Not married but I know that you know when you know. :)

It's a GREAT feeling. Enjoy it. Share it. Declare it.

The best love story I know of is my parents who met on a blind date and my dad proposed six weeks later. She obviously said yes and they will have been together - in a very happy and healthy marriage - 39 years this August.

I'm only one year married but knew that it was love (though didn't admit such until later b/c I'm stubborn) about two months into our relationship when the lights went out across the Northeastern seaboard. My now husband was living in NYC at the time and I was living in Philly so I had internet access/electricity but desperately missed talking to him during the weekend. I even sent him two or three long emails just "talking" through what I would have told him over the phone had we been able to talk (phones were also down) because I missed him. It had been a very long time since someone had affected me in that way. Course things weren't all roses and champagne - as I think you know we spent three years doing the long distance relationship thing between NYC-Philly, NYC-Chicago, and finally Seattle-Chicago so those last two aren't exactly "I'm just going to swing by" locals. But the distance really made us such a stronger couple and not only am I head over heels for him but I also have a valued partner in life with which to face everything life will throw at us.

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http://smallfoodbiz.com
</blatent self-marketing>

I didn't see who wrote this but I knew!!! W-E-B-E-R.....you LOVE him. I can see it all over you. You know my sappy love story. J and I were engaged 1 week after we re-ran into each other....6 months later was married and we are going on ELEVEN years now. Sure we go through normal ups-and-downs (its NORMAL when you are with someone for so long) but what I can tell you is that I NEVER ever felt like any issue we had was ever a deal breaker. I'm totally in love with this man. He is the HEART of our family.

It's OK to be vulnerable....go with it sister and let it happen.

XOXO
Leslie

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____________________________
Life is Short...Run Long

My husband and I fell in love after about 3 weeks of dating. Our first date lasted a weekend. We spent every free moment together after that. We just connected. We were married 6 months later.It's been 17 years and we are still going strong!

I went through the same struggle when I met my now-hubby. We moved in together about six weeks after our first date and I was simultaneously terrified and confident that I was doing the right thing. On some level, I knew that he was the right person for me and all of my doubts and fears had more to do with me and my own issues than the relationship. I believe that when it's right, you know. You may have to listen to the deeper feelings under all of the other chatter that we carry around, but it's there.

We've been together for 13 years now (married for 11) and I'm so glad I listened to that little voice!

M

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The beatings will continue until morale improves

Alright, I've got one! When I started dating my current boyfriend I was totally smitten but a little nervous about how smitten I was so fast. I had just ended a 5 year relationship (that had taken 2.5 years to die) and while I ready to date again I wasn't sure if I was ready to jump into a serious relationship again. But Im glad I did! I knew I was inlove with him after about 1 month of dating. Now we live together and its fantastic.

The funny side story is that he is french, and he had told me when we started dating that je t'aime is much closer to "i love you" than je t'adore. he started saying je t'aime to me, and then he would say "i like you a lot". so a month went by with me not knowing if he was saying i love you or not and I was too embarrassed to ask until I told him I loved him, in english.

So is it to early to send my condolences to the available bachelors ?

For me.....it was shortly after I met her and prior to dating her. I had known her for nearly a year before we started dating. We were in college and worked at the same place. We attended alot of the same parties and had common friends.

One day at work I went to view the work schedule......I wanted to see what nights we'd be closing together. When I came around the corner she was there at the calendar, her back to me along with another female co-worker. I heard her say...."Look, we close Tue and Wed night together". When she turned around and saw me she turned 4 shades of red. I looked at the calendar and saw she was talking about me! Later that night I worked up the courage.....I approached her and said...."I could act like I didn't hear you earlier tonight or I could ask if you would like to make a date with me". That was the hardest date I ever asked for. I felt like I had the world to lose if she said no.

Oct 8, 2008......20yrs baby !!!!!!!!

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Hurry Up Every Chance You Get

(formerly LuctorEtEmergo)

It seems others that aren't married have chimed in, so I guess I will too. I knew after about 4-5 months of dating. I was with my girlfriend visiting her older sister and little niece and nephew (4 and 5 yrs. old). My girlfriend and the two kiddies were under the covers just about to get ready for their pre-bedtime story, and she invited me to hop under the covers and listen along. I simply watched her with amazement as she elegantly read two stories to the kids - with only those few moments I knew I was hopelessly in love with her. Then, the kiddos asked me to read a story to them and I just about melted. It was such a wonderful 10 minutes; 10 minutes I'll never forget.

I can only speak to a successful 34 years as of June 29th... We were friends first, became lovers, and managed to stayed friends. All over the course of about six months. Drinking buddies with a sex problem (in a really good way!!!).

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Jay

It's such a great feeling! I didn't really realize it with Mike right away (at least that I would admit even to myself) but even just a couple months in I knew it was going to last. That comfortable, you can be yourself kind of feeling. Two months is definitely not too soon!

We had met a couple times before we started dating, but he recently pointed out that since we started dating we have seen each other about every day -- missing 1 or 2 when we were both in this part of the state. And yet I still don't like spending days away from him because the ones with him are just so special.

Oh and how we met? At a tri -- and then he left early and I was late to a meeting we both had after it, so I didn't get his number. Having forgotten my name he used tri results to get it, and we got back in touch through a BBQ he was having.

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Miles of Life --- Powered by MarkyV

OMG! I think you just told MY story. (Except the French part ;-)) My husband and I have been married for 9 months this month. We "dated" a week, he moved in 2 weeks...got engaged 2 years after we met. I do have to say the first 6 months of our relationship were a little rocky. Only because I wasn't ready for someone to really love me for me, instead of what I could do for him. After I stopped sabotageing my own relationship...things went swimmingly. Thanks for sharing and letting us tell our "sappy" stories as well.

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Heather Sweet
http://thesweetsadventure.blogspot.com/

My husband and I met online 13 years ago. We talked pretty constantly for 6 weeks, he came out to visit me (I lived in Moscow Idaho and he was in Bellingham WA) end of March and we both knew it instantly. He moved to Idaho to be with me July 1st because we couldn't stand to be apart and that was that. We married the next September but really only waited that long because we were moving around a bit and starting new jobs so we had no money and life was a little chaotic. September 14th will be our 12th anniversary.

I believe you know it within the first 2 months of dating. You might not realize it while you are friends but once you cross over you know it. If the chemistry is there and you list of requirements for a lifelong partner are met then go for it, fully and completely!

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

It can happen really fast sometimes. Wife and I fell really fast. Had known each other previously but never thought about each other that way. Finally circumstances changed and it was BAMMMM! Kinda like a whack upside the head.

To me (as a guy) its about being with the person that I would most like to be with, regardless of the activity. Whether its getting groceries, going out, or mattress wrestling. If the person you would most like to do EVERYTHING with is the same person, then its most likely L O V E. The amount of time it takes to figure that out is irrelevant IMO.

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"It takes courage to do it, to be a runner. We all found that out a long time ago. Because it's about more than fatigue. It's about pain, and dealing with it for a long time. And its about resolve." - Quentin Cassidy

I'd say by this time in our lives (I think you are around the same age as I am), you know what you are looking for and what things you are okay dealing with. You've had enough good and bad relationships that you can pretty quickly surmise how this one will go. Assuming you aren't dating a 25 year old (no offense to any 25 year old out there), you can tell by his actions what his intentions are as well.

The only thing I'd caution (I've seen it happen) is to make sure you aren't settling because you are happy you are in a relationship with a good guy, you want to be in a relationship with a great guy. Or if you are, you're settling on things you've always been okay settling on.

Best of luck to you guys!

took a long time for us (married 1 year, together 8 years). we were friends for 2 years before dating, and even then i couldn't figure out what it was about the guy that i liked. and it wasn't even that he gave me butterflies like all the crushes i'd had in the past. it was just that i felt better when he was around. i was content when we were together, and wishing he was around when he was not. it's hard to describe, because there really were no physical manifestations of my attachment to him (no stomach dropping, knees weak, tingly type stuff) but i just knew i wanted him with me. that's how we got together, but i think i knew i really loved him when i realized that as we snuggled even that wasn't close enough, i wanted to occupy the same space as him, like totally physically overlapping molecules or something.

these days, when i think about how much i love the guy, i can say why (unlike before, which was just, "i dunno, i just do"). i tell him it's because he's a real man, but he doesn't get what i mean because he doesn't know any other way to be. what i mean is he takes care of his business. he gets his shit done. and he respects me, my independence, my intellect, and my capabilities. he is proud of my accomplishments. he is the smartest choice for a husband i could have made, and it doesn't hurt that he's got a cute butt and is an ironman too.

we've had the smoothest first year of marriage probably ever. i've heard time and again that the first year is the hardest, and if that's the case, then i don't know how it could get any easier than this!!! sometimes i don't know how i got so lucky, it seems cosmically unfair.

good luck QRGirl!! i'm in my late 20's and sometimes wonder what it is i REALLY want out of life, and sometimes i think, this is basically it. when you are with someone you love it makes everything in life easier, happier, more wonderful. shoot for nothing less!!!

My husband and I were dating for about a month when I was pulling an all nighter at work and sent him an email complaining and whining and his simple response was "I think you're wonderful." When I read that I knew I loved the guy (although I waited a while to tell him). Being in love is such a great feeling. I remembered when I first realized I was in love I was so happy and so glowing that I was worried about annoying other people because I was such a "pollyana."

Two weeks into dating, he told me about how climbing le Alpe du Huez nearly killed him when he was 21 because he drove all night from Belgium to the base of the climb after a drinking spree with his buddies. I realized I could really love the guy. When he told me I was 'truly wonderful' after I correctly identified the displacement of a passing motorbike (750cc) based on its sound, I realized I loved him.

My wife and I were collegues and became friends. We weren't even on an official date when we fell in love with eachother. We were just walking around the city (SF), talking about life, our friends, our families and beliefs. A one hour "hang out and walk" turned into an intense 12 hour session. It was very cool and surreal. Within two weeks she was basically living at my place. Two months later we were living together. Three months we were enganged (I waited to meet her parents and ask permission). Eight months...we were married.

Neither of us believed in instant love - but oh boy did it strike us. She is nothing like the women that I believed I liked but is more than I could ever wish for. I suppose it happens when it happens :-)

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"your horse is too high" - tigerchik

I was single after divorce for 19 years and dated alot....figured if I was going to give marriage another go I would need to meet someone who I felt COMPELLED to be married to...NOT meet someone that I COULD marry.

I had many relationships in those 19 years, dated all kinds of women, although most had the common thread of being athletes...I had some good times and went out with some great people but I was never "absolutely sure"...I did not want to commit to someone that I wasnt absolutely sure of...that made things very messy in the dating world...eventually the women wanted to know "where are we going"...I dont blame them but I just couldnt commit to them....some thought I had a commitment issue...reality was I had a commitment issue with THEM....

I met HER at an adventure race...I remember how completely taken I was with her...but she was not available and I was 48 and she was 31...I did not see it as a real possibility but I loved being around her...I remember telling a friend of mine..."you have to meet this girl, she is incredible..." Smart, fun loving and drop dead cute she has a questioning curiosity that makes her stand out. She was always asking questions and really listening. She was one of these girls that have no idea how incredibly cute she is...

...after some emailing back and forth, flirting and playing, she called me on the phone out of the blue to wish me a happy Birthday....after more emailing we agreed to meet up...and I can tell you we were both "sparking" like crazy...the rest was history....

I had NEVER met anyone who I felt was more unique or more attracted to.

I knew I had to meet someone that I was extremely proud to be with and she is all that and more....

from early on I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her....I was ABSOLUTELY sure....I never waivered...so much for my "commitment issue"....although she had some moments considering my age and the future....but in the end we just knew we should be together...

We Just celebrated our 1st year anniversary....

I've got nothin', so I'll just leave you with this:



L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you can adore
Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
Love was made for me and you

L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you can adore
Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
Love was made for me and you
Love was made for me and you
Love was made for me and you

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
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Lots of great stories here - great thread QRGirl!!

My husband and I met in Computer Science class at University (how romantic!). We were in many of the same classes together. I was only 19 and he was 20. We dated for 4 years before getting married. I have to say that we "fell in love" many times over that 4 years. That's not to say we fell out of love, but our relationship changed over and over again and each time our love seemed to grow deeper. I knew right from the beginning that I wanted to be with him as much as possible, but being so young I wasn't sure it was love or if it was just normal infatuation at that age. We've been married almost 18 years now.

No wonder your response in my "making him wait" thread was so optimistic! I'm going to throw your own advice right back at ya....follow your heart!

oh, i love this!! this sounds very much like the beginning of our relationship - can't wait til we're at 18 years and counting too....only 17 more to go :). glad we are not the only ones who fell in love geek style (what pushed our relationship from friendship to dating was being lab partners in a tough Elec. Eng. class.....awwww). and the changing relationship - know what you mean. thanks for sharing, i love it!