Valentine's Day Contest

Happy Valentine's Day! As promised, here are the entries into my Valentine's Day Contest. Since only two of you entered, there was no need to narrow them down. =) Vote for your favorite by commenting on this post (use the comment link below, next to the date stamp). You can vote through midnight tonight! Send it to your friends and ask them to vote too! These are two very cute stories--both very deserving! Here they are.....

Entry #1

It was a dark and gloomy night. Well, it was actually just a night in February, 1991 -- blind date night when I was 40 years old. To flash back a month before, a good friend of mine had gone out on a dinner date with my now-husband Perry. This was arranged by my friend's sister who knew Perry was going to be in Jacksonville on business and she had a single sister who lived in Jacksonville. They went out to dinner, had a nice evening, and she called me the next day to see if she could give him my number. You see, she was lesbian who hadn't come out yet and wasn't really interested in him, but could see the possibilities of us hitting it off because we were same age, liked same music, etc. I said sure, why not?

A couple of weeks passed and I kind of forgot about it, but he finally called and we arranged a meeting after work -- at Applebee's. What could be safer? We like to say that we both left our cars running for a fast escape. In the first 15 minutes, I thought he couldn't stand me, so I was already chalking it up to experience. He seemed distracted, bored, grumpy, wouldn't make eye contact, wouldn't talk. I was struggling to carry on the conversation. And, although he was nice looking, I couldn't find much else to like. (After I got to know him, I found that he's always like that after work.) But after an appetizer and something to drink, he/we loosened up. I mentioned that I lived near a bar/restaurant called Flamingo Joes that catered to 40/50-somethings and they had trivia contests on Wednesday nights. He said, "Well, let's go there." We did and we won the triva contest and bar bucks that night. So, we went back the next week. Won more bar bucks each week, so we kept going out just to use them. And also went on other dates where bar bucks were not included. And we grew to enjoy, like, love each other.

And the rest is history. We married the next year, I acquired 3 stepchildren, one of whom lived with us. We built a new home, made new friends, and had our surprise son David, all within 3 years.

So, all I can say is -- yahoo for lesbians who look out for you!

Entry #2

it might not be the most romantic story but i can say with the upmost confidence that there are NOT many people who meet this way. i was going to nursing school and as a job i was working as a nursing assistant in the rehab unit of a nursing home. i had just broken up with my boyfriend of 2 yrs and decided to come to work on my usual day off. i thought this would get my mind off personal matters. when i was getting ready for work i kept thinking to myself, why did i sign up for this shift? why did i sign up for this shift? i did not want to go but i figured i was working that day to help with transports so it should be an easier than usual day. a transport helper is someone who accompanies the patient to their doctor's appointment and back just to make sure all goes well. it's pretty easy work, so i drag myself out of bed and get ready. at this time my job had a uniform policy and i could only wear khaki scrubs. i looked like a prison inmate. khaki top and pants. it was not very flattering or appealing. i was running a little late and figured there would be nobody to impress at work that day and threw my hair up, no make up and was out the door. i get to work, clock in and am ready to sit back relax and try to enjoy my day. the other nursing assistants were running short so i helped with breakfast and getting the patients ready for the day. finally, it was time for my transport. he was an elderly man who barely spoke two words and was very hard of hearing. i got him all cleaned up and ready to go. i wheel him up to the nurses station in his wheelchair and waited for transport to arrive. i sat behind the nurses station with my arms crossed waiting, waiting and waiting. finally, there came the transport personnel down the hall. much to my surprise it was the county transport van. now, this was a very pleasant surprise because the county van always has a paramedic and emt to help with the transport and to take the patient to their destination. most of the time these guys are easy on the eyes. well this day was no exception. they were the 2 regular guys that always come too so a lot of the staff were familiar with them. i am a shy kind of girl and could hardly look at them. they see the patient is in a wheelchair and say that are not allowed to transport this patient. they said they can only transport patients in stretchers. i was like, oh come on, but they wouldn't budge so i offered to put the patient on a stretcher so we could go. they still wouldn't budge. while all this was going on my friend kim was getting one of the guys number for me without telling me what she was doing. they would not transfer my patient so i became more aggervated. they finally left and we had to call a different transport company to take me and my patient to the doctors. when i get back kim hands me a phone number. i am like what on earth is this? she says one of the emt's is a really nice guy and thought i was cute so she got his number. she then said i better call him or else. the shift was finally over and i get in my car and throw his number on the seat. the whole drive home i kept looking at it and was look should i, should i not, should i, should i not? i have never called a guy before. i figured if he was interested he could call me. i was old fashioned like that. well, the next day, i am like what the heck, i'll call him. if he is could give her his number after seeing me with no make up, in khaki scrubs, and not in the best mood it was worth a shot. it was a friday evening. i left a message on his answering machine and i don't think i've ever been so nervous in my life. he called me back that night and said he had drill that weekend (he was in the national guard) and his buddies were up but would call me sunday and talk more when he got back. he called me sunday and set up a date for monday night. we went out for dinner and coffee and the rest is history. this all happened in january 2003, he asked my dad for my hand in marriage in march 2003, proposed in july 2003 and we were married july 2004. it was a whirlwind romance but i have never been happier in my life. we welcomed a baby boy into the family in oct 2007 and i know i have found my true soulmate and look forward to sharing our 4th anniversary this year.
thank you for considering our story for your contest. it's not very often when two people can say they MET EACH OTHER AT A NURSING HOME! haha.

CAST YOUR VOTES BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT! The winner will receive a free session AND a $50 credit toward their portrait purchase! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!