Welcome to the Money or Love Share Your Love Story Contest!
From August 12th through September 4th I will be posting entrees to the contest on this blog, in both video and written formats.
On September 5th, I will select three stories from all submissions as winners of signed copies of Money or Love .
Those three will then be posted across social media where people can vote for their favorite.
On September 12th the votes will be tallied and the #1 vote getter will will win a $100 gift certificate to Ristorante Lombardo, a Buffalo, NY landmark Italian Restaurant that plays a significant role in Money or Love.
(If the winner is from outside the Buffalo, NY area, a gift certificate from the restaurtant of their choice will be awarded.)
Thanks to every person who takes the time to share their love story in this contest. You are an inspiration to all of us looking for love ….at any age.
Money or Love Tell Me Your Story Contest Entree #1
Author: MaryJean Zajac
Widow.
What a strange word. Forty-five years with this man. We were the same age so we thought we would grow old together. He always said he would die first. That was June 2017. Now widow is my word. I look the same. I sound the same. I even walk the same, but there was an emptiness inside.
I wasn’t looking for love. I was trying to fill my days to avoid the loneliness. October 2018, he came into my life. He was kind of cute with his rugged outdoorsy appearance. Oh, but that smile. I think it’s what got me, only I didn’t realize it at the time.
It was a Halloween party and I had other plans. At the last minute my plans changed. Later I found out he almost didn’t make it to the party either. He couldn’t find a parking space.
I knew he was interested. His eyes were on me all evening as a group of us stood around talking. We got to know each other better at various events we attended. He asked me out for drinks one evening.
I was hesitant about dating. I hadn’t dated since I was 19 years-old. Had the rules changed? In fact, are there any rules anymore?
I surprised myself by asking him out to dinner. We talked so long at the restaurant. It was like we were old friends catching up.
I worried I might be falling for him too quickly and I wasn’t sure how he felt. After about a year of dating, which progressed to overnights, he said the L word. We often wonder now, how we were able to find each other. I tell him it was fate.
Am I still lonely?
He fills me with happiness so there is no room for loneliness. There will always be a place in my heart for my husband, but this is a new life for me.
Is it a love story?
By today’s standards, maybe not. It’s a love that grew for two people who didn’t want to spend their lives alone. Two people who want to share it with someone they care about. I gave him a key chain for Valentine’s Day one year, with the inscription, “I wasn’t there for any of your firsts, but I want to be there for all of your lasts.”
Here’s hoping this will be “our last” love story.