45 Days to Marriage

At 21 I married, it lasted 7 years. Good man, good husband, just too young to know that at the time. For 10 years I enjoyed the single life, dated, traveled and lived in a few different cities (Durango,Denver,Golden, Co. and Middlebury, In.)

At about the 10 year mark and approaching 40 I decided that I was ready to get married again. My plan was to stop wasting time and only date a man that I considered marriage material. NOT so easy!!

So I turned to GOD. I've always believed that you should only pray for others in need or for his will of what is best. Well this time I decided to be a little selfish and I prayed for a husband. Like most women I had my 'list' of what I wanted in a man. So I wouldn't take up all God's day with my list of the perfect man, I thought of the only man I knew that was a perfect husband. My uncle Sam, and I simply prayed..."I want a 'Sam'".

Well one day I was headed to work on a flight from Denver to San Francisco. I remember this day so well. It was a Sunday and I didn't want to go to work. I didn't usually work weekends and this was an early morning flight and I just wanted to sleep in. I finally managed to get my butt out of bed and made my way to the airport. I was deadheading and looking forward to a first class seat so I could relax, eat and sleep. I got my ticket, row 30!!!! WHAT!!!!

I made my way to my seat. It's a window. This flight is continuing on to Hong Kong and a man from there sits next to me. I'm a people watcher so I like to watch people board and put their things away. I always found it fascinating how one person can put their bag away with ease while another person with the same size bag struggles.

I saw a man walking down the aisle and I watched him stow his bag. I was drawn to him. Not in the "Hubba Hubba kinda way" but in a way that told me I NEEDED to talk to him. He sat in my row with the man from Hong Kong between us. I tried to make eye contact. That was not working so I gave up on this urge and went to sleep.

When I woke up the urge was so strong it was kinda freaking me out. I got up to get coffee and wake him in the process. I thought of spilling my coffee in his lap when I came back, that might start a conversation.

I made my way back to my seat. He was awake now and looked at me. I stuttered, 'This coffee sucks'!! He smiled. I ask him where he was going. He said Hong Kong. I thought "Wow this biker looking guy is going to Hong Kong". He told me he works over there, that he lives in Casper, Wy and his name is Charlie.

I told him that I used to live in Cody, Wy and I have a girlfriend in Casper that I haven't talk to in over 2 years. He knows her and works with her husband. He asks me if I knew Tony his brother-in-law. I said YES he was in my wedding. And after my divorce I was roommates with his brother Michael.

We laughed at what a small world it is. Over 400 people on that plane and we sat next to each other. He told me about his wife and son and how happy they make him. I told him I was looking for a good man. He asks me if I knew Tony and Micheal's brother SAM.

I totally got chills over my whole body. I said no I've never met him. He gave me Sam's e-mail and told me that when he came back in 30 days that we all should get together for dinner.( little did we both know I'd be engaged by the time he got back)

When the plane landed I immediately called my girlfriend in Casper that I hadn't talked to in over 2 years and told her this story. She said "OMG you guys would be perfect together" and started planning the wedding. Then she said "You do know he lives with his parents". My heart sank. A 40 year old man living at home with his parents screams "Loser".

In my shallow single days that would have been a problem but I felt God's hand in this and wanted to see it through. I e-mailed Sam. 'Dear Future Husband'...Ok not really. I wrote: You don't know me but I know both your brothers and parents. I met Charlie on a flight who is playing match maker and I'm game if you are.

On Sam's end his friends had been trying to fix him up for years and he was never interested but for some reason he was excited by my e-mail.
He called me on Wednesday and we chatted about the people we knew and our lives. He tells me now he fell in love with me during that first phone conversation. (CHEESY)

I agreed to fly to Casper on Friday. My girlfriend picked me up and we went to meet Sam(my future husband) and Charlie's wife.(now my good friend)

By Saturday I'm having dinner with his family. Sunday I went to Charlie's house to watch the Super Bowl. It was very weird to be sitting in the house of a man I met on a plane only a week earlier and who was still in Hong Kong.

The weekend we met. February 1, 2008 Super Bowl weekend.

The next weekend I flew back to Casper and we all went bowling. When he dropped me off at my hotel, he said "You know I would marry you tomorrow". I sat there stunned. We hadn't even kissed yet! Then I said "OK". I don't think he meant to ask me to marry him.

We were not in a hurry to get married but in a hurry to start our future. We wanted to buy a home, maybe have a baby and get started with Happily Ever After. We were planning a Hawaii wedding at the end of the year. But the more I thought about it the more I just wanted all that wedding money to go to the house we were planning on buying.

So one day when we were in Colorado. We went to see about a license. It was 10 dollars. We bought one. We thought we would get a justice of the peace and go up to look out mountain in Golden, Co and get married.

The lady behind the desk told us in the state of Colorado you can marry yourself. If we signed it and brought it back then we would be married!!!

We went to buy a ring and right there in the store we decided to sign the paper. March 14 2008. 45 days after meeting SAM, I married him.

Had I known when I woke up that morning that I would be getting married, I might have reconsidered my outfit.

This story is written for our son Rains Jacob Kaul about how his mommy prayed for his daddy and her prayers were answered.