Each Memorial Weekend as we celebrate our soldiers and all they’ve sacrificed, I can’t help thinking back to Memorial Weekend 2008. That’s the weekend our family dynamics changed drastically.
See I’d been a single parent for years, surrounded by a great family, awesome friends, a church that poured into us and a job I loved.
My plan was to not date again and certainly NEVER remarry. Although, in January 2006 my good friend and Christian counselor Sam, told me that if I focused on healing my brokenness, I’d be blessed with the kind of Godly man I deserved at the end of the year.
Ah ya, once again, not happening, nope, never, nada. I had my own plan and was sticking to it!
Back then I was a newbie Christian and didn’t realize that when we say ‘never’, God shows up huge to remind us who is really in charge.
So, Sam was right! I met Mark on-line, not because I was ‘looking’, but because my best friend was scoping out a tall, athletic guy from Toronto. The only one that came up was Mark Chauvin’s hilariously sarcastic profile and he is not tall or athletic! I’d never seen Kim laugh so hard (and for those who knew Kim, know her laughter was contagious). Anyhow, she said I needed to meet this guy. I’m sorry, but did she miss I was never, ever, nada dating again?
Well after several days of Kim hounding me, (she even put his ‘mugshot’ as my screen saver and I couldn’t figure out how to remove those ‘poop brown eyes’ staring at me), I finally sent him a quick note to which he immediately responded.
That was the beginning of our incredible love story. It didn’t take long to realize we had something very special.
Our first chatting was December 31, 2006. The first week of March, I traveled to New Orleans to meet this guy I’d only talked to (but I had researched everything he told me to be sure he wasn’t some crazy stalker).
Mark was beyond the perfect gentleman. He picked me up at the hotel by 9 am and returned me before 10 pm each night, never walking me to my room because ‘that would be inappropriate’. He had researched everything about Crohn’s disease, tasted the food first to assure not spicy. He opened doors, took me on tours of the city, but never held my hand or kissed me.
We then took turns traveling back and forth a few times before he proposed in early August. Since my kids had to finish the school year, we decided to get married the following summer.
Sunday morning of Memorial Day Weekend, Mark arrived in Kitchener, Ontario with his pick up truck and a U-Hail trailer. Our friends and family showed up in full force with food, packing tape and lots of muscles. A few hours later, every inch was packed tight including my car.
Before hitting the road, the kids went to their final church youth group for LOTS of tearful goodbyes. We were all overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
Amy, my oldest, was staying in Ontario to attend university and we were going to see her in July. Rach, my middle, had just finished grade 10 and wasn’t at all impressed about moving. Luke had just finished grade 8 and could hardly wait to start this new adventure.
I was so excited, feeling more confident and safe then any other time in my life. Knowing my parents and many of our friends would be coming to Louisiana a month later for our wedding helped!
After driving through torrential rains, tornado warnings, taking an extra day to arrive due to Crohn’s flare, we finally arrived in NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) on the Wednesday afternoon.
All along our plan was to move to Mark’s tiny house and renovate.
But my wise man knew moving from Canada to Southern Louisiana was not just moving across town to a new school, it was a cultural shock at best! So with the help of his friends, Mark managed to surprise us with a house that had our own pool!
Life in Louisiana was not an easy transition. At times the loneliness has been overwhelming. Several of the good friends I made have moved away. We’ve dealt with job changes, my serious health issues and long hospital stays, lived in 4 different houses (current one we’ve been here almost 5 years), we’ve sadly buried both our dads and several very close friends. Yet, we are very happy.
We have zero regrets trusting God’s plan for our lives. Every day I am thankful for my ‘soldier’, Mark, who has protected, provided and prayed over us continuously for the last 10 years.
A decade flies by before we know it. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next ten years.
Blessings,
Barb