First Love, Second Chance

It’s not often we get “do overs” in life…especially when it comes to relationships (and if it ended badly, we’d only dare to revisit it in our nightmares...toting a bazooka or some such weapon of mass destruction. Relax—I’m kidding, I’m kidding…kinda).

But some relationships simply end due to circumstance, without even the opportunity to grow. Such was the case in 1981 when I spent that unforgettable summer of my seventeenth year as an American foreign exchange student in the beautiful country of Peru.

This was when I met Paco.

He was this incredibly handsome, eighteen-year-old, soccer-playing hunk of Latin yum, and my adolescent heart did all kinds of craziness whenever he was near—and he was always near. Paco was best friends with my Peruvian “brother” Carlos, so every day after school, there he was, along with several other friends, ready for some fun.

Even though we were always together—hanging out on doorsteps or park benches, dancing salsa at parties, listening to music, watching videos, eating pizza in Mira Flores, piling into a friend’s VW bug to go anywhere and everywhere—we weren’t an official “couple”…yet.

But something inside of me was constantly drawn to him. Okay, sure, he was the only one out of the entire group of friends who spoke English—just another excuse, I suppose, to bring us together. He’d practice his English while I was finally able to express myself beyond two-word sentences and hand gestures. I lived for our moments together. He was not only my friend, but my confidant, my comedian, my shoulder to cry on, and my pillar of strength. Eventually, our status turned to “couple” on the night of August first, when on a park bench, we shared our first kiss.

One night, as my time in Peru grew to a close, we snuggled on a different park bench as Paco wiped away my tears of homesickness. “I think I understand how you feel,” he said in a soothing tone. “I could never leave my home and family. I love Peru and will never live anywhere else.” At that moment I knew our futures would be separate.

Or so I thought…

Twenty-eight years passed.

Two people grew in so many ways.

And God, in His wisdom, sees the big picture in everything. Sometimes, what once seemed impossible is now a minor hurdle just waiting to be crossed.

A name on a computer screen turned into a face, which brought back a flood of memories, which turned into a conversation, which brought back a flood of emotions, which turned into more conversations as two lonely hearts (a hemisphere apart) turned into a single beating unit.

Which brought about a do-over.

A first love.

A second chance.

 

Paco and I were married four years ago today. You can read a more detailed version of our story at www.mommygringa.blogspot.com or the Fairytale version HERE. Happy Anniversary, Honey. Thank you for being my Endless Love!


Tamra Torero is Wife to Paco, Momma to nine, Grandma of two, Blogger, Bakery Manager, and author of Shayla Witherwood: a Half-Faerie Tale and co-author of a Christmas novel, The Lost Son with her son, Preston Norton. Her first love is Paco, but her second and third loves are diet Coke and Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate.

 

 

The Baker and The Banker--A Fairytale

In tribute to a real-life prince born this week (blessed with those amazing genes yet given the name George? Really? I’m sorry, handsome little guy!!!), and due to my fondness for fairytales, I hope you’ll indulge me, while I share my own little fairytale.

Once upon a time in the far-off land of California—home of The Golden-Gate Bridge, and golden-haired girls—a seventeen-year-old cheerleader decided to take a summer adventure to the farther-off land of Peru—home of La Orquidea Chocolate and chocolate-eyed boys—to participate in a summer foreign exchange program. She was young and naïve, knowing little of this amazing culture and language, and even less of love and the amazing things it can do when infused with the heart.

There, she saw things she’d never seen before, from the breathtaking views of Machu Picchu, to the heartbreaking palms of begging children. Her heart was tugged in every direction as she missed her family back home, took in the many sights, and flourished in her new environment. But the most amazing thing to happen to her heart involved an eighteen-year-old, chocolate-eyed soccer player.

Her heart was forever changed.

He spoke English and made her laugh with ridiculous jokes told in an irresistible accent. In this foreign land, he made her feel safe and at home.

When she looked at him with her innocent blue/green eyes, he wanted to be her everything—entertainer, tour-guide, dance partner, and protector…especially of her heart.

At the end of the summer, with two hearts connected and transformed, the two teenagers from two far-off lands said goodbye…

…for twenty eight years.

And then she saw those chocolate-eyes again. This time through a computer screen…and the stirring of her heart from those many years ago took over.

He recognized those blue/green eyes from another time, and again felt that need to be her everything.

She was no longer a cheerleader (unless you count cheering her seven children through soccer, schoolwork and scouts). Her days of baking cookies for her kids, morphed into a career as a bakery manager…so she could feed her kids.

Life had changed her…and yet, in his eyes, she was the same.

He played soccer one night a week now…and his body grieved the next day. Life’s journey led him into banking where he worked hard, knowing that as a single parent, his two daughters had only him in whom to rely.

Life had changed him…and yet, in her eyes, he was still the same.

So the baker and the banker, the cheerleader and the soccer player, the golden-haired girl and chocolate-eyed boy, still living in different lands, yet now living in a different era—a time when anything is possible, especially when you’ve lived life, know your capabilities, and recognize the preciousness of two hearts connected—moved mountains (or something like that) to finally be together…

…forever!

And they are…and living their Happily Ever After!

For the non-fairytale version with many more details, check out my other blog and start at the beginning. I have to admit—it IS a great love story!


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