Take a moment to read a love story today.
There's a constant flow of negative news lately with fear being the catalyst. Knowing that fear's counterpart is love I invite you to spend 10 minutes of your day today getting lost in love stories.
You may have heard I gifted my wedding bands and engagement ring. To do so, we asked Canadians to submit their love stories. Nearly 400 couples submitted. I appreciate the opportunity to give these rings away.
I'm publishing these stories because they are a reminder of love and an opportunity to step away from our selves to celebrate others for a moment. It should be noted that we are not be asking people to vote, compare or judge but instead to read, share, relate and hope.
LOVE STORIES
Lisa
In the name of full disclosure, this entry is not for me. However, it doesn't make it any less special. This entry is really for my best friend, Samantha. Samantha and Ben's love story is exceptional. They met by chance in Toronto, and totally hit it off, but on their first date he revealed that he was moving to Hawaii in a month. Sam called me the next day in tears because she knew she had found someone just as extraordinary as her, and didn't want to get her heart broken yet again. As her sounding board, I told her to take the gamble, and to have the best month of her life. A week before Ben was to leave, he asked Samantha to come with him. This love story has travelled to Hawaii, to Australia where they got engaged in front of the Sydney Opera House, and is now backpacking across Europe on the #sbmegatrip. At the end of their European adventure, my best friend will be settling down in Hawaii with her soon-to-be husband who found his dream job. I realize that this entry is just one of hundreds you will receive, and that there are many amazing couples who are all worthy of such a generous opportunity. But as I write this, I realize that these rings represent more than just a joyous future for one special couple--they will be adjoining many love stories together. I can't think of anything more romantic for my beautiful, wears-her-heart-on-her-sleeve best friend. She deserves the privilege to carry our stories alongside her own, and I know she will do so proudly.
Terri-Lynn
Matthew and I met in university. We instantly became close, going on crazy adventures together. We were only friends, nothing ever happened, but I loved him with my whole heart right from the start. After Matthews' mother passed away in 2003, he went to Australia. I supported him, hoping that while he was away he would realize we were meant to be. When he came home, he was still emotionally unavailable, we had a bit of a fight and stopped talking. I moved away to Saint John NB for school, but also to get away the heartache. While away, Matthew met someone else and got married. When I moved back to Halifax, we slowly started to become friends again. Except this time Matthews' wife us from seeing each other. So once again, we didn't see each other for a few years. When we found each other again, it was I who was in the relationship. In fact, Matthew was leaving his wife, but I was leaving for BC to be with my boyfriend. A few months before I was supposed to leave, MBF, you were here in the city, again playing at the Carleton, and Matthew and I came to see you play. He says that after hearing, "love is an easy thing to miss" he needed to tell me how he actually felt about me. 3 weeks before I was supposed to move, I went to Newfoundland to see my grandparents, and when I came back, Matthew had taken a shuttle to meet me at the ferry in Sydney. Somewhere on the 5 hour drive back to Halifax, in the mountains of Cape Breton Nova Scotia, Matthew Donald Lent told me he loved me. That he had loved me for 12 years and wanted to be with me. But that he wasn't asking me not to go. He would wait for me for the rest of his life but he knew that we would be together someday. I told him I needed to go, because I couldn't have a life of what ifs. The day before I was due to move, Matthew left, with my car to drive to BC, all alone. An hour before my flight, I put my then boyfriend, on a flight to BC by himself. I phoned Matthew who was now in Quebec, and told him to come home. That I chose him, and I was staying right where I was. After 12 years, we had finally found each other. That was almost 3 years ago, and 2 weeks ago we celebrated our sons first birthday. Like every couple, we have our ups and downs. But or highs outweigh our lows, more good days then bad. We work hard every day for a love that was 12 years in the making, and 100% worth the wait. I love him more and more every day, first as a friend, then as my lover, and now as the father of my child.
Caitlin
My love story is ordinary. It's the classic "meet cute". We met in university. We shared the same major. I noticed him one particular day because he was wearing flipflops and it was -30 degrees outside. He had his laptop open, and the background on it was a great white shark. He was drinking a chocolate milk. We became fast friends. We were both with other people at the time, but still kept in touch. My heart broke when finally, we were both single, and he said he was going on a date with another girl. It didn't work out, thankfully for me. One night, over Scrabble, he kissed me, and the rest is history. It's been over six years of passion, joy, anger, sadness and love. It hasn't always been easy. Love is never easy. We spent a lot of time apart, as his job as a literal circus performer in a high dive act took him over the world. We graduated, and I decided I wanted to move to London to work. He never questioned it, and he never asked me not to. He supported me, encouraged me, and even moved with me for part of the time I was there. I know that I ended up, somehow, with the most kind, loving man in the world. He knows how to make me laugh when I am sad, but also how to drive me absolutely crazy. It's funny how a person can make you so happy but so angry at the same time. I know that when I get a haircut, he will be waiting with two kinds of candy- one for if I like my haircut, and one for if I don't. I know that I said our love story was ordinary, but I wasn't being truthful. Our love story is extraordinary because we make it so. We choose to have an extraordinary love. We work at an extraordinary love. It's all worth it because we get to spend each day knowing that we have, and always will, the one person in our life who will always be there for us. I wanna make it with him.
photos by Allison Seto
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