Chicken Soup for the Soul: True Love
BY: Susan Staunton
We were written in the stars, my love, all that separated us, was time, the time it took to read the map which was placed within our hearts, to find our way back to one another.
~Source Unknown
I was a fourth grader in love. Our families were friends and our moms thought it "cute" that I had such a crush on the neighbor's son, who was five years older and entering high school. But, to me, it was real love from the first moment when he gently smiled and looked at me with his soft hazel eyes.
Each night as I lay in bed, I quietly half sang and half recited, "When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are... anything your heart desires will come to you." I was sure that Walt Disney had gotten it right. Did it really matter that I was in my awkward stage, with buck teeth, and that he was in high school and didn't know my name? Not really, I decided, because somehow marrying my fourth grade crush was going to happen.
As the years slowly passed, I still "wished upon my star," yet reality was slowly creeping in. He was in college, had a serious girlfriend, and life beyond college would be starting soon. I reluctantly tried to move on, but each young man I dated unknowingly shared some similarity with the boy that I "wished upon a star" for -- the hazel eyes, soft smile, tall and slender frame, or a gentle and kind heart. Yet no one I dated was him -- not even close. In my heart, as strange as it seemed, I couldn't let go. Was it because I had fallen hard for my first crush, or did I really know something? Such a simple question, but one that I truly couldn't answer. Maybe one day my heart's question would be answered honestly.
The summer I graduated college was the summer my brother got married. It was a small and intimate wedding with just family and close friends. "He's probably not coming," said my mom, when I asked if my crush would be there. He was moving and his life had become busy with work and weekend plans. "His parents will be there though," she added. It would be nice to see them and find out what had happened to the boy I had once known. I quietly "wished upon a star" as my heart fluttered. Maybe he would come after all.
A few days before the wedding, my mom found out that he in fact would be coming. It was one of the few weekends that he had free to come home to spend time with his family. And, since there was a wedding of a longtime friend, this weekend seemed like the perfect time. As excited as I was to hear this, it only complicated things though as I had refused to go to my brother's wedding alone. A college friend had accepted my invitation as my date and it was obvious that he hoped for a more serious relationship despite my desire to only be friends.
My heart skipped a beat as I entered the church in front of my soon to be sister-in-law. I scanned the backs of the guests as I walked down the aisle. I spotted him almost instantly -- and he was just as I had remembered him. As I led the wedding procession past his pew, he looked at me with astonishment. Goodbye to the pigtails, braces, and buck teeth. I was no longer "Jeff's sister" as he finally noticed me for who I was. As our eyes met, his head gently nodded towards me and he smiled the tender smile that I had loved for so long.
It was the longest twenty-minute wedding I had ever attended. "Where is he?" I asked when the service was over. "I don't know," said my mom as she greeted every guest with hugs. "He'll be at the house, I'm sure," she added. My heart continued to leap, skip, and jump. Even though I was a college graduate heading off to a new life in two weeks, I tingled while thinking of reuniting with my fourth grade crush at the reception.
"Why did I ever invite a date?" I wondered. Conversations I hoped to have with my crush were definitely going to get complicated. As the reception began, I found myself sitting between my date and my crush. My crush was just as anxious to get to know me as I was to see if this was a crush or if this could be true love. We snuck in moments away from the wedding guests and my date to quietly catch up on the years that had separated us. The wedding reception quickly became a blur; an instant friendship, gentle love, and admiration for each other quietly began that day.
Two weeks was all we had before summer ended and I moved to Maryland for my dream job. The summer was ending too quickly and I found myself wishing I could stay at home, but I had no choice. We constantly dated yet I always found myself wondering if I was living out my girlhood dream or if it was true love.
On one of our last dates, he gently took me in his arms as we stared up at the stars in the night sky. "Susan, would you ever consider marrying me -- if I asked at some point?" He had taken my breath away again. "Yes, I think that could be very possible," I quietly replied. My heart was leaping as I realized that it was true love that we shared. It had taken awhile for us to find each other, but all my wishes had come true.
Three months later, during one of his visits to Maryland, we headed to the Eastern shore. Soft breezes, seagulls, and the gentle lapping sounds of the waves relaxed us as we quietly sat down to a picnic on the beach. Nestled in his arms, I watched a couple walk by hand in hand and I smiled, knowing that I had also found such happiness, friendship, and love. As I turned my head to look up at him, my dream became real. "Susan," he began, "will you marry me?" My heart's question was finally answered as he slipped the ring on my finger.
After almost seventeen years of marriage and children, my husband is still the boy I fell in love with thirty years ago, but even better. Yet one thing remains the same -- my heart still skips a beat every time I know he's coming home. The star that I wished upon so many years ago is brighter than ever.
http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Chicken-Soup-For-The-Soul/2010/08/When-You-Wish-Upon-A-Star.aspx?source=NEWSLETTER&nlsource=49&ppc=&utm_campaign=DIBSoup&utm_source=NL&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_term=mail.ru
~Source Unknown
I was a fourth grader in love. Our families were friends and our moms thought it "cute" that I had such a crush on the neighbor's son, who was five years older and entering high school. But, to me, it was real love from the first moment when he gently smiled and looked at me with his soft hazel eyes.
Each night as I lay in bed, I quietly half sang and half recited, "When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are... anything your heart desires will come to you." I was sure that Walt Disney had gotten it right. Did it really matter that I was in my awkward stage, with buck teeth, and that he was in high school and didn't know my name? Not really, I decided, because somehow marrying my fourth grade crush was going to happen.
As the years slowly passed, I still "wished upon my star," yet reality was slowly creeping in. He was in college, had a serious girlfriend, and life beyond college would be starting soon. I reluctantly tried to move on, but each young man I dated unknowingly shared some similarity with the boy that I "wished upon a star" for -- the hazel eyes, soft smile, tall and slender frame, or a gentle and kind heart. Yet no one I dated was him -- not even close. In my heart, as strange as it seemed, I couldn't let go. Was it because I had fallen hard for my first crush, or did I really know something? Such a simple question, but one that I truly couldn't answer. Maybe one day my heart's question would be answered honestly.
The summer I graduated college was the summer my brother got married. It was a small and intimate wedding with just family and close friends. "He's probably not coming," said my mom, when I asked if my crush would be there. He was moving and his life had become busy with work and weekend plans. "His parents will be there though," she added. It would be nice to see them and find out what had happened to the boy I had once known. I quietly "wished upon a star" as my heart fluttered. Maybe he would come after all.
A few days before the wedding, my mom found out that he in fact would be coming. It was one of the few weekends that he had free to come home to spend time with his family. And, since there was a wedding of a longtime friend, this weekend seemed like the perfect time. As excited as I was to hear this, it only complicated things though as I had refused to go to my brother's wedding alone. A college friend had accepted my invitation as my date and it was obvious that he hoped for a more serious relationship despite my desire to only be friends.
My heart skipped a beat as I entered the church in front of my soon to be sister-in-law. I scanned the backs of the guests as I walked down the aisle. I spotted him almost instantly -- and he was just as I had remembered him. As I led the wedding procession past his pew, he looked at me with astonishment. Goodbye to the pigtails, braces, and buck teeth. I was no longer "Jeff's sister" as he finally noticed me for who I was. As our eyes met, his head gently nodded towards me and he smiled the tender smile that I had loved for so long.
It was the longest twenty-minute wedding I had ever attended. "Where is he?" I asked when the service was over. "I don't know," said my mom as she greeted every guest with hugs. "He'll be at the house, I'm sure," she added. My heart continued to leap, skip, and jump. Even though I was a college graduate heading off to a new life in two weeks, I tingled while thinking of reuniting with my fourth grade crush at the reception.
"Why did I ever invite a date?" I wondered. Conversations I hoped to have with my crush were definitely going to get complicated. As the reception began, I found myself sitting between my date and my crush. My crush was just as anxious to get to know me as I was to see if this was a crush or if this could be true love. We snuck in moments away from the wedding guests and my date to quietly catch up on the years that had separated us. The wedding reception quickly became a blur; an instant friendship, gentle love, and admiration for each other quietly began that day.
Two weeks was all we had before summer ended and I moved to Maryland for my dream job. The summer was ending too quickly and I found myself wishing I could stay at home, but I had no choice. We constantly dated yet I always found myself wondering if I was living out my girlhood dream or if it was true love.
On one of our last dates, he gently took me in his arms as we stared up at the stars in the night sky. "Susan, would you ever consider marrying me -- if I asked at some point?" He had taken my breath away again. "Yes, I think that could be very possible," I quietly replied. My heart was leaping as I realized that it was true love that we shared. It had taken awhile for us to find each other, but all my wishes had come true.
Three months later, during one of his visits to Maryland, we headed to the Eastern shore. Soft breezes, seagulls, and the gentle lapping sounds of the waves relaxed us as we quietly sat down to a picnic on the beach. Nestled in his arms, I watched a couple walk by hand in hand and I smiled, knowing that I had also found such happiness, friendship, and love. As I turned my head to look up at him, my dream became real. "Susan," he began, "will you marry me?" My heart's question was finally answered as he slipped the ring on my finger.
After almost seventeen years of marriage and children, my husband is still the boy I fell in love with thirty years ago, but even better. Yet one thing remains the same -- my heart still skips a beat every time I know he's coming home. The star that I wished upon so many years ago is brighter than ever.
http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Chicken-Soup-For-The-Soul/2010/08/When-You-Wish-Upon-A-Star.aspx?source=NEWSLETTER&nlsource=49&ppc=&utm_campaign=DIBSoup&utm_source=NL&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_term=mail.ru
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