Love: Daniel + Leah

For this- the second installment in my "Love series", Leah of the fun blog Cheer Up Old Bean, was kind enough to share the very sweet story of how she and her husband met- and the hurdles (and miles) they overcame to be together.  Ahhh, romance... 

THANK YOU, LEAH!  

♥

        

Leah + Daniel

"Daniel and I met a little over 12 years ago as only we two nerds could! We met on an English history website called tudorhistory.org. I have always been interested in this time period in history- especially Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn. There was a pen pal section on the website which I eagerly signed up for, since I didn't have any friends who were interested in history, especially Tudor history- and I really wanted to chat and correspond with other people who shared my interest. Months went by where I corresponded with some lovely ladies (who I'm still in touch with!) and then I received an email from Daniel, who was from Sheffield, England. We just got to emailing back and forth almost daily, at first about the Tudors and then we went beyond and got to know one another on a personal level. It was pretty clear from the beginning that there was a spark- from personality alone!! 

Fast forward 6 months and we were glued to the phone, having lengthy all night long conversations! Boy did my sleep suffer! We got used to the time difference- talked as often as we could, for as long as we could get away with. Eventually we realized this really was something real and had to meet in person. That was the most nerve wracking, yet exciting thing in the world!! I can't even accurately tell you how it felt to be waiting for his plane to land that very first time! Let's just say I called my mom for support and then hastily hung up on her when he stepped off of the plane- I think she was none too happy about that!

Obviously that first visit went well and for the next 8 years we continued to be long distance, with Daniel doing the majority of the traveling since I'm afraid to fly! Circumstances, of which we were not in control, changed that 8th year of our relationship and we were able to take the next step and begin the lengthy immigration process so Daniel and I could get married and finally be together full time. 

The immigration process, though totally necessary and unavoidable, is not something I recommend! It's scary, confusing, expensive and really trying emotionally. It took about a year from start to finish, though Daniel was allowed to come into the country in that year so that we could marry and finish everything. Our wedding was hurried, small and inexpensive, but honestly just the way we wanted it! We got married in the garden of a beautiful little church in downtown Carmel, with only our parents as witnesses. Shortly after our little intimate wedding we had to go to Los Angeles for our final immigration interview. Let me tell you, it's just like the movie Greencard with Gerard Depardieu and Andy McDowell. They sit you down and want to know who sleeps where, how did we each get to our wedding, what are my parents names, where have we vacationed together- oh and I forgot to mention, we had to provide vacation photos and plane ticket stubs! It was one big anxiety mess! Oh and they asked ridiculous questions like: Was Daniel ever a pimp? Had he ever been a prostitute or drug dealer?... and the biggie- did he plan on committing acts of terrorism on US soil? We had to laugh and even the official guy asking the questions cracked a smile at those. 

So here we are almost 5 years later, married and living on the same continent at last. We're settling into careers and planning the next stage of our life together, looking forward to what the future hopefully brings! Looking back on our courtship and relationship it just seems like a movie- it was romantic but gut wrenching with long separations and tearful goodbyes and that bittersweet feeling of knowing when we were together that our time was limited. Now that we're an "old" married couple we're no where near as "movie-like", we do mundane things like everyone else and that suits me just fine!"

Leah xo