***Discretions to family/friends. There are pictures in here… please don’t kill me k? 😅
When people ask me about how I met my husband Sal, I love to brag about it. When you hear stories from other couples on how they met, sometimes you can understand exactly why they’re in that relationship. I feel like that with Our Story. I wanted to share it with you just because I can! 😌
The first time I had heard about Sal, I was at a frozen yogurt store with 2 of my friends who were mutually his friends. I didn’t know that yet… We were eating and talking, and Friend A says, “Let’s call some of our friends to go out bowling.” So we started listing names of who to call, and Sal’s name came up. Then Friend B was like: “Why call Sal? He’s 23 years old with a curfew at 11P. By the time we get into the game and having a good time, he has to leave!” So now I’m curious because I hadn’t heard of this Sal yet, so I asked who he was. Both of them said that he was an old friend. Parents we’re a little strict with the curfew (even though parents were great people). He was a hard working guy who worked for their dad. He was attending the same church I was attending (way before I showed up). Then they added how he did devotionals early in the morning with his family, and really loved the Lord. While they were saying all this, in my head immediately I remember thinking: “I want to marry this guy.”
A few weeks after hearing about this so called Sal, I was at the youth group at my church helping out with the students. Our Pastor (who is one of our closest friend) called us in a room for a leader’s meeting before the students started to arrive. This group of leaders had just grown, and they were new faces, so our Pastor said, “If there’s a leader here that you don’t know, greet them.” Makes sense! You should know the people you’re working with. We all leave the room and start walking back to the chapel where the students meet, and I’m inside talking to some girls when I hear someone say HEY. I turned around and it was this cute guy standing there with a gorgeous smile. 😏 I say hi back. He sticks his hand out to shake mine and says “I’m Sal.” On the inside I did everything to contain my outward emotions! I shook his hand and said my name is Taty. Because I pronounced Taty in Portuguese, he heard it and asked if I was Brazilian. I said Yes, he said he was too. We spoke 2 sentences to each other in Portuguese, and then he says he needs to go because he was playing bass for worship. Then I thought I was going to have a heart attack! He’s cute, his smile is gorgeous (I’m all about the smiles), he’s Brazilian (but not the ratchet kind), and he plays an instrument! WHATTTT!!!?
Wednesday nights were youth group, and those were the nights I would see Sal. Most of the time we said Hello to each other and walked away just because we were always busy. Thanksgiving was coming up, and my friend calls me and says that every year, the day after thanksgiving, her friends meet at someone’s house and do a Friends-giving. 
She asked if I’d like to join her, and I thought that would be fun, so I went. On our way to the house, I asked if I knew anyone that was going. She listed a couple of people that I did know, and Sal’s name came up on that list! I was very excited, People! I was finally going to
be in a different setting with him there. This gave us an opportunity to talk more. I got to meet a couple of people that I didn’t know. We all talked, and the ones that hadn’t seen each other in a long time got to catch up. I didn’t sit with Sal and have a 1-on-1 conversation, but we spoke to each other, and got to know each other a little more. At the end of the night we took a group picture, and we all went home. Between Sal and I, it went back to seeing each other on Wednesday nights.
Three weeks go by after the Friendsgiving event. Sunday morning I was at church, and at the end of service I would go to the middle school ministry to help clean up in any way. I also knew Sal would be there. 😉 When I was on my way over, my sister came running to me saying that I wouldn’t believe who was asking for me. I honestly had no idea who she was going to say… Well she says SAL! He was wondering where I was. 💁🏻 I walk over to the room where the middle schoolers were, and he was there putting his bass away. I went over to say hi, and he asks if I ever saw his bass. When he shows it to me, he tells me that he made it! He actually made the bass he was playing… And that’s not the 1st one he built. He made 2! I was extremely impressed. We were talking, and what I didn’t know is that behind us, my sister and the youth pastor were taking pictures of us! Sal leaves, and my sister and pastor are making fun of me. And saying “ohh, You like him!” 😑
I remember Dec. 18th, 2011 like it was yesterday. After the occurring of making fun of me, I went home, had lunch, and watched football. The patriots were playing. I fell asleep in the middle of the game and woke up from a text message. Android had just added this new feature that if you had Facebook connected to your contacts list, it automatically added everyone’s number to your phone. I didn’t realize that Sal’s number was there. When I picked my phone up, the text was from him.
Sal: “Hey!”
Me: “Hi”
Sal: “Do you know who this is?”
Me: “Yeah, I have an Android. Facebook automatically added your number to my phone.”
Sal: “Oh! I have an Android too, and it did the same thing.”
The conversation went on, and I called him out for not personally asking for my phone number (I had to give him a hard time). He laughed it off. He then mentioned that our friends were going to get together that night to watch a movie at someone’s house; if I’d like to go. I said I’d let him know, and spoke to one of the other people who were going, and ended up carpooling over for movie night. Sal and I sat next to each other during the movie. By now I could tell he was into me. I’m pretty sure he was able to tell that I was into him. Nothing happened other than some friends whispering… LOL. He left early so he could make it home by curfew. I later went home too.
Monday came and went and I hadn’t heard from Sal. That upcoming Wednesday, our youth group was going to have a Christmas Party, so my pastor called to talk about some details. 
After we spoke, he asked if Sal had communicated with me that day. I told him no, and I guess he kind of broke the guy code by telling me that guys have to wait a day or 2… But he was right. Wednesday night came and we had our Christmas Party. It was a fun time! We had a photo booth set up for the kids, and our friends took a picture together. I had to leave early because at the time I was nannying, and I had to get to the house. When I got to the house, Sal text me the rest of the night. He waited until I made it home before we ended our conversation.
Thursday morning my friends and I met up with our old pastors. They had moved out of state and were in town, so we all had brunch. That meant Sal was going to be there. He sat
next to me, and we talked the whole time. When the checks came out, he offered to pay for mine, and I didn’t let him. We weren’t on a date! And I was still getting to know him, so I said no! LOL… Anyway, we left the restaurant and stood outside. We took some pictures. At some point, and randomly out of nowhere, Sal’s brother Howie showed up and I got to meet him. We just said hello, and he left without really saying much. Sal told me later that he said I seemed nice. Didn’t know what that meant, but I had hoped it was good!
That same day, at night, we met up for another movie at one of our’s friend’s house. By the way, Sal and I had been texting all day, until we saw each other again at our friend’s house. Before starting the movie, I sat down on the couch toward the corner, and everyone was ignoring the seat right next to me. I didn’t think Sal was going to go, but he surprised me. When he came in, the only spot available was the one next to me, so he sat there. At some point in the middle of the movie, our hands were pretty close to each other, so I grabbed his hand. He wasn’t doing it, so I did it for him. LOL. I can be pretty forward sometimes… I just didn’t realize I was that forward! When I ask him about it today, he says that he thought I was crazy. I don’t blame him. Nothing else happened that night. We text each other until we were both in bed.
Friday all day we text each other. Saturday was my mom’s birthday and Christmas Eve! I spent the whole day with her and the family. We like to make it a big deal when it’s her birthday considering she got the worst date of the year for it to be her birthday! We took some photos with the family. Sal and I had text each other all day. That night there was a candlelight service and Sal was going to be there. My sister and I sat with him. At the end of the service, he said he wanted to drive me home. I told him that if he wanted to do so, he needed to ask my step-dad (whom I also call dad). So he did! He went over to him, asked if he could drive me home. He said yes, so I hopped into his truck.
On our way to my house we got to talk some more. When we stopped in front of my house, he turned around to look at me and explained to me what his intentions were. He said he liked me, that he wants to get to know me more, and that if we date, it’s with the intention of possibly getting married one day. This wasn’t a game for him. I told him that I totally agreed with him. I had all the same intentions he had, and thank God for that. We needed to be on the same page. After we spoke, he gave me a little Christmas gift. I was going to Boston in 2 days, so he gave me a cute scarf and some chocolates. We said goodnight and I went in to start packing.
Sunday morning was Christmas. We had a church service that morning, so I went to church. I got to see Sal and spend a little time with him. I went home afterwards and finished packing. Spent the rest of the day with family. Sal spent time with his, but we text all day. Monday came, and my sister and I left for Boston. On my time away we spoke a majority of the time. Facetimed a couple of times or spoke on the phone. When I came home, we continued to talk. We would see each other at church or when we would meet up with friends. Then finally he asked me out on a date.
On January 20th, 2012 we went to a restaurant, he took me home, and while we spoke in the car, he handed me a journal. He said he wanted us to write our journey together as his girlfriend. ❤️ Sal was my first boyfriend. I was totally new at all of this. I learned a lot from him. I grew a lot during our time dating. I came to understand different things. It was a good time. But Sal and I were very different. We did things differently. Our families we’re extremely different! We were into each other, but we were having a difficult time with each other. The things we expected from each other didn’t go as we each expected… We lasted until Easter that year.
I remember that day clearly. I was going to church with my dad, when he asked how Sal and I were doing. I told him that we weren’t exactly moving in our relationship. That it had become stagnant. He said that if something isn’t moving forward, or seems to not be moving at all, then it’s going backwards. After service I had a talk with Sal. I told him that I wanted to work more on our relationship and move it forward, or not be in it at all. He chose not to be in it at all. I cried all day that day. I cried for days. I didn’t understand. I remember telling my mom that it didn’t make sense. I knew that I was supposed to marry Sal one day. I didn’t understand that feeling, but somehow I just knew!
The days went by, the weeks, and the months. It would get easier. August came quick. I still liked Sal. It made me nervous to be around him. Unfortunately I still saw him a lot because of our mutual friends. He had gotten really busy at work with his dad, so he stopped helping out on Wednesdays. One day I was at a friend’s house watching a movie and someone invited Sal. He played footsies with me… 😑 When I got home he text me and I asked him what the footsies was about. He said that he missed me and wanted to meet up and talk.
A few days later we met up. He told me about a lot of things that was going on with him. There were a lot of things he was keeping a secret. Nothing crazy, but he didn’t know how to tell me. After talking we decided we were going to possibly give it another shot. We spoke for over a month. It felt like we were starting all over.
October 5th, 2012 I went out with a friend to watch 
Pitch Perfect in theaters. Before we watched the
movie, we went out to dinner at Friday’s. We sat down, ordered our food, and just talked while we waited. Not that long later after ordering, the waiter came by with an apple martini and a note. He said I had a secret admirer. I opened up the note (photo to the right) and he was asking me out… AGAIN. I of course I had to give him a hard time. 😏 We finished dinner and I went out to the movie, while he went home. He didn’t like that, but I had planned to watch this movie with my friend for a while. I wasn’t just going to bail on her!
We dated for a year and 5 months after that. We got to know each other a lot more. We had great times; we had our hard times. In March of 2014 we broke up again. I was once again extremely heart broken. But this time, I was more sad at the fact that I had gotten so used to having him around, it was going to be difficult to adjust again. I knew that when we broke up, there was no going back. We ended it both knowing that the next time we see each other, it would be because we had the same friends. And possibly one day he would be dating someone else, and so would I.
The summer went by and I had decided I was over Sal. I didn’t like him at all. My parents would ask about him, and I always said that I wouldn’t want to go back to dating him. I had a list of all the things I didn’t like about him. All the things that drove me crazy! Things were changing for me, in my life, and I was ready to move forward. August came and Sal calls me… He says he wants to meet up for dinner. I told him we could meet for coffee. I figured that whatever it was he wanted to talk about could of been quick.
September 7th, 2014 I met Sal at a Starbucks. We sat down and talked. We caught up on all that had happened the past few months away from each other. He then said that he never thanked me for what I had been for him. When he wasn’t working, I was his escape. My family and I were there for him in a hard time in his life, and he was grateful. He then said that he went out with my parents and thanked them as well… I was very confused. He said he took them out because he had an important question to ask them. He wanted to ask them for permission to marry me…
Now, Sal is a very playful guy. He likes to joke around. When we were dating, he would get on one knee and pretend to propose in the middle of the grocery store. He was a silly guy, which I appreciated. Because he had pulled that stunt so many time, while he was telling me he spoke to my parents, I was taking the story in but it sounded like a bunch of bologna. So then Sal goes on to say: “I have a box with me.” He pulls a box out, he puts it on the table. “And I wanted to know if you would marry me?” He opens the box and thats when I finally realized that he was being very serious. I knew he was because I always told him I wanted a sapphire engagement ring, and that’s exactly what was set right in front of me. I didn’t know what to do.
He finished talking and I held the box in my hand. I didn’t know what to say or do. I froze. He told me he was prepared to hear a no. He didn’t expect an answer at the moment. I just didn’t know what in the world to do! My mouth finally opened up and I told him: “Sal, I’m so flattered and this is a gorgeous ring, but I can’t. I’m sorry…” He understood. I told him I needed time. I was really confused. He was very understanding.
I left and went home to yell at my parents. I couldn’t believe after all the conversations of me telling them I didn’t want anything to do with Sal anymore, they gave Sal permission to ask to marry me behind my back. I didn’t understand what was happening (I know I said that 100 times already, but I was beyond confused). I was pretty sure that I didn’t want anything to do with Sal anymore, and now I didn’t know. And I definitely didn’t want to say it out loud, because then it would become real again. I was scared of being heartbroken again. I was scared of going through the emotional rollercoasters that I went through dating him. So I prayed… A lot that week. I spoke to different people about the situation. I needed insight and I needed help. A friend told me to make a Pros/Cons list of Sal, so I did.
A week after the proposal I text Sal asking if we could meet up. We met at one of our favorite places, Pei Wei. I spoke to him about the Cons. I asked if there were things he could change or work on. We discussed them. There were things that if he didn’t want to change, I was ready to say that I was really not going to accept the proposal. Then I told him the Pros. I also told him that he needed to try all over again. I let him know that I was over there ever being a Sal and Taty anymore, that he needed to win me over again. So we set up a date.
September 21st he picked me up and took me out on a date. When I told him he needed to try all over again, I think it went in one ear and out the other because he didn’t try at all. He took me out like he would have any other date and I just didn’t want to be there at all, so I lied and said I had homework I needed to get to. When he was dropping me off, I told him I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to date him. He went home and I didn’t hear from him again… until my Birthday.
September 30th is my birthday. It fell on a Tuesday that year so I went to school in the morning, like I was doing for the past few months, then I went to work in the afternoon. When I got to work, a huge bouquet of flowers had arrived. I opened the card to find out that it was from Sal. I text him thanking him for the flowers. Talking to him again was giving me butterflies and I didn’t understand. He text me for the rest of that day. Once again we talked for a few weeks before we started dating in October Again!
This time it felt very different for me. At first I was very closed off from him. I was distant and it took time before I opened up. And this time I had ultimatums for myself. I had goals I wanted to meet and if Sal was taking me serious, then those goals would be reached.
I was training for the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February 2015. We made it a 
weekend trip. Sal, my mom, and my 2 sisters came to support me. I ran the half marathon, which was amazing by the way, and a lot of fun! When I was crossing the finish line, some guy came running to me trying to get my attention (I had headphones in). He called me over to the side and Sal was there. I shouted over the guy that was speaking into a mic to Sal: “What are you doing?” Sal: “They let me give you the medal.” He pulled it out and the ring was on the band that holds the medal. He asked me to marry him…. AGAIN! LOL. This time I said Yes. — Proposal Video Below!
7 Months later, on September 5th, 2015 Sal and I got married. It’s been blissful ever since. Like every other couple, there are days of hardship. Our dating relationship prepared us for that though. If we could get over what we got over during our dating relationship, we can get over anything in our marriage. And that’s what marriage is all about anyway. No matter what comes your way, you need to fight it out together. People who have been married for over 50 years are together today because they fought through everything. They didn’t give up when it got hard. They didn’t give up when everything looked like it was getting ready to go down the drain. They didn’t give up when all seemed lost. They stuck together. That’s what gives their marriage meaning and a beautiful story. I pray ours will be the same.
I love you Husband ❤️
