<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" In a recent issue, REDBOOK asked readers to tell us their love stories, and you delivered, big time. This sweet tale is one of our 10 favorites. Get some tissues and read on!     My mother always told me, &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ll know when the right one comes along.&amp;quot; When I asked how would I know, her response was, &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ll just know,&amp;quot; and I believed her. In my twenties, I watched all my friends get engaged, listened to them talk about their wedding plans, the color of their bridesmaids&amp;#039; dresses, and the china pattern on their dishes (rarely did I hear them speak about the man they were marrying). I witnessed my friends&amp;#039; commit to marriage. I was happy for them, but I didn&amp;#039;t get caught up in the wave of weddings happening around me. I knew I wanted to experience life on my own, travel the world and most important, wait for that feeling that would let me know the &amp;quot;right one&amp;quot; came along. I didn&amp;#039;t have a fear of being single, and that was a good thing, because I was single for a very long time. While my friends were having babies, I was living on my own in San Francisco, singing, traveling the world, and enjoying life. I dated and had long-term boyfriends, but when it came time to commit to marriage, something was always missing for me. I just couldn&amp;#039;t take that step. Sometimes I would think something was wrong with me, but in my heart, I would always hear what my mother told me: &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ll know when the right one comes along.&amp;quot; And she was right... I definitely did know when I met my husband Bert.  I met Bert in 1987 while working as a singer and hostess aboard a Holland America cruise ship. I&amp;#039;ll never forget the day I met him. I was standing on the gangway when this tall, dark, and handsome young Dutchman boarded the ship. Bert was 22 years old, and was coming to live aboard the ship for one year to study engineering. I felt an immediate attraction when I welcomed him aboard the ship.  It was a feeling that I never had before, and from that day forward, I felt the same undeniable chemistry every time. Bert was so handsome that every girl working on the ship was talking about him. I never dreamed that Bert would be more to me than a coworker, as I was 34 years old, 12 years older than he was. The ship was filled with young, beautiful, long-legged, 20-year-old dancers officers and shop girls. I gave very little thought to the possibility of him and I being anything other than friends.  During the year Bert was on the ship, I admired him from afar. He was not only handsome, but very well-mannered and friendly. He was also oblivious to his good looks. We had a few opportunities to talk, all very innocent.Our schedules would bring us together at various times during meals, on certain gangway assignments, and in the lounges aboard the ship. I&amp;#039;d see him with different girls on board. Ours was a working relationship, but many times Bert would seek me out to talk over a cup of coffee. Once, he even asked me how he could send flowers to this passenger he met.  I remember when the ship docked in the homeport every week all crewmembers would rush off the ship to get in long lines to telephone home. Remember, this was before cell phones! Every week, I&amp;#039;d call my mother, and when I was talking on the phone to my Mom, I would always see Bert walking across the terminal to the phones. My heart would beat faster just watching him. I would always end up talking about him to my mother, telling her how handsome he was, and that he was such a gentleman, and that they didn&amp;#039;t make them like him when I was younger. In a way, there was a feeling of sadness inside me, because what I was feeling was so real for me, but his age and my position on the ship kept me from ever acting on my emotions.  Then, on Valentine&amp;#039;s Day, my department was hosting a costume party for the officers and staff. I didn&amp;#039;t really feel like going, but went with the idea of leaving soon after I arrived. However, there was Bert in costume as &amp;quot;a great catch.&amp;quot; He wore his bathing suit and was wrapped in a fish net with starfish and fake fish attached. He immediately came over and asked me to dance. We talked and danced that whole night, and before we knew it, we were the only ones left at the party. At this point, I felt like Cinderella, as I wanted to stay, but I had to leave. I didn&amp;#039;t want to get caught at that hour when everyone would be changing work shifts. Just being seen with someone would spread rumors around the ship. With a quick goodbye, I rushed back to my cabin and shut the door left alone with those wonderful thoughts of my secret love. A week later, I heard a knock on my cabin door. I opened it, and there stood Bert in his crisp, white officer&amp;#039;s uniform. He looked at me shyly and said, &amp;quot;I know there is something between us. Why do you keep your distance? Is it because of your age? I just want you to know, when I look at you, I don&amp;#039;t see a number. Why don&amp;#039;t we &amp;#039;go for it?&amp;#039;&amp;quot;  This took me completely by surprise. The phrase &amp;quot;go for it&amp;quot; became our mantra, and we secretly started to see one another.  When he was leaving the ship to return to Holland for his last year of college, Bert came to my cabin to say goodbye. We were both so sad to see our time together come to an end. He told me he would be faithful to me until we were together again (as he would be coming back to Holland America once he graduated). I told him to go back home to live his life, and if I ever saw him again, I would never ask him if he was faithful. Because of his age, I felt I had no right for him to be committed to me. It was a very sad day when we went our separate ways. It all felt so right between us. Letting go was one of the hardest things I had to do. I didn&amp;#039;t know if we would ever see one another again. Bert and I were apart for one year, except for a two-week school break during the Christmas holiday. He flew to New York to spend two weeks with my family and me. The rest of that year, I was working on the ship, and he was studying in Holland. It was definitely a long-distance relationship. We kept in touch with over a hundred voice tapes, telephone calls, and letters. We still have those voice tapes. When Bert graduated from college, Holland America hired him as an engineer. Fate put him on my ship, and once again, we got to be together. We sailed together for three years, many times having to be apart because of work assignments. Communicating while at sea was difficult. The times we were away always left me wondering if he still cared about me. Many officers and co-workers were advising me that I was going to get hurt because, &amp;quot;Bert is going to outgrow you. He is young and handsome and will realize he can have anyone he wants.&amp;quot;  One day, when Bert returned to the ship after being away for a few months, he took me out to dinner in Cozumel, Mexico. He said, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ve been with you enough and away from you enough to know that I feel my best when I&amp;#039;m with you. Why don&amp;#039;t we just do it?&amp;quot; I wasn&amp;#039;t quite sure what he meant by &amp;quot;do it&amp;quot; (English is his second language). He asked me this three times when I finally said, &amp;quot;Are you asking me to marry you?&amp;quot; He said yes.  Bert was 25 when he asked me to marry him, and I was 37. I told him that when I was his age, I wasn&amp;#039;t ready to be married, and that menopause was around the corner for me. I actually told him &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s all downhill from here,&amp;quot; and that I would stay with him even if we didn&amp;#039;t marry.   He told me, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m not afraid of wrinkles, and everything you are is because of your years. I don&amp;#039;t want to take a chance on a girl my age that may never grow up. I want to take away any doubts you may have about how I feel for you.&amp;quot; How could I say no to that? One year later on April 5, 1991, I was walking down the aisle to that tall dark handsome Dutchman that took my breath away the first time I met him. We were married aboard the ship we met when it was docked in New York City and celebrated with family and friends. We have been together for 27 years and have two beautiful children. Our new mantra is &amp;quot;Let&amp;#039;s keep it going!&amp;quot; I was single for a long time before the right one came along. I truly believe that the reason I didn&amp;#039;t marry sooner was that I was waiting for Bert to come into this world, and for us to find one another. My advice to anyone who hasn&amp;#039;t met &amp;quot;Mr. Right&amp;quot; is to never marry for the sake of being married. Don&amp;#039;t put an age limit on love. When it&amp;#039;s right, it flows, and like my mother always told me, &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ll know when the right one comes along.&amp;quot; How? &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ll just know.&amp;quot; Our love story winners won a date night out: a $25 gift card to Fandango, where you can watch movie trailers, check showtimes, and buy tickets; and a $50 gift card to use either at Olive Garden, which serves fresh Italian food ranging from pasta classics to lighter fare, or LongHorn Steakhouse, which offers a wide variety of fresh, never frozen steaks. Also, from July 3 through 6, you can call 855-LH-GRILL to get grilling tips from a certified LongHorn Steakhouse Grill Master. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/love-sex/relationships/a17870/valerie-swets-love-story/>