It was my friend Melody who changed the course of my life forever. More than a close friend, she is also a midwife. Her job revolves around new beginnings, so I suppose playing the part of a matchmaker really isn’t a far cry from her job description. I am her #1 success story.
The story starts when I was 22. The scene opens with me sitting in my little book-stacked room in my parents house, studying for a painfully tedious, long-distance collage course. Suddenly, the phone rings.
No surprise, it’s Melody. The surprising part was her reason for calling.
She told me she had a friend and colleague on the other line who was “looking for a wife for her son”. Of course, Melody thought of me (lol) and asked if I would talk to her.
The moment she asked, I think I burst out laughing. It was all so ridiculous, so hilarious, so…intriguing
…of course I accepted the invitation.
The following conversation was surreal. Apparently my future mother in law was just as surprised as I was by the phone call, so we both had a lot to laugh and joke about. The idea that this could be the beginning of a love story was amusing to me…I didn’t really believe it. This was just a funny conversation with two well-meaning (somewhat crazy) matchmaking midwives.
Maureen first told me about her son, and then asked about me. I remember thinking that he sounded super nice…but that he wouldn’t be interested in me. Of course not. This would never go that far!
Little did I know that I’d be having my first conversation with him only hours later. Yikes.
At the end of the phone call, Maureen asked me if I’d be interested in writing her son. I said yes, though I didn’t really intend to go through with it. Maureen, however, took this to heart and immediately called Caleb. Her opening line went something like this:
“Caleb, Caleb! This is a serious question okay, a serious question…do you want a wife?”
Caleb: “Uh…yeah?…why are you asking?…”
Fast forward two hours later: I get another phone call from Melody. “Caleb is on Instant Messenger and he wants to talk to you!!” (what???!)
This little chat was horribly awkward for me. Caleb pretended like nothing was going on, but I thought it was all a little weird. Then it happened.
At some point in the conversation, I happened to type something at the same time as he did, with the exact punctuation and everything. To this day, neither of us remember exactly what was said, or even what we were talking about, but at that moment a perfectly like-minded sentence appeared across our screens -
and Caleb just about fell off his chair.
“Holy Smokes!” he thought. “She thinks like ME!”
Caleb and I on our first date (yes, we went bowling). October '06
I had him hooked from here on out.
Two or three emails and a phone call later and the feeling was decidedly mutual. Not a month later we met for the first time…and that was that. He was the guy for me, I was the girl for him. It was beautiful, how clear and uncomplicated it all was. The next 15 months were excruciating, leading up until the wedding. Long distance relationships are painful. I think we spent a months time together in person total before we got married. But we understood and connected with each other in a way we had never connected with anyone before. We were committed…and that can get you through a lot of hard stuff.
All this to say: The match was a magnificent success, and to this day Melody holds a very special place in my life.
Now it’s Melody’s turn for change. 
Her long-awaited first child, a baby girl, is expected very soon. To celebrate the coming arrival, I flew down to see her and to photograph her marvelous pregnant glow. She is radiant. Lucky me – I may even be able to take the birth pictures (just don’t go fast Melody, please! I have to be there!)
You are an amazing friend, Melody. Thank you. Thanks for everything. And now, enjoy…
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