They’d been sitting in the same English and Marketing classes for several months but never really exchanged any words. Then one day, they found out that they had a common friend…and the ice was broken. So he asked her to blow off a Finance class one evening and join him for dinner instead.

“You wouldn’t want me to end up eating alone, would you?” he asked. And she just couldn’t turn him down.

The boy and girl sat across from each other in a booth at the TGI Friday’s near the University of Miami and tried to out-do each other with their dating war stories. They laughed a lot and talked about plenty of other things; but had to wonder why this topic was supposed to be so taboo for first dates when it led them have one of the best dates ever.

The food had been eaten and the table was cleared, but they weren’t ready to say goodnight. So they hopped in his car and took a short drive to Coconut Grove. The margaritas at Senor Frogs were calling their name…and the conversation continued to flow easily between them. But they knew that they couldn’t stay out all night when they had classes the next day. He still had a paper to write for an early morning class and she just needed sleep; but that simple little kiss goodnight changed their lives forever.

As soon as they got home, they were looking up each other online and began chatting back and forth. How his term paper managed to get written without any chat conversation fragments is still a mystery.

The two of them could have met at any time during their college careers…but it seemed like there was a greater force controlling when their paths would overlap. When she was a freshman and rushing a sorority house, her “big sister” was the girlfriend of his roommate. But the girl pledged another house and so they didn’t end up meeting that year. As they talked about fun times and parties in the past, they found out that they were at a lot of the same places but they never bumped into each other. One birthday party for a friend definitely would have caused them to be introduced, but he ended up somewhere else that night.

Since he was a year ahead of her in school, they could have bypassed each other completely in class scheduling. But somehow during that Spring semester of 2000, they had two classes together. And although they’d sat near each other for months in class, they never really talked or even exchanged glances. It was as if Fate was sitting and watching; waiting for just the perfect moment to turn a friend into cupid and bring these two together. But not until they were absolutely ready.

So what happened after that first date? It was a whirlwind of fun and excitement…and the two were mostly inseparable. By mid-June that same year, they’d gotten engaged. But they held off on the wedding for another year-and-a-half. It wasn’t because they weren’t sure about each other…it was just more practical since they were in the process of moving from Miami to Germany. And they’re still in Germany now, living happily ever after. Chasing dreams and making life happen.

You see, these two seem to have been soul-mates from the start, even though some think they don’t exist. But if both of you start joking about marriage after just one week of dating, and neither of you tucks tale and runs, you’ve got something incredible. Yes, even soul-mates experiences ups and downs, but if you can spend 24 hours a day with your partner on a regular basis and both of you survive, it’s not a fluke.

So here’s to another incredible 10 years…and hopefully many, many more to follow. I’m so glad we were led to each other early in life and can’t wait to see what the future holds. With you by my side, everything in life makes sense. I love you, Stefan.