Love of My Life
Satya and Isaiah have been best friends for over 20 years, and happily married for 11. Photos courtesy of Satya Nelms
My baby sister says my husband and I are worse than Disney. By this she means that our love story has given her unrealistic expectations for her romantic life. I met my husband when I was 16 years old. Though meeting someone so young feels like a remnant of an earlier time, it really was one of those love-at-first-sight kind of meetings.
Isaiah is a Swarthmore local who decided to spend a post graduate year at a boarding school in New Hampshire after graduating from Strath Haven High School. I was a junior at the school at the time. An “upper” is what Exeter called us. I’d volunteered to be on the orientation committee and arrived at school early that fall to help welcome the newcomers.
I was manning the campus post office in Jeremiah Smith Hall when I saw him standing there with his father and little brother, struggling to open his mailbox. There was a seriousness to his features. He didn’t look severe, just resolute and thoughtful. When he looked up at me, a smile spread across his face and I felt like I already knew him. I thought he was beautiful.
I imagine there were other people in the room at the time, but I don’t remember them.
After helping him work out his combination, I said I was sure we would be best friends. He smiled and responded, “Sounds good to me.” That night, we talked on the phone for hours. I think I fell asleep with the receiver cradled against my cheek. We became best friends, just as I’d predicted. We have been ever since. Though we’ve had our ups and downs as a couple, our friendship has been constant.
My husband and I are complementary in temperament and outlook. He is logical. Grounded. I am creative. Romantic. While I understand the skepticism around a holiday many people say was only created by greeting card companies, I can’t help but embrace it.
In my house, we don’t call it Valentine’s Day. Every February 14, my family and I greet each other with “Happy Love Day.” We call it that to remind ourselves of what we are celebrating. The love we have been shown. Our capacity to love. The power of love. I am grateful for the love in my life every day, and don’t mind showing a little extra thanks in February.
Satya Nelms
Associate Editor
