Holiday Love

Campbell Patch's "Share Your Love" contest received such great sumbissions that we decided to share those stories all weekend-long.

Our next story comes from Lydia.

Here is her story.

I came to California from Seattle for a Thanksgiving visit with my uncle and his family when I was 18. He and my mom had only reconnected with each other a year before as they had been separated as young children.

The following Thanksgiving they sent me a ticket to come to California. I was so excited as I had never been out of the state of Washington nor had I ever flown in a plane. Little did I know how much my life was about to change!

Upon arriving in San Jose, we went to the business they owned. As I was being introduced to everyone, I had the feeling I was being watched. I turned around to find a guy in greasy mechanics clothes, slumped in a chair, peeking at me over the top of a parts book. Turns out he was my aunt's oldest son from her first marriage.

He was 23 and living on his own. He ran the shop for the business, thus the greasy clothes. He came to their house for dinner that night and pretty much never left after that. We got to know each other over the days leading up to Thanksgiving, and it turned out he had a picture of me in his car that my uncle had shown him prior to my arrival and he had kept. We were inseparable during the week after the holiday.

Cooking a spaghetti dinner together for the family my last night there, he handed me a note asking me to marry him! I was stunned, but I knew we were meant to be together.

We were married two months later and we still love to cook together. We have been blessed with 3 wonderful children, and 3 grandsons and celebrated 37 years of marriage last month!