How Amy Brecount White fell in love

For my guest post Liyana asked me to write about how I fell in love with my husband. So here’s the story of one of the most important moments in our relationship.

It was the fall semester of our junior year in college, and we were both living in London for a semester of study abroad. Pete and I had been dating for about six months. Part of our education was travel, so we had a week off and decided to head to Wales and Ireland. We had a fabulous weekend hiking and climbing castle ruins in the lovely, historic Welsh countryside for a few days together, and then I was supposed to meet up with my roommate in Ireland. He was headed to Dublin to do some pub hopping with his buddies.

Now remember, this is before cell phones existed in any meaningful way, so no one had one. No one. Meeting up with anyone in a foreign country took a lot of planning and more than the luck of the Irish. My roommate, Susie, was taking a boat across the channel after a weekend in France, and I was supposed to meet her at a small port in the southwest part of Ireland. I waited and waited on the appointed day for Suz, but no boat. The next day I explored the area by myself and then went back to meet the boat at the same time. It never showed. (She’d read the schedule wrong, and that boat only ran twice a week.)

So there I was, all alone and on the verge of panic. I had no way to know if Susie was ever coming, and I was lonely. Pete and I had said that if we missed our friends, we’d try to find each other in a small town called Youghal, that’s pronounced like a southern American would say “y’all.” I ran back to my bed and breakfast, packed up, and hopped on the next bus going west to try to find him.

Unfortunately, it was one of those local buses that stopped in every single village along the way. While it was excellent people watching, my hopes kept sinking down, down. I was positive he was off somewhere, laughing and having a pint of Guinness with his friends. Why would he risk going off somewhere when I might not even show? I must have sat on that bus for six hours getting more and more freaked out. Where would I stay tonight? What was I was going to do for the next five days of my vacation all alone? I didn’t know how to find anyone I knew. ):

My heart was pounding in my ears as I read the sign for the village of Youghal. It was late and entirely dark outside. My face pressed to the window. I muttered a prayer: “Dear God, Please let him be here … please.” I was on the verge of tears, because the faces were all unfamiliar.

Then I recognized his long legs in jeans and his navy down coat before the bus stopped completely. He was scouring the windows of my bus, the last bus of that day, worried but hopeful, too. I waved at him like a maniac and ran off that bus and toward him. I have never been so happy to see anyone in my entire life. He had ditched the certainty of his friends to find me. His arms wrapped me up, and I knew I could trust him with my heart.

Liyana also asked me what our special flower is. That’s changed through the years, because love changes and grows. Right now it’s the dogwood, a lovely blooming tree that’s one of my favorites here in Virginia. In the language of flowers, dogwood means “love undiminished by adversity.” After many years of marriage, we’ve had our share of ups and downs, but I still believe I can trust him with my heart.

Thanks so much for having me, Liyana!

No, thank YOU Amy for sharing with us one of your most precious memories. I don't know about you, but when I read and like a writer's normal everyday writing, I know I'm going to like his/her book. Here are the rules of the Spread the Flower Love Blog Tour. LiyanaLand's flower is the sweet alyssum, which means 'worth beyond beauty'. It's the second picture, and it's gorgeous, but not as gorgeous as the dogwood (last picture)! To know more about Amy, her husband, flowers and of course, FORGET HER NOT, head on over to:
Website
Twitter: @AmyBrecountWhit