Do You Believe in Happily Ever After?

Welcome back once again for the final days of the Wicked After Dark Halloween Blog Hop. I hope this post finds all of you safe and able to have a Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhein. For those of you in harms way of Sandy and her aftermath, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your families.

I thought I would switch gears a bit for today’s post and look back at another guest spot I did for fellow author Kellie Kamryn last year about soul mates. Kellie and I bonded over our love of poetry and writing erotic romances. As we chatted with each other on Facebook, we discovered we shared a lot more, leading near parallel lives. Both of us were at a point in our lives where we were having to start again after some major heartache. Below is the post I did for her.  It’s the overall theme of my Now and Forever series and my first book of poetry. Let me know what you think.

Blessed Be

~Tammy

Is Your Soul Mate Out There Waiting for You?

People always ask me if I believe in the idea of soul mates and I always tell them I do, for other people. I think that is why I started writing romance and erotic romances in particular. I wanted to experience that kind of love connection even if it was just in my fantasy world. I still had a hope that one day I would find my mo anam cara, my soul friend or soul mate. My Mom found hers with her second marriage, why couldn’t I find mine someday?

I thought I had found him when I reconnected with a man I had been in love with for over 27 years. Even though so much time had passed, we just fell into our old friendship as if we never stopped being around each other. I waited so many years to see him again. He joined the Marine Corps right out of high school and we lost track of each other. I never forgot him or stopped loving him as only a teen-aged heart could do. I was soon to find out that the boy I had loved all of these years was no longer there. Both of us tried to hold onto that fantasy, but it wasn’t meant to be. My heart was so broken, but still longed for the one that could make it all right.

After one too many failed relationships I thought I was just destined to go through life alone. I finally realized that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. I didn’t have to be in a relationship or married in order to be happy. The moment I accepted that, was the moment I found my always and forever.

I agreed to go on a date with a local man. Both of us weren’t looking for a long term romance, but dating other people, basically keeping our options open. Both of us had been burned before and we guarding our hearts, but something just clicked on that very first date. It felt like we had known each other for years and as the conversation went on, it felt like we had known each other in previous lifetimes.

I know, for many of you that sounds strange, but the sense of déjà vu was so strong between us, I couldn’t explain it any other way. He couldn’t either. It was so refreshing to actually find someone with similar beliefs. We shared a lot of our hopes and dreams with each other on that date and others. It felt so right, so why did I want to run?

That’s right. I said I wanted to run away from him as fast as I could. I felt such love and affection for him right off that it scared me. Never before had I felt as supported and loved as I did when I was with him. I knew I was falling head over heels for this man and I also knew he was not in the same place. I couldn’t put myself through that heartache one more time so I tried to break it off several times. We always found our way back to each other and slowly but surely those other people we were dating dropped out of our lives. It was just the two of us and it hit us hard. As soon as we admitted to ourselves that the love we have for each other was there to stay and in fact growing with each and every moment, our journey to find our happily ever after was just beginning. This time it was different. This time we were in it together, all the way.

Just like my characters in my Now and Forever series, I have been through hell and back and found my soul mate. In For the Love of Quinn, Quinn is blessed with the love of two men. Both of them hold claims on her heart, but only one of them completes her heart and soul. It’s her family and friends who help her find out which one, and more importantly help her find herself through it all. In The Island (Now and Forever 2) Quinn once again has to rely on family and friends to help her find her way back to the man who was and will always be her happily ever after.

I am blessed to have such friends who I call my Heart and Soul Sisters. The Celtic phrase “mo anam cara” can also be applied to them. They are truly friends of my heart and soul. Without them, I would never have made it through my separation and then divorce. I would have never made it through the loss of my heart to the love from so long ago, if these five other women were not there for me. They encouraged me to keep moving forward and never stop living and loving with all of my heart. Because of them I was able to be open enough to find my soul mate and happily ever after. I wrote a poem dedicated to these women that I want to share with you. I hope that all of you have friends such as these in your life.

Heart and Soul Sisters

Bound together by all but blood,
Two sets of three drawn together
After all of these years.
Mothers, daughters, sisters, friends…
Always supporting
Never to judge.
Loss of loved ones,
Empty nests,
We’ve helped each other through
Some of life’s hardest of tests.

Ups and downs.
Joys and fears.
Smiles and Frowns.
Laughter and tears.
Three by three we stand
Meeting each challenge hand and hand.

Fascinating women each and every one,
All on their own.
But together they are
An unstoppable force.
When one is in need
The others rally around
So they are never alone
But instead meet life’s challenges
Head on and full throttle
Which for these women is par for the course.

I am blessed to count myself
As part of this group of friends
I hold dear to my heart.
For without them,
I would have lost all hope
And fallen apart…
Whenever they’re in need
I will be there as I know
They will be for me.
For it’s now and forever
In my heart and soul
Will these sisters be.

©Tammy Dennings Maggy
4/17/2011

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