It is no secret that most women search and pine for great romances. Who wouldn't want a Mr. Big coming to rescue you in Paris because he finally realizes you are the one, or a Jack telling you he will "never let go" as he sacrifices himself beneath the icy waters of the Atlantic, or, my personal favorite, a Mr. Darcy beginning as a foe and turning into the most profound love for free spirited Elizabeth. I've never met a women yet who doesn't wish and pray for someone like this, or situations like this, to come along and sweep them off their feet.
However, to many a cynical woman, it seems that outside of brilliant hollywood scripting, men, and stories, like the ones listed above just don't seem to exist; I certainly have never heard of anything like these happening in real life... that is until I met Mr. P and Mrs. A (I have decided not to use full names out of respect for the privacy of the family). A few weeks ago I was put into contact with the family friends of my grandparents who were traveling throughout Israel for 10 days. I was lucky enough to be able to spend 2 days with this amazing family, and by the end of their trip I discovered something that made their story so unique and special.
When I was first introduced to Mr. P and Mrs. A I was under the assumption that I would be meeting the two of them plus one granddaughter (who's Bat Mitzvah present was the trip to Israel.) Instead I met Mr. P, Mrs A., 5 sons, and 3 grandchildren (including the Bat Mitzvah girl)! Though I was a bit overwhelmed at first due to the large number of new people I was being introduced to at once, it really only took me about 5 minutes to fall madly in love with the entire family! They were funny, and talkative, and energetic, and since I couldn't spend time with my own family, having 10 new family friends from Southern California was a fantastic second best situation. They really are one of the most fun, fabulous families I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
As I spent more time with them, every so often some of the sons would call either Mr. P or Mrs. A. aunt or uncle, and the grandchildren wouldn't call both grandparents grandma and grandpa. This was very, very strange to me, and I had no idea why Mr. P and Mrs. A weren't "mom and dad" to all of the sons, and "grandma and grandpa" to all of the grandchildren. I was definitely missing some vital information but had no idea what. I didn't dwell on this, but as soon as they left Israel my grandmother told me the amazing, fairy tale-esq story of Mr. P and Mrs. A. Once I had the accurate information the "aunt and uncle" name calling made a lot more sense!
Many years ago, right before the war, Mrs. A and Mr. P fell in love, however, Mr. P was taken away to war for a long time. While he was away Mrs. A became close with Mr. P's brother and they were married. After a time Mr. P returned from the war and soon after (or at least I'm assuming it was soon after) he was married to another woman. Though I'm not sure of the time frame, years later Mrs. A's husband (Mr. P's brother) passed away followed by the passing of Mr. P's wife. After numbers of years, children, and grandchildren, Mr. P and Mrs. A, who had always loved one another, were finally able to be together and they were married. They are now one big happy family, and if you saw the two of them together you would know that their story is a true fairy tale, and they are so very much in love.
It gives one a lot of hope and encouragement to know that sometimes great stories aren't just found in books or the movies. As I am in the process of embarking on my new Israeli life, and having a plethora of new journeys and experiences, I am slowly finding fairy tales of my own both in life and love, but that, my friends, is a post for another time :-).
Until we meet again,
Jordana Simone
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