It’s 1215 am on January 16th, 2010 and I’m writing to tell you of what today is. See 365 days ago, I found myself in a peculiar situation, one, that I had never been in before and that I will never be in again. I found myself in this juxtaposition where my life has brought me and where my hopes never dared to go. Today is the anniversary of the act of me rounding up courage, stumbling through words and holding back tears to ask Solange to be my girlfriend. It was just a few days prior, that a Happy New Year’s wish became my lifelong dream. And so today, at the stroke of midnight, as I lay in bed next to my fiancee, I tell you the story of Our Forever.
I met Solange about 5 years ago at work. I had caught a glimpse of her through the window of a door as I walked through a hallway, and quickly thought of visiting someone (anyone) that worked in that area. After making that sharp right and in through that doorway, I made small talk with those around her who then introduced her to me. As she turned, (don’t laugh) everything slowed down: like a dramatic scene in a movie, and I remember thinking WOW. I must say I did a pretty good job at lip syncing, ‘wow’ and making it sound like ‘nice, to meet you’. She stood there in her pony tail, long sleeve black shirt and tan pants- she was beautiful. In that brief moment, I went to heaven: her eyes, her smile, her laughter, her touch, her kiss and then I thought - this girl would never be interested in me and quickly, I came back down to earth and almost whimpered back out of the room.
Fast forward to December 30th, 2008: I receive a mass email of happy new years’ wishes that I truly had no time to read, but something caught my eye. Solange was also on that list. I contemplated emailing her separately to tell her how great it was seeing her name, thinking of that first time I saw her and wondering how I should word that she needed to run away with me. Well, that was a shorter trip down to earth, and so, I emailed her “Hey remember me, how are you?” For the next few days, we emailed each other back and forth and we learned a lot about each other. Each line in each email was engraved by our characters and each word was as genuine as the love that they began to nourish.
By February, a peace had settled in my heart, a knowing that I wanted Solange to be in my life forever. The months that followed have been the happiest in my life. I’ve met the incredible people in her life such as her family and friends. And I wake up each morning to think that today, too. I am in my heaven.
On December 20th, 2009, we entered a church. No one was inside, no candles were lit, and no lights were on. Only the sunlight piercing through the stained glass windows lit our way. And as we walked through, I told Solange how ironic my life has been. Ironic that after deciding not to continue into the priesthood, I find myself in front of an altar for one reason. To marry the woman that I could have never dreamed of - because I could’ve never imagined what heaven was like until I found her.
On August 29,2010, just 224 days from today we will marry in that same church and thus, begin Our Forever.
Our Wedding
St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church
231 Second Street
Clifton, NJ 07011
August 29, 2010
3 p.m. ceremony
231 Second Street
Clifton, NJ 07011
August 29, 2010
3 p.m. ceremony
Our Reception
The Palace at Somerset Park
333 Davidson Avenue
Somerset, NJ 08873
August 29, 2010
6 p.m. cocktail hour
7 p.m. reception
333 Davidson Avenue
Somerset, NJ 08873
August 29, 2010
6 p.m. cocktail hour
7 p.m. reception
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