RE: REUNION AFTER 25 YEARS APART

Thank you for sharing your wonderful story with us :)
My reunion has a little less "WOW" effect to it.

I joined a "dating" FB group, thinking to pass some time and eventually meet someone nice to chat with.
A girl posted saying something like:
"I'm this many years old, have a university degree, and was diagnosed with CP (cerebral palsy). That means that I don't walk and use a wheelchair to get around. If you are aware of my condition and also have a form of disability, let's get in touch."

Many people would scroll past the post, but not me :) I replied the moment I saw the post.

I was born into a family where all of my uncles and aunts lived in one household. That was a fairly common living condition in Ex-Yugoslavia back in the 80s. My aunt was born with an intellectual disability and mental conditions. I grew up with her.
In 2004, I joined a local NGO (non-governmental organization) that supports mine victims, kids and youngsters with disabilities, and disadvantaged youth. I worked as a youth worker, trainer and art animator for a little over 10 years, mainly volunteering.

FFW to 2019 I saw the post and the convo started. It felt like we had known each other forever. We bonded and connected so fast. But, a man wouldn't be a man if he didn't mess up. We wrote to each other and talked daily for hours. I should have visited her. I chickened out because things got pretty serious. I thought dating a person with disability would be to much for me to handle. I lived with my parents, was unemployed, and with no steady income. I had no car or money to travel 700km and stay in a foreign city. We broke off every contact. I often thought about her.

2 years & 8 months later, I received a message. I was afraid to open it when I saw it was from her because I knew how mad and hurt she was when we last spoke. My heart raced like a hamster in a wheel reading her lines. All memories and emotions came back.

"I'm coming for New Year!" was the first thing I wrote. It was a few days before New Year's Eve when I got her message. She thought that I was playing her.
Right there and then, I realized that it was meant to be. All my work with people with disabilities and volunteering was my preparation. I knew her diagnosis, her abilities and her disabilities, what she can and cannot do. Her "special needs" are: someone to love, talk to, argue and agree with, love and laugh with. She is the fiery and fast one and I am the slow and calm one.

We got married last year :)