A Glimpse of Love Series
Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope ~ Maya Angelou
I recently started asking people about their most awesome love moments, memories and stories. I’m always amazed at the honest and candid responses people give, often with a whimsical smile and a faraway look in their eyes. This is another one if those stories. A story of a chance encounter that changed two lives forever.
We were sitting on a boat in Mexico, speeding across the ocean, on our way to what was promised to be some of the best snorkeling around. Corey, from Canada, was our guide, cracking jokes and throwing out random Canadiana, such as the infamous “eh,”as a way to pass the time. Approaching our destination, we started to slow, and cruised past a white sand beach full of people and tiki hut-style beach bars. At that moment, Corey got a wistful look in his eyes, he turned to us and said, “I met the love of my life on that beach twenty years ago, I was only 18.”
Corey told us the story. He was an 18 year old super white, gangly, Canadian prairie kid who came to Mexico on vacation with his parents. The beach is a popular tourist destination, only reachable by boat, or by jungle hike, as we had done several days before. He recounted the day he stepped off the boat and onto the beach, he recalled it as if it were yesterday. The first girl he saw, a gorgeous, tanned skin, young lady with her parents, took his breath away. He approached her and quickly realized she was Mexican, visiting from another part of the country, and did not speak any English. Armed with an English to Spanish dictionary he had purchased that day from the Holiday Inn gift shop, he asked her if she would like to go for a walk with him, one word at a time. After their walk, he returned with her to her parents. Her father spoke English fluently, and Corey found himself asking her father if he could ask his daughter if she would like to go on a date. It was awkward, but Corey was determined. Later that week, they went on a date. And shortly after they both returned home, Corey to Canada and she to central Mexico.
They continued an email communication. This was easier for them with the assistance of Google Translate. Six months later, Corey told his parents that he was going to visit her in central Mexico and he wanted to “check out the college there just in case.” Corey’s dad decided he would accompany Corey. To this day, Corey swears he’s never had a better wingman! After ten days, Corey was sold. Sold on the town, the college and on her. A few months later, in September, he made the move and began attending college. And learning Spanish.
Corey’s voice grew thick with emotion and his eyes welled with tears. He has never left, except for a short stint to Calgary, but she put an end to that once winter hit! Telling us that meeting his wife on that beach so many years ago was the best thing that happened to him and he could not wait to get home to her and their new little lady.
He smiled, wiped his eye, made another Canadian joke, and said, “you have to believe, because, well, you just never know.”
Naturally Calamity Jane 