21.
I had been single for over 10 years when I met my wife. The moment I saw her, I told a friend standing beside me, “She is going to be trouble for me.” Later, Elizabeth told me we were meant for each other and I was supposed to be with her—she is intuitive and psychic—I believed her. We have been married for nine years.
22.
We were friends and coworkers at the local library when we met, both divorced, custodial parents. At the time, neither of us had any intention of ever marrying again. Every relationship I’d been in before started out with sex, and eventually wore itself out. When sex is all you have in common, you’re doomed from the start, because you have no real connection to the other person—just to their body. With my wife, there was a definite sexual attraction (she’s lovely), but we didn’t start out in bed. We just had a really good time together, wherever we were, whatever we were doing.
We’ve been together now for 21 years.
23.
I was a charmer and intellectual snob. She saw through me and my BS like mosquito netting!
24.
My dog was with me when I met her. Only half-kidding here, but one of the first things that distinguished her from other women was that my dog (who was both a flawless “divining rod” for good people and always my advocate) accepted her, whereas other women had been merely tolerated. This obviously did not seal the deal, but it did get my attention at some level.
Gradually, I came to appreciate that since being with her, I was becoming a better, wiser, and happier person. It occurred to me one day that she just naturally had an increasingly positive effect on me. I knew then that she was “the one.” I proposed to her that same day. I can’t remember, before or since, feeling more confident about any decision.
25.
I knew my wife was the woman for me when on our second date I caught her watching baseball on TV!
26.
The moment I knew Liz was the one I wanted to marry was when her father passed away and I experienced her (and her family’s) capacity for love and selflessness at a time of deep emotional strain. Liz and her family showed their true colors, and they were beautiful.
27.
~ Todd Dagres, founder, Spark Capital
28.
I knew I was in love the first time I saw him cry in front of me. We were in a long distance relationship, I was dropping him off at the airport after our first week together. We had spent short times together on either side of the country, but this was the first time we had spent a significant period of time together. It was raining outside and I noticed his eyes well up as I pulled up near the airport. We embraced and it took everything I had to let go. I knew leaving me was so hard for him because he hadn’t cried in years; he’s not the type to be vulnerable. I wanted to make sure we never had to say goodbye like that again. It’s been 4 years and there’s no longer a 5-hour plane ride separating us, every time I look at him I feel just as loved as I did in that moment.
29.
30.
I watched her hold her little brother while he cried because he was too little to understand that their mom was coming back. She’d never looked more beautiful, I felt in that moment that she was the best person I’d ever know.