The Man of Her Dreams

As my daughter was growing up, I knew that some day she would move off and live on her own. What I never dreamed of was her moving so far away! While she was a college student, Tiffany worked as a performer at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Each year her role in the festival changed and ultimately she was selected to perform the role of Katherine Howard. The festival follows the story of Henry VIII of England, and Katherine became Henry’s fifth wife.

In the fall of 2007, Tiffany was playing Lady Katherine Howard. In the story line, the king had not yet selected her to be his bride, but Katherine was a member of the court. Tiffany was thrilled to once again be part of the cast as many of the players had become close friends. One of those friends was Melissa.

Melissa met her real life Irish husband online and they had been married for several years. During the festival that fall, the godfather of Melissa and Colin’s daughter was visiting. His name was Bram and he was visiting from the Netherlands. You see, Colin and Bram had grown up friends while both of their fathers were working in Belgium. They maintained their friendship even after both had moved on.

Between shows at the festival, Bram was introduced to the Lady Katherine Howard. The introduction lasted just a few minutes, but on the ride to the airport the following week, Bram questioned Melissa about the young actress who played Katherine Howard. He even asked for her email address.

Melissa quickly phoned Tiffany who agreed to the exchange. About ten days later, my daughter received an email that would ultimately change her life-and mine, too.

“What harm can come of an email correspondence with someone in Europe?” I told my daughter when she asked what I thought. “If nothing else, you’ll develop a friendship.” So I actually encouraged this.

Well, emails led to skype sessions and telephone calls. In November, my daughter set out on a trip to Amsterdam to really meet Abram Johann Jansen. When I dropped her off at the airport she told me that over the two months of correspondence with Bram she felt like he was her best friend. “Mom,” she whispered in my ear, “I think he might be the one and this trip will let me know for sure.”

That was on a Friday. I was to pick her up four days later. Sure enough when I met her again at the airport, she hugged me and said, “I have found the man of my dreams.” Almost to the exact day one year later, they were married. In the twenty-five years that I had known my daughter, I had never seen her as happy as she was with Bram.

Just as in the old world, explorers headed to the new world for adventure and treasure, my son-in-law came the U.S. to find his queen. And now I have three children. My son, my daughter and my son-in-law, who is worth his weight in gold for the happiness he brings to my first born. I just wish he brought her all that happiness a bit closer to home.