Luck of The Irish

March 17th, 2012, New Orleans, Louisiana, Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day parade. A day that forever changed our lives, well mine 1st, hers later. I remember it vividly.

A perfect sunny day, with perfect temperature, and a little overdressed for the occasion - more on that later. Walking up and down the streets of the route, I embraced friends, shared drink with strangers, and cheered on as the floats rolled on by - today is an amazing day I thought. Little did I know I would meet you later, and my life would change forever. As I walked down Magazine St. I was stopped by your friend Pepa. She was giving me compliments on my outfit, well… my extra-large hat and my Tutu to be exact. Yes, that's right a Tutu, and had I known it would have led me to you I would have worn a Tutu every single day… okay, every single weekend. But, I digress, back to our love story. There you were, on my right. I remember asking Pepa, "who's your friend?" Pepa gladly called you over, being the awesome person she is! When you approached, I immediately greeted you: "Hi, I'm Ru!" As we extended our hands to shake, you said my name in your beautiful Spanish accent "Rrruu?" I laughed and commented on how cute your accent was. Then, you said your name "Natalia." I remember my exact words, "OOoooOO… I love your name!" Then you hit me with where you were from after I asked you, "Spain," you said. My brain felt like it was short-circuiting as you combo-ed it with just a few words. I quickly gathered myself, we talked some more, and bam, I got your number before we parted ways. We met later that day, we talked, we laughed, we hugged, we kissed, and I knew that I wanted you in my life from that day on.

Natalia's spirit lifted mine that day and would continue to do so, even till this very day. One would say a little luck of the Irish affected us that day. Thinking back, I have to admit, this is more than just luck. Yes, it helped us when we met, but it was up to us to make it last, and so we did. It's been 8 years since our phenomenal encounter. And not a day goes by that I stop and think, you are my meant to be.