How Things Change
Jo Larson and Keith Bailey:
JO: When I first saw Keith, I thought he was a redneck with a beard. And I hated beards. But then we started talking, and we had so much in common! We walked around outdoors downtown and started holding hands. We were going through art galleries and every little shop in the old market. We both like to read and we talked about books. I have three kids and he has two. We made a match and we are getting married Oct. 27 of this year. I feel guilty: the women at work complain about relationships and I have nothing to contribute!
After a year, we moved in together. I had been keeping his kids on Saturdays while he worked, just to get to know them. Then, we all started missing each other on Sundays. When my apartment lease came up, we moved in together and integrated our families.
God had a lot to do with it. His little boys needed a Mom. She abandoned them five years ago and they have never seen their Mom. Here he was, taking on three more kids and a house full of cats. There are a lot of families that are blended. I am a social worker and I hear a lot of stories. My kids, two of them go and see Dad every other weekend,but he has been in Iraq for last year. So our kids needed parents.
I just thought we'd live together, but on Valentine's Day, he proposed. It was a big secret and he had bought a ring and everything. When he went down on one knee, I thought, 'wow, this is for real!"
I am so happy. He is truly the love of my life. We do not disappoint each other; we are just soul mates we are truly, truly in love. I was in a marriage before where he was so busy with his own life and neglected me and our life. Keith wants me to be around. We are pasionately, emotionally, physically, and spiritually connected. Every day feels like a honeymoon for me and he feels the same way. It is very fortunate we took that chance, that risk of going to The Right One. We recommend the Right One to people all the time. He worked for 20 years on Saturn cars right beside where my Mom and Dad lived. At some time in our lives we have stood in a grocery store line next to each other, yet we would have never met without The Right One.
By the way, now I love beards.
