I met Shaun’s sister at work – I sold her a dress. She thought I’d be a perfect wife for her brother and invited me on a rafting trip to meet him. She was a blast to be around, so I figured, why not? If nothing else, I’d have a good time on the river.

Before rafting we stopped for lunch and once started, we couldn’t stop talking. Shaun’s sister was waving her hand in our faces to get our attention because we were so oblivious to anyone else. We clicked, which rarely happened for either of us. Rafting was great and we made an excellent team. Dropping me off, we exchanged email addresses over a hand shake.

Being 4 hours apart, we emailed every day. I told him that I was moving to Virginia soon and his reply was “ For me, as far as a relationship, if God would that I should go to the ends of the earth simply to quench the thirst for companionship, than so be it.” (Sigh)

Two weeks later, on my 20th birthday, Shaun came with a gift of roses and a poem he had written, expressing the beauty that never fades and only grows better with time. I had been told many times that I was beautiful, but few people looked any further. I am a deep person, and the poem told me that’s what Shaun was looking at.

Not long after I canceled my move and romance blossomed. A few months later we were engaged. There were many struggles waiting for our wedding day; Shaun relocating, parent tensions, unemployment, keeping pure, and wedding preparations. Tensions were high and problems unending as the days crept on. The problems were resolved, and our wedding day dawned lovely and perfect. We started out our lives together full of joy, and eagerly looking forward to all that lay ahead.