SEPTEMBER 17, 2022

In our eyes, the story of how we met reads like the script of some of our favorite romance movies such as Sweet Home Alabama, The Notebook, Serendipity, and The Vow.  All of these stories share a thread: A deep love that never dies.  The main characters find love at a young age, or through unpredictable coincidences but ultimately life pulls them apart, as it can tend to do.  Through all the experiences and hardships they find along their own paths, there is always the thought of that perfect match, met all those years ago.  Then, at a pivotal moment, fate brings them back together.  Like everything else in life, there are ups and downs, but love always finds a way.

Here is the story of Us. 

Frank first laid eyes on Amber in December of 2002, at the Park Place Sports Bar & Grill, in Norwich, NY.  He had just flown in to spend Christmas with his family and was invited by his cousin, Jon, to attend the Amber Perkins School of the Arts Christmas party there.  Both Jon’s girlfriend, Jena, and Frank’s sister, Kristi, were prominent dancers at the dance studio, so he decided to tag along and see some familiar faces.  Along with the familiar faces was one that would take his breath away for years to come.  She was wearing a long, black, sparkly dress.  It was Amber.  She was fourteen years old at the time and he fifteen.

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At the time, Frank had been too shy to approach her, but through a mutual friend they connected on AOL Instant Messenger and their interest in one another blossomed over the following months.  That summer, Frank made plans to attend the studio’s June dance recital and showed up opening night with flowers for Amber.  From that moment they were smitten with each other.  There was only one tiny thing keeping them apart: the two thousand miles that existed between the towns they grew up in.

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At the time, Frank made regular trips back to New York to visit family and, whenever he could, he would steal away time to see Amber.  Jon and Jena would drive him to her hometown of Apalachin, where they attended Amber’s sixteenth birthday party, would go out to dinner at the Oakdale Mall, or do last minute Christmas shopping.  When they were apart, they would spend endless hours on Instant Messenger or talking on the phone after 9 pm, when the minutes were free.

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While their interest in one another was impossible to deny, the physical distance separating them was always looming in the background.  As Frank began attending college, visits occurred less often and conversations became more infrequent.  By Christmas of 2005, there was a growing fear that the flame had burned out.  They stayed connected to each other through the occasional "like'' of a photo, or a brief conversation on Messenger, but it was evident that their paths were diverging.

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In the fall of 2006 Amber began attending the New York Institute of Technology, in Manhattan.  Her parents were constructing a new home in Chadds Ford, PA, and would be relocating there to be closer to her father’s company headquarters.  To anyone else it would appear that the chapter had come to a close, but not to Frank and Amber.  Their bond had left a lasting impression that would be impossible for another to compete with, and they would always reflect on each other as the one that got away.

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Over the following years, Frank and Amber would sometimes find themselves calling and texting every day, making plans to serendipitously run into each other, and at other times they would go months without speaking.   In the fall of 2012, Frank had recently returned from Argentina, and was in New York visiting his family.  By divine coincidence, who should be in the area but Amber and her mother.  Frank entreated Jon to take him to see her, and the four of them met for a casual lunch at the nearby Wegmans.  The entire event was wholly unremarkable to anyone but them.  The spark was still there.

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In late 2016 Amber and Frank were transitioning to new jobs and she made up her mind to come see Colorado for the first time.  As her plane neared Aspen, she was awestruck by the snow-capped peaks that surrounded her.  The next morning she awoke to a winter wonderland.  The little mountain town was completely unlike anything she had ever experienced.  At that point, neither of them knew how they were going to make it work, but they both knew that there was no going back to their lives apart.

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For the next year, Amber and Frank dated long distance, traveling each month between Colorado and Pennsylvania.  The two shared many adventures but they knew a major decision lay before them; how could they eliminate the distance between them.  In the spring of 2018, Frank made the decision to pack up his belongings and move east to be closer to Amber.  They spent a little over a year living in West Chester, PA enjoying the charm it offered, but there was always a pang for the adventures of Colorado and all the beauty it holds.  In August of 2019 they loaded up their belongings (in a very packed U-haul) and drove west, settling in Carbondale, CO!

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Frank and Amber always knew that if they reconnected it would be forever.  On June 26th, 2021, while re-visiting one of their "first date" spots, they took an adventurous hike down to the base of Mystic Falls, where Frank proposed to Amber.  With welling eyes and a huge grin Amber emphatically said, "YES, of course!" She then asked, "Why would you want to marry me anyways?" To which Frank smiled and replied, "so I can kiss you anytime I want!"

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And so the next chapter begins!