“Be careful who you meet that first week of college,” my mom cautioned.  “People meet their future spouses the first week of college…” I may or may not have rolled my eyes at her advice.  That wasn’t my goal in going to college.  I was going to go, study, play some soccer, and come out with a degree and a free ticket to a big, meaningful career.  It didn’t matter what it was, exactly, as long as it was going to somehow change the world.  That’s why I was going, and boys would’ve been a distraction from that.

I met ComputerGuy when I was 18.  Neither of us can recall the exact moment when we met,  but guess what? It was during that first week of college.  The school held a “Welcome Week,” where extra activities kept freshmen too busy for homesickness.  I remember having to do soccer “hell-week” with two-a-day practices during that week as well, so the fact that we actually met at all is pretty amazing when I think back on it.

We had a large group of friends back then that both of us were a part of.  We’d all stay up late, grab $1.00 Burger King Whoppers at midnight, and make late night runs to the nearest (30 miles) not-as-small-as-ours town two, sometimes three times a weekend. We’d spend hours in the computer lab together.

We quickly became best friends… and the rest is history, as they say.   I graduated a semester early and moved out of state, and he came out there as well after we were engaged the week of his graduation.  We did a lot of driving back and forth between our apartments back then.  And making lots of memories, hiking, attempting to cook meals together, sitting on the banks of the local river while daydreaming out loud about our future… and almost five years exactly (one month short) after we first met, we were married on a steamy midwestern July day.

ComputerGuy has said that his mom told him as a teenager that marrying your best friend is the best way to do things.  I think his response was similar to me receiving my mom’s advice all those years ago. “Yeah right.” lol!  Parents, don’t be afraid to offer that advice… your children will see the wisdom in it, maybe years later, but they will eventually. 😉

I am so thankful that I met my Valentine that first week of school and that he became my best friend before I got to marry him. We didn’t use the cheesy “On this day I marry my best friend, the one I laugh with, live for, dream with…” line that was so popular back then for weddings, but I do feel that way.

I know Valentine’s Day isn’t easy for everyone… but I hope that you can have a good one, remembering how you met your love or holding onto the hope that yours is out there and the Lord’s timing will bring you together.

Tell me, how did you and your Valentine meet?