February 2018
Tell me a love story.
Christine Gingrich
After a study abroad in Mexico, I embarked on a quest to find “La Boca del Cielo”, a pristine beach on the southern coast of Oaxaca, featured in a film I had seen. I failed. A year later, when I moved to the city of Oaxaca to teach English, I met Armando. When I told him of my failed mission he offered to drive me six hours to the coast. When we could no longer drive on the isolated sandy road to Bahía Cacaluta - the real name of the beach - we walked. The center island arose into view, then the expanse of the ocean. As I stood in awe, Armando said, “This is just the first of your dreams that I will fulfill.” For Armando, those are not just pretty words. In our 14 years together he has never stopped manifesting my dreams. We make a good team. He is grounded and steady. He brings form and force. I am creative and impulsive. I bring possibility and movement. We stretch and complement each other. From the beginning, my dad told Armando that the secret to a long marriage is two words: “Yes, Dear.” Armando sometimes says the words, and he always lives them.
Myan Sorenson
It’s ironic because at the ripe old age of 23, I adopted the motto, A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle. I hadn’t had much luck in the love arena! A couple months later, working at a record store in Boulder, this guy came in, ordered a bunch of really obscure Blues records, then proceeded to stop back every week to see if they’d come in. In June of 1978, he asked me to go for a hike. I lived in Nederland, west of Boulder, so that piqued his interest, like, “Oh, she’s already a mountain girl!” He arrived in this old jeep with a mock orange blossom bouquet from his grandma’s garden, and I started keeping score like, “uh-huh, that’s one!” He was well prepared for the hike – bottle of wine to put in the creek, cheese, bread, etc. I was duly impressed it was both romantic and simple. Six weeks later, we were living together, married two years later, and now we’ve got 2 children and 2 grandchildren. Life has unfolded nicely. When you’re together 40 years, life happens, but the richness in it is: can you allow each other to grow? If you can give leeway so one doesn’t always have to follow the other, but there’s a center course you both walk, that’s the magic of a long-term relationship.
David Lee
We met in Columbus, Ohio in February, 1972. I’d seen Carol at a couple parties because we had some mutual friends and knew a little about her. Anyway, we met at a friend’s house and that was it! There was a spark between us and we were together from then on. We got married in August. Carol always says that when my knee touched hers she felt an electric current. Shortly after we wed, we went to Malaysia, which was actually really important for our relationship because of all the stuff that surfaces at the beginning – the knight in shining armor isn’t so shiny, she’s not such a princess. With no family or friends to complain to about each other, we had to work it out. During that first year, we started to really love where we were, being there and doing things together. That really cemented our relationship. In our 45 years together, we’ve had many adventures in different places. Crestone is our newest adventure! We have 2 kids and a grandson. My long term relationship advice to others is patience, gratitude, compassion – all those things are important. But above all these is patience!
Joe Reininger
Stephanie and I have always regarded ourselves as soulmates. We went to UCCS in Colorado Springs, and were both members of the intervarsity Christian fellowship. There was a table where everyone hung out, and I showed up one day and she was there and just burst into light with her smile. We met in January and married in December. We were listening to Tiny Tim one night and of course back then, you put the record on and then you had to get up and switch sides, and that's when I proposed to her. So his song, What Of It has always been our song. It’s about people living in near poverty. We’ve always been one step ahead of financial crisis, which has drawn us closer together. We’ve been married 40 years and have 3 beautiful daughters. Of course, over the years, we’ve changed – she’s still an evangelical, but I’m a theosophist, feminist Buddhist, things like that. But we’ve found that beyond shared beliefs, beyond common likes and dislikes, the greatest of these is love.
Peter Taylor
My love story is with my sweet, darling, hermosa, preciosa, esposa, Denise Peine. We met in a college Portuguese class in 1970. I was immediately struck by her low, sexy voice, really long legs, and wonderful sense of humor, but shy about asking her out. One night, it was snowing lovely on the University of Colorado campus. I ran into Denise and asked her out for coffee, which became much more! She graduated one year before me and went to school in Arizona, but we stayed in touch. A job took me to South Dakota, and it didn’t seem right for Denise to follow. I returned 16 years later and became very curious about my lovely little Denise. She had a different last name, so I knew she’d married. Just as I was calling her, the song the came on the radio, “Oh Denise, Scooby-doo, I’m in love with you...” I put the receiver to the radio when she answered, then I spoke, “Denise, this is Peter Taylor. Remember me?” She was divorcing. We dated, but for 10 years (Denise calls it the ‘dark decade’) we weren’t actually together. Then we went to a habitat build in Hawaii, and I realized the most precious woman in my life was right in front of me. As I’d told her in a Valentine’s Day card, I’ve loved her since before she was born. Proposing in Hawaii with the old trick of the waiter bringing the dessert with the ring, he put it down in front of me by mistake. I don’t think he quite got the concept of what I was doing there! She said yes. The rest is history. 13 years later, I still believe I loved her before she was born!
Ashley Van Wart
Justin and I met at Valley View. I’d gone there with somebody and it was a mess. I was in a bind and didn’t have a way to get back to Boulder. Justin and I had met the day before, so I tracked him down and asked for a ride to Boulder. He said yes, and from there, we became a couple. We connected on the 4-hour drive and decided to see where it went. We dated long-distance 2 months, and then Justin asked me to move in. We got married a year later. Another year later we had a beautiful little baby! We were both ready for something real and serious, and there were a lot of similarities for us. I've always had the sense that it’s new, like we’re not old soulmates, but new ones. We’ve had to work at it, as in any relationship. You need to find your own groove and work out your past history with this new person. Ideally, we’d all come together and just be perfectly fresh, ready and baggage free, but no, that’s not the case. For sure, we have to work at it. But, working at it together makes us stronger, both individually and as a couple. And now as a family!