Their Story
Monday, February 14, 2011 at 06:47PM {The latest installment in my Memories series}
Happy Valentine's Day! I'm not a big fan of the "holiday", but because I couldn't hold off posting my parent's love story any longer, I thought today would be the perfect day to share. :)
So, to begin at the beginning: my dad is a native Norwegian. My mom is American. My mom's family moved to his hometown just outside Stavanger in early 1969 because of my grandfather's job (he was a lifelong international rep for Pratt & Whitney, a company my uncle and aunt both went on to work for). My dad became good friends with my uncle, Karl, and spent a lot of time at the family's house because of it. Like Karl's fifteenth birthday, for example:
(Don't you just love dad's bitchin' frilly shirt? He looks so much like Lars does in this picture, it's scary. That's my mom on the left.)
My dad was one of the coolest kids in school - he rode a motorcycle, threw parties, dated as many girls as possible and charmed all his teachers while doing so.
A year later the family moved back to the States, but not before my mom told my dad, "Wait for me to grow up so we can get married, okay?"
She was ten, my dad was sixteen.
And true to 16-year-old manhood, he said, "Yeah, sure, kid."
Ten years later...
It's now January 1980. My dad and uncle have stayed really good friends despite living on different continents, and now that my uncle is getting married my dad has flown to Bombay Mumbai to be his best man (Karl's first wife is half Indian, half English).
My mom and grandmother fly in from Connecticut and my dad goes with Karl to pick them up. The way he tells it, when he saw his best friend's baby sister for the first time in many years, "That was pretty much it for me." You know it's love when someone falls for you after you've been traveling for 18 hours, right?
Which makes these photos they took of each other while they were still in Bombay all the more meaningful:
From there on out, dad courted mom relentlessly. Long distance calls (a big deal in those days!), visits, flowers, etc. He was certain he'd found The One. My mom wasn't sure yet - she was only 21, and she'd have to move to Norway because my dad had a great job with Mobil Oil, which would mean giving up riding and training her beloved Arabian horses:
But how could she resist this face?
They spent more and more time together though...
And by November that same year, she had long since caved and they were engaged!
They were married in 1981. On April 25 they'll be celebrating thirty years together. I'm so thankful for their amazing example of a beautiful and hard-working marriage. Happy almost-anniversary!!
But seriously, who gets to marry their childhood crush?
xo
engagement, family, love in memories
Reader Comments (6)
wow look how much u look like ur mama here :) so beauty full :)
The only part left out was that he DID give his resignation to Mobil Exploration Norway, so that I could continue MY career. But by January I was working in New Jersery, and working outside in a -17 degree wind chill factor made me reconsider. So when Mobil tried to convince him to stay by by promoting him to Superindent (In fact, the Youngest Superintendent of Mobil anywhere in the world) I really did cave.
But that man, he had a contact for me to work with an English import Arabian owned by a supplier's wife (now friend) before we finished out honeymoon.
Now that's <3.
How sweet! I loved seeing the story in pictures. (Also, those vintage film tones -- swoon!)
Those are fabulous pictures!
and what an awesome romantic story!!
Love it!
What a wonderful story! So wonderful that you have all those great photos!
This is my favorite love story of all time and makes me remember, that love really DOES conquer all obstacles and boundaries, and when you find it and him, it's like magnets. Hell can't keep you apart. Here here to love and to Mom and Dad!!