My grandparents are the cutest couple ever. (I say "are" even though my Grandfather passed away a few years ago, because if you've ever met my Grandmother you can just tell she is part of a pair. That even though he isn't with her on Earth, they are forever tied together in their hearts.) Watching them together was always such a treat. Every minute my grandmother doted on my grandfather, all the while as my grandfather doted on her. Spending time with them meant seeing love in its purest form. They teased each other, sent loving gazes back and forth, and always-I mean always- talked about each other with such admiration and affection in their voices. Even today, talking with my grandmother, it's as though her heart is so filled with love for my grandfather, that at any minute it might burst.
And to think she didn't even want to go on the date to begin with.
My grandmother was in college at Stetson University in Florida when one of her best friends (and roommate I believe) asked her to go on a blind date with one of her boyfriend's good friends. My grandmother really really didn't want to go on this date. (I think she even used the excuse that she needed to wash her hair to be honest with you.) But since the boyfriend had his friend with him, my grandmother's best friend couldn't go on her date unless my grandmother agreed to come along. So the friend begged, and finally convinced my grandmother that "it was only one date, but she really thought the two of them would hit it off." Begrudgingly, my grandmother agreed.
Back then, men had to pick up their dates at the dorms and "sign them out." I think this is incredibly romantic because it's leads itself to those classic Hollywood scenes of the girl walking down a grand wooden staircase to meet the gaze of a gentleman waiting at it's base. And that is exactly what happened. My grandmother, known for having a little bit of a wild streak in her, was also incredibly beautiful. She was always dressed well- from perfect hair, to a dress with matching shoes and purse. I can only imagine how they both felt when their eyes met. Apparently, they were both smitten with each other and much like my parents, were dating by the end of the week.
One night, coming home from their date my grandfather got a flat tire and the two of them had to walk all the way back to campus. Arriving after curfew, my grandmother was placed on "house arrest" and couldn't leave the campus. That didn't stop my grandfather, who would still pass by to wave at her through the windows and send messages through her roommates boyfriend. The courtship continued for 6 months-throughout my grandmother's last semester in college. After she graduated they were married, and had their simple wedding in my great grandmother's backyard surrounded by their friends and family. (Being a true fashionista, my grandmother even wore a beautiful lace wedding dress her mother made.)
Many different homes, hundreds of trips around the world, and 3 beautiful daughters later, my grandfather passed just months before celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. And even though it's rare these days to find a true fairy tale kind of love, one that truly was a happily ever after, my grandparents had that, and still have that though they are apart. Their connection and companionship is one that I will always look up to and strive to immulate.