each other.