Tuesday, October 20, 2009

The Back Story

Many have wondered how I made it to Kuwait. I ask myself that question all the time. :)

In June of 1992 I was divorced and working at a law firm in New Orleans. A co-worker asked me to go on a double date since her boyfriend's college roommate was in town for a visit. All she could tell me was that his name was Sam and he was from the Middle East. Of course, I said No Way, No How! But my friend called several times trying to convince me -- a double date, dancing, dinner. What could go wrong?
(This picture is of us in Jordan in May this year.)

The evening went well. Sam from the Middle East had been married before and had a precious 3-1/2 year old daughter that he talked lovingly about and shared pictures of. That impressed me the most. The next day, he called and wanted to get together but I had already made plans with a friend. (I was making red beans & rice and Fran and I had rented Fried Green Tomatoes and Silence of the Lambs. What a combination of movies. My memory is not so good most of the time, but I remember that day clearly!)
(Here we are in Bahrain a few years ago.)

The next day Sam went back to Wheeling, West Virginia which was where he was living at the time. I saw him once that weekend and only once, but after he left, he proceeded to call me every day for weeks and then asked, if he sent me a plane ticket, would I go visit him in Wheeling. I had to consult with my friends on that one, but everyone said go for it! The consensus was that he was Tall, Dark and Handsome and how could I pass that up! So I went!

I was there for the July 4th weekend and had a great time. I met his daughter and his ex-wife's family in Ohio (Wheeling is just over the border in WV). It was such a beautiful area - a part of the country I had never been to before. The following month, he moved to Slidell where I was (outside of New Orleans). And the rest, as they say, is history. Of course, it hasn't been an easy road.

My husband is Palestinian but was born and raised in Kuwait and attended college in the States. When he asked me to consider coming to Kuwait so he could work with his father, I spent 6 months saying No Way, No How! I talked to lots of people and went through lots of emotions about it.

I decided to take the plunge. We married on October 20, 1994 and I have now been in Kuwait for nearly 15 years.


I have had the privilege of going to Jerusalem and meeting his family there. Friends went with us on that fabulous trip! Such a beautiful place!

(This is a picture of Yusef and Zack in Bethlehem.)

Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have imagined this is where my path would lead, but here we are, 15 years later.

HA! Not really. That was a fun picture we took in Dubai over the summer!

Happy Anniversary to us!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Tammy I loved your story. Yes he is handsome and you are beautiful. How exciting to fall in love and travel to a new land. Good wishes to all of you. Thanks for sharing.
QMM

Anonymous said...

WOW... What a big adventure that ended up being your life!! I wanted to ask for awhile now how you ended up in the Middle East BUT manners prevented me!! LOL!!
You are a very lucky lady to live in such an ancient land!!
Love,
MArilyn

GwendolynKay said...

THE 20TH SNUCK UP ON ME! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TAMMY AND SAM!
SO NICE THAT YOU SHARED YOUR "LOVE" STORY. HOW ROMANTIC.

LOVE,
GWEN

Michelle said...

Congratulations! I am so glad you visited me! My Uncle was born and raised in Kuwait. He came to the states for school and met my aunt. He still does business over there, in fact he has a brother Yusef. So it is fun for me to visit your blog, I will be back!

Jodie (everything vintage) said...

Happy HAPPY 20th Anniversary Tammy!!!
I say YES way! YES how! Girl, that sounded like a world wide romance, how romantic!!! It's such a sweet story and ya'll have two beautiful boys to show for it. Congratulations to you both!!!
And, off topic...I just want to thank you for ALWAYS leaving me the SWEETEST comments Tammy. I'm so happy you've become part of my blog family!!!! I just wanted to tell you that (and let the whole world know ;)
Hope ya'll have a romantic celebration~
everything vintage

Jane said...

Happy Anniversary!! I really enjoyed reading your wonderful story and discovering how you ended up living in Kuwait. Life's an adventure!!! Look forward to reading more about your adventures in Kuwait.
Jane

Anonymous said...

You were not kidding when you said that you would be blogging about your anniversary today. I LOVED your story, even though I knew it already. Nice to see pictures of you and Sam through the years. You really do look wonderful together. I remember your trip to Thailand. You looked SO different. It is always fun to look back and see how we have changed through the years.

I wish you and Sam many, many more years of marriage bliss. I look forward to hearing all about it!! HA!

Renee

Rostrose said...

Dear Tammy, what a wonderful Story! Thanks a lot for sharing!
I read your comment on Kathleens Blog (Faded Charm) and became curious, because you mentioned that you live so far away (so do I, I live in Austria, close to Vienna) and so I decided to visit your Blog, too. It will not be my last visit, I take your link with me.
Happy Anniversary! Warm regards from Austria, Traude

Melissa said...

Excited to see you finally got your love story up here since so many were asking. It's always interesting to find out about how people met and how they ended up in out of the ordinary places. You documented it very nicely. Loved the 80's do. Hope you had a lovely day. I'm sure you got yourself a nice bottle of perfume.

Diary From Africa said...

Thanks so much for visiting my blog all the way over in Africa - it's lovely to 'meet' you & to learn about your life. Happy Anniversary !
Lynda, Kilimanjaro, East Africa

Bunnym said...

Tammy...your proof that you never know what to expect in life. What a great story, but I'm not sure I would do it..I'm a big chicken..lol You both make a cute couple and I wish you both a life time of love,respect and laughs.

tootles,
bunny

Martha's Favorites said...

Tammy: Happy anniversary. Your story is amazing and brave. You look so happy and an glad you found the love of your life. Blessings, Martha

Anonymous said...

Wow,Tammy,what an adventure! Yes, Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby, and happyness for the rest of your lives. Wow!

A Fanciful Life said...

What a great story, Tammy. It's so interesting - you are an adventurer! Sounds like you've had a wonderful life - lucky you getting to see the world.
Sharon :-)

Linda said...

I went back and found this and what a wonderful, wonderful story!!! I thought the marriage that my husband and I have is unique (he was born in Nova Scotia, living in Toronto when we met online playing Euchre and the short story is that he up and moved here over 600 miles so we could be together and we've been married over 7 years), and then I read your story. :o)

I think it's great and wish you and your husband continued blessings!!♥

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