Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. That’s a very special day for me. Russ and I got engaged on Valentine’s Day in the year 1946. Then we chose to get married later that year on the Fourth of July. We chose that date because it was a holiday and everyone would be free. There were businesses on both sides of the family and Saturdays were busy days. On top of that, my mother’s birthday was the Fourth of July. She was very special to Russ. He would have breakfast with her every morning. He sold trucks and school buses so he could arrange his own schedule. He said it was very important that she start every day thinking logically and normally. She was an invalid for 12 years and she kept her cool and her sense of humor. Now you can see why I thought he was one in a million!

You probably have guessed that I’m a romantic, so it gives me great pleasure to write this true love story. I love to see them together. They still hold hands like young lovers. Their names are Karen and Rob Przypysz.

Karen had been married to Chris Wawro. They had three children. Unfortunately, Chris died in 2005 from cancer. Karen was a good mother and took great care of the children.

Rob’s wife wanted a divorce and they got one. They shared the children and things went as well as could be expected.

Rob’s daughter Ashley was a good friend of Karen’s daughter Jordyn at school.

One day, Ashley asked Jordyn to stay overnight at her house. Usually, when such an occasion arose, Karen would ask the friend to sleep over at their house, but this time she agreed. She never could figure out why she agreed, but fate had other plans for her. She met Rob. They shook hands and she left. Then little by little, they got acquainted. They told the kids Karen was going out with a Mel Smith. Mel is Rob’s middle name.

As the two of them were getting acquainted, Karen asked Rob how old he was. I won’t reveal his age because he’s quite a bit older, but he doesn’t look it. His skin is good. He’s tall and good-looking. Karen overlooked the age difference.

I’m glad I had a chance to interview them because I got a chance to get to know Karen better. She’s got a twinkle in her eyes, is conscientious and is a great organizer. I found that out for Christmas when they invited me to Rob’s mother’s house for dinner. We were 20 people all together and Karen organized the whole dinner! It was great and she said it was no big deal. I liked that. I’ve become a part of the family.

Now getting back to the couple, his three kids and her three kids get along just fine. Karen has two sons and one daughter. Rob has two daughters and one son. They have learned to get along. They used to live in a house on the corner of Curtis and Central Avenue. The house had 18 rooms. There was plenty of room.

Karen had a house on Birchwood Drive with five bedrooms. In the house on Curtis, each had his/her own bedroom!

Before they got married, they went out secretly from the kids about a month. Then they went steady for about a year. Until one day, Rob wrote on her windshield, “Will you marry me?”

Karen was backing out of the driveway and didn’t see it. Rob was sweating out her lack of reaction, but when she straightened the car, Karen saw it and went back and said, “yes.”

I forgot to tell you, they got rid of Mel Smith. They sent him to a fictional place that had cannibals. Nobody missed him.

Rob and Karen were married May 29, 2011. It was a private wedding: the bride and groom, six children, the witnesses and the judge who married them. The wedding took place in Karen’s house on Birchwood. They live there now. They sold the big house. The family likes to say they “put the fun” in the word dysfunctional.

I said this romance started with the two girls sleeping together and ended with Karen and Rob sleeping together. What a happy Valentines story! I just couldn’t resist the happy ending!

Margaret Valone of Fredonia writes weekly for the OBSERVER.