How I met my Wife

The shorter version (can elaborate later if need be) now stay with me, it’s a nice story.

I lost my dad just over 10 years ago and it’s not something that I’m comfortable talking about suffice to say – I don’t like to celebrate Xmas or birthdays SO what I used to do was bugger off overseas surfing around my birthdays and just chill and spend time pondering life and the ways of the universe etc.

In July 2001 I decided to take another surf trip to Fiji ( I’ve been there heaps of times – if you get the chance to go, do it) so off I went by myself. Met up with a few guys who were staying at the surf resort and we got plenty of trips out to the reefs – it was a great surf trip. The days would go like this, wake up early and have breakfast and be ready for the boat to depart to the reef about 7.30am – depending on the day we would stay out until everyone was either tired, hungry or injured and return for the afternoon feed and siesta, ready to have a few beers in the evening and hit the sack early, ready to repeat the process the next day.

On my birthday (24th July) I was having lunch in the restaurant and I noticed this lovely young lady in a bikini playing in the pool and I thought Mmmmm – but it wasn’t until a few days later that I was standing by the outdoor bar having a beer and she was sitting on the other side of the bar, head buried in a book, she looked up and caught me looking at her and I got all shy and walked away. The next day after returning from the surf, to cut a long story short, we met, had lunch and pretty much were inseparable for the next 42 hours until I had to return to New Zealand.

Here’s where it gets interesting (and romantic some people tell me) – She was from Canada, I was from New Zealand. I came back to New Zealand and bought a ring. Hopped on a plane and headed to Canada to go down on bended knee. This was the 10th of September (my dad’s birthday, I planned it this way) 2001 (the day the world changed forever, 9/11) – she said yes, I returned to New Zealand, tidied up some loose ends, quit my job, put my shit in storage and headed back to Canada. We were married on the 15th of December 2001.

We lived in British Columbia for the winter and I returned to NZ in May 2002 and she followed in June and here we are 8 ½ years later – happy as can be. So many people told me that I had rocks in my head and it would never last. I’ve never been one to worry about what other people think. I’ve always been a lone wolf, doing my own thing when I want – this was the best thing to happen to me and I know it sounds really corny but it just keeps getting better and better.

Hope you enjoyed this – we did and I always joke that I came back from Fiji with the best souvenir ever!!