Our Happily Ever After

It was one of those trips we made for a summer vacation in Panamá. I was young maybe 12. We went to the Tomlinson's house 🏡 one evening to hang out with the children and some young people from the Church ⛪️. I remember Gary Jr., I remember getting beat at basketball 🏀, I remembered playing Pan 🍞 con Queso 🧀 with everyone but I remember one thing more than anything else. I remember Angélica 👩🏻. My eyes probably got wide 😍my heart 💓 started pounding and I probably went and hid somewhere. Janice noticed right away and proceeded to tease me. Thanks Janice. I remember that day too, but for me I remember a young prodigy. I’ve always loved listening 📻 to classical music 🎼🎶 with my dad since I was young. And I really liked (still do) to listen to the piano 🎹 and watch others play. I remember we went over that evening to the Tomlinson’s and lo and behold there was this little guy with glasses 🤓 playing the Fur Elise. I took out my little video camera 📹 and captured the moment. It wasn’t until years later in 2017 that I got the opportunity to go back to Panamá. I was 19. This time I got my nerve up and gave her my number 📲. I remember thinking 💭 I wonder if she will want to be my friend. We had a good time and started to slowly begin a friendship. I remember one night though Janice (ahem) asked my permission (oh yeah..) and I totally let her tell everyone in the car 🚗 that I used to have a huge crush 🥰 on Angélica. Any thought of mine that my feelings had subsided was quickly erased. 💓 TBC...

Ah yes the 2017 trip✈️.. I remember it. That one Sunday at the party 🎊 at Sister Cecilia’s house 🏡 you totally took my phone phone 📱 and put your number in it 📲. But I also remember this one night at church ⛪️. You played 🎹🎶 for the service and then when I was translating for you, you noticed I was hot and you started fanning me. I remember thinking that, that was a really sweet and kind thing for you to do. Oh yes the car 🚗! I must say I did feel a small twinge at the time but it went away and never came back! 🤣 I’m joking! After my family and I left, we kept in touch sometimes more sometimes less. We did meet once more in 2018. That was fun! ❄️ ☃️ Even if you didn’t like my hat 🧢! 🤣 Then around March of 2020 we started talking more and both of us realized that we started to have some stronger feelings for each other and then it quickly blossomed into love. Yes I remember thinking you were kind of interesting. You kept messaging me every once in a while and we would talk some. Well I’m glad you don’t have that hat 🧢 anymore. But yes, around March of last year we started to talk and I could see that you had matured a lot and I started to realize that my feelings were growing too. So yep that’s how we met.

Wednesday 27th: Sometime after 9:00pm Nerves!!!!!!!!! So many nerves!! But must get clothes ready. Thursday 28th: 7:00am Im awake! Excitement! I started getting ready. 9:00am I messaged Angie and she helped me get in touch with Jorgito! I got a HAIRCUT! And finished getting ready! Was a tiny bit generous with the cologne. 10:50am Gary picked me up!! We went driving to Finca Mi Sueño. It was a great ride, we had a good talk and I got a chance to really catch up! Appreciate him so much! 12:20pm Xenia and Angie should be arriving soon!! 12:30pm Angie and Xenia are not here. 12:45pm Ladies? 😰 1:00pm The Photographer arrives. 1:10pm They're five minutes away now! Cue anxiety and excitement! 1:30pm They’re finally here! Well I opened the door for her. Then we went to find the horses. And we attempted to go for a little romantic ride. The ride was a surprise. I felt like I was gonna get impaled in the face so many times. Angie told me later that her horse tripped about four or five times. I had leg spasms a couple times and seriously contemplated if it was enough to spook the stallion. However, when we had a chance to look around we were greeted by vibrant nature, beautiful hills, grand trees, and a river that showed marks of its might in flooding. It was an adventure and adventures are fun! One of the gems of ride was the caravan that formed behind (and sometimes flanked) us made up of the foals and colts from the herd. They followed and frolicked and generally had themselves a good day. TBC...

Finally we returned and the event crew that Xenia found and organized had transformed the front into a beautiful magical spot. The well was dressed in a flower skirt and surrounded by a heart made of white stones. It had white flowers hanging from the top and a lighted sign of large letters preempted the question, “Marry Me?”. After we dismounted I went over to the well. I was nervous and when Angie approached I expressed my heart to her. Then I slowly kneeled and asked for her hand. She said YES! After that we took lots of pictures. Flashes and videos, horses and flowers, smiles and laughter. Lunch followed and featured a magnificent feast of patacones, pork, salsa, plaintains and fresh local juice. The rest of the afternoon featured a wild game of volleyball that might have been better played in the pool or out in the fields as many times as we each knocked the ball way out of bounds. 6:15pm Finally we headed home and Xenia granted me the unique privilege of driving back to the city. Thankfully, it was at night and the city wasn’t really packed so with Lord’s protection we made it to our separate abodes safely. 7:30pm They say time flies when you’re having fun. But I found that time also lasts forever when you enjoy the moment!