Bold Love in Boulder
Two weeks after the Mom 2.0 Summit wrapped up, as I was continuing to catch up on 3 months loss of sleep and eating things other than the Weight Watchers + Quaker Oats swag bags items (which both, by the way are excellent–chocolate and raspberry True Delight Bars FTW!!), me + Maggie + the Kirtsy gals reunited again in Boulder, CO, for the much anticipated nuptials of our dear friend + fellow Kirtsy Gal, Gwen Bell.
Gwen, and her lovely fiancé Joel Longtine, had been quite the talk of the Twitterverse + Social Media world, ever since their love affair bloomed online for all to see last year. They embraced it, and continued to celebrate the role that technology has played in their relationship.
I’ll never forget the first conversation I had with Gwen about Joel. It was June, and Gwen was in town for the Caroline Collective opening party. I could tell she was bursting at the seams to share a bit of information with me, but I couldn’t tell what. When she began talking about Joel, and their initial courtship, I swear I never saw it coming, from the one who I gab with about technology, and business ideas, and social media. The one who we could talk for hours on the importance of brand, and community, and Mexican food. Never did I expect that the news she was so excited to tell me. was. about. a boy.
This boy, who I would over the next few months, get to know as a caring, loving, intelligent, lovely person. This boy, who had turned this girl on her head, and allowed her to experience true companionship. I watched as a strong partnership was formed. Amidst skeptics, and drama, and naysayers. I watched. As these two friends shared their lives. Online. Offline. Who made their networks of friends and acquaintances a part of their relationship.
On my 30th birthday, Oct 5th, I got a text message: Joel Proposed! It was a wonderful ancillary birthday gift. And over the next 5 months, I looked on as they planned the celebration of the beginning of their lives together. A day I was so fortunate to be a part of.
So as I traveled to Boulder, a town I once called home, what seems like decades ago, I was ever conscious of the relationship I was in at that time. And how much I have grown as a person. And how these two technology-clad lovers have shown me that love does exist. Even with wires, and no wires, and http’s and twitterstreams, iPhone applications, and custom gmail scripts. At the end of the day it’s still love. And it’s bold.