Anna Stagliano - A Love Story

Even getting a marriage license is an adventure for us. We chose Anna's birthday as the day we would go to the courthouse. I arrived the night before 2:30 AM and was naturally tired. We got up early and decided to have coffee out back. Little did I know that I locked us out of the house. We panicked because the house was locked tighter than Fort Knox, and Nick slept with the fan on the second floor. We were out of options other than breaking down the door or a window. Anna went to her parent's house because our phones were in the house. She walked down the street looking like well, to be nice not her best. I cracked up watching her leave. I decided to rest out back on the outdoor couch and briefly fell asleep. I woke up in a startled manner thinking, "I can wake Nick up." I went in the garage and found a long telescoping pole attached to a basket hanger. I went over to his window and started to wake him up. Meanwhile, as I was whacking the window, little did I know th

I ask myself this every day. how in the world did this happen. I never expected to find love at such a late age. I gave up on the thought of having a partner. I was happy just being me. After all, my four kids are healthy, and I have a great job in the Catskills where I can hike and be outdoors. When you are in your fifties, you allow yourself to think this is all I want. What more did I need. Then, along comes Anna when I least expected it.  Music means a lot to me. One day, I heard a song that reminded me of the weekend we first met. This song is my anthem when I think of meeting Anna. It is "Aint that a kick in the head" by Dean Martin. This is how I feel when I think of or see Anna. The "pop" that starts the song reminds me of the first time I laid eyes on her.  The lyrics remind me of the first time we met in Erie Pennsylvania. Especially, "I hugged her and she hugged me back!" We had spent 6 weeks getting to know each other on the phone. When I set m

Personality matters. We all have one. For years, I always felt mine was a barrier to relationship success. I needed to find someone that allowed me to be me. I have a big personality and want to share it with the woman I love.  One sure way to find out if someone truly loves you is when they tell you to tone it down a bit. That never worked for me in the past. I don't want to "tone" down my love for someone. In fact, I want to do the opposite. I want to fully embrace and be a little 'Cra Cra" with the woman I love.  Anna is another version of me in some crazy way. Our personalities can be similar and different. We embrace both because the love shared never has to be the same. Let me provide an example of the same and different.  The first thing that comes to my mind regarding the same is our values. We are very alike. We share the same values and a sense of what is needed in a relationship. I love that about us.  We know the non-negotiables that can tear us apart

Finding a life partner literally means....Finding a partner in life. What that means is you enjoy the amazing times together and you will always have obstacles you have to overcome. For us, it was distance. We live 400 miles apart for the first 9 months only to give birth to a new relationship together. 9 months of living apart takes work. However, you can make the best of it. I lived in the Catskills and she lived in Pittsburgh. We had to do our best to make sure we made the best of our time together and apart. Any long-distance relationship has its fair share of stress. We were not immune to restless nights or obstacles when figuring out how to bring our love to one location. Each person has to sacrifice for the greater good. We also have to support each other in times of doubt which causes stress. That's when two people have to be strong for each other. It requires at times one person to be the cheerleader when the other person is feeling defeated.  This is how you bring two peo

The most common question Anna would ask me when we first met is, "Are you going to fade out?" Sometimes she would rephrase it such as, "Will you be like this forever..." Basically, as in any relationship, the inner voice in our brain asks, "Is this too good to be true?" I thought the same thing at times looking back. True love is based on effortless love for one another. We both had "fadeouts" in our past. By that, I mean that feeling you get when you hope for the best, and unfortunately, the person is not who they say they are in the beginning. Good intentions are not the foundation for true love. The actions of an individual should be organic and without thoughts or planning. It is the foundation when you wake up in the morning, your first thought is about your true love. You also end your day thinking about your boo.... Sprinkled in between the start and end of your day are kind loving thoughts of the person you fell in love with. Some tell-ta

Kismet is a fancy way of describing your fate. I realized right away that Anna was my destiny. How, you might ask did I know? Well, I realized that I am a lot for someone to handle long before I met Anna. And I am a bit picky and old-fashioned at times. I started to get comfortable with being single for the rest of my life. Fate and destiny had a different plan for me. When I met Anna, I realized that our love was unique. She loved and embraced who I am as a person. I was not used to that. In fact, I would fade out of past relationships because I felt like people did not understand me. Anna on the other hand did understand me and loved me for who I am. KISMET is something I thought I would never have in a relationship. Along comes the love of my life Anna Stagliano and fate and destiny had a different plan for me.