Couples Coping Support Group

The first time I formally met him, I thought he looked upset. He's (still) not one for much facial expression and at first glance I thought he had such an intense look on his face and with all the hair he used to have I think that reinforced that thought. Thankfully, that is far from the truth. Not long after getting to know him more, I had this feeling that we could have a long future together. I can't explain it any more than just a gut feeling, intuition. I think that feeling was right.

Are you still looking into the restaurant business?

Yes I am still looking. I am trying to wait things out for a little while here. There are some changes coming that could be better or worse. There is talk that we might go to working three / 12 hour days. If that was the case, and I was able to get a decent position it may be possible for me to stay here for a while and try to do something on my off days. Maybe starting with a concession trailer or having a small place that is just open 4 days a week. And if it goes well, then eventually leaving this job and doing that fulltime.

In the meantime my horse business is doing better than it ever has. Mainly do to my daughters involvement as she is trying to expand it so that she can do it as a career. It is going well for her and I both. It probably would be possible for me to leave here and just do that fulltime. But if I did that it could effect how much money my daughter could make as I would need to replace all this income.

So right now I am just trying to see how things go. My life never has had a definite plan. I just have always sort of headed in a certain direction and sometimes I wind up there and others I wind up half way around the world.

But I enjoy life and try to make the most of it. There are times when it isn't too bad here. I guess I wouldn't have made it this long if there weren't.

The first time I saw my partner was on Sunday 13th March 1983

I was working in Marseille during the week and in a hotel in the Alps at the weekend. In the morning, I and another girl took care of the bedrooms. It had been an entertaining weekend - a group of men from a sports club near Marseille had occupied most of the rooms and the appartments. There had been a plumbing problem in the appartments resulting in there being no hot water ... So the guys in those had been "borrowing" their friends' showers in the bedrooms and also the extra shower in the corridor. We had spent the morning trying not to stare at the nearly nude athletes as they walked along the corridors and queued for the shower wearing only towels .

Anyway, at one point I was cleaning room 17 and stopped to gaze out of the window (fabulous view across a valley) and glanced down and saw him ... A tall, dark, handsome guy wearing a royal blue ski jacket and striding across the car park with his skis on his shoulder. I remember turning and calling "Hey! Christelle! Come and see THIS one!"

The boss had a habit of finding me a ride to go back to Marseille with among guests he knew and trusted (he wasn't happy about me arriving in a half-deserted station frequented by very dubious late on a Sunday evening). Guess who he chose for me that weekend? He took me home and invited me on our first date for the Tuesday. I invited him to dinner and he never left. Not only did he move in on our first date but we had only met 2 days before ... The rest is history.

"The first time I saw my partner was on Sunday 13th March 1983"

And two years later... I was born. lol

The first time I saw my husband was when I was working at a restaurant and he had came in for lunch. He sat at the bar and kept to himself. He looked like a good man and he was good looking! When he left I asked the bartendar if he knew who he was.

Fast forward 6 years later and my best friend sets me up on a blind date with this guy she met through a boyfriend of hers. My only blind date ever...we went out as a group. I have a picture of him etched in my memory from the first time I met him then too. It was later that night that it hit me that he was the same guy from the restaurant. He has a unique name so that's how it sunk in.

There are so many factors of chance that had to play out just right for us to meet when and how we did. And then also for every thing else to pan out right. I think it's all been amazing and I feel extremely blessed to have him

The first time I saw DH was when he came to pick me up for our first date. We'd talked on the phone for 2 weeks but this was the first time I'd met him.

My dog ran after him barking (tiny little Cockapoo) and I thought I'd never seen anyone run that fast wearing cowboy boots. LOL

We instantly connected, it was like we'd always known each other. I'd describe it as a warm blanket type of feeling. We have just always been so comfortable and at ease with each other, even from the get go. We were both 17, April 15, 1995.

Hey--tomorrow makes 16 years since our first date!

I don't remember exactly when I first saw DH but I know where. I used to scorekeep for recreational roller hockey games and he was a referee. When we first met, he was married so he was off limits. I liked working with him and we'd talk during breaks in the games. He left his wife on 9/11 (pure coincidence) and we went out on our first date two months later.

The first time I saw my husband, I was at the mall with my friend (yes, the mall. Don't laugh.) I took one look at him, turned to my friend and said "I'm going to marry him". I had no idea who he was - a complete stranger. Completely unrelated to that event, a few days later, he came to where I worked. Before I could even say hi, the phone rang. My friend was on the phone. I said "Not now, HE'S here" and hung up on her. He asked me out to a movie (which I don't even remember becaue I was so caught up in him). We were married 4 years later and will have out 21st anniversary in June.

I met my SO in a local bar in our area on October 22, one of my girlfriends was newly single and I was the only single friend at the time so we went for a few drinks after class. About 30 minutes after we got there a group of people walked in and my friend recognized a couple in the group and invited them over and that was when I saw him. I remember telling my friend "I have got to meet him."

The group had come and sat at our table but he hadn't walked over yet (it turned out he went to talk to his step dad and go to the bathroom) when he came over the whole group had already been introduced and conversation was already going, but I could tell he wanted to talk to me so I introduced myself first & the rest is history. We both remember the date and he even told me later when he saw me he wanted to go right up to me but was intimidated I am so thankful my friend was single at the moment or else I may have never met the love of my life.

The first time I saw my husband was when I interviewed him for a job at my company. I ended up hiring him and we started going out a couple of months later.

The first time I saw my fiance, I was belting out Beach boys and Beatles tunes from behind moving boxes. A friend of mine was moving off campus, so she'd gotten a group of her friends together to help make the switch. He sang along while the bunch of us loaded stuff into 2 SUV's and made the cross town trip.

We saw each other again at her official housewarming party, and that's when we exchanged phone numbers. He told me later that he fell in love with me at first sight, and he's been falling deeper in love with me every day since then

I don't remember exactly when I first saw her--she was the friend from back home of one of my neighbors in college. I do remember being attracted to her from the beginning, but I had a steady girlfriend at the time. We had our first date several moths later, after that other relationship had ended.