*The Story*

On January 23, 1999, at about 12 AM, I had NO idea I would meet such a wonderful person. The way Michael and I met still amazes me every time I think about it.

I was searching the member directory on AOL...I was pretty bored since it was late and none of my friends were online. I typed in NWCC, my school, to find people to chat with that go there. Michael's screen name was the only name on the list who was online. So I IMd him, figuring he'd just ignore me like most people do. Surprisingly, he responded and we discovered that we had tons in common. We talked until nearly 3 AM, and knew we definitely wanted to meet in person.

Of course, that wasn't exactly the amazing part. He had gone to NWCC a year before I started going there for one semester, but then dropped out to start working. Then his sister talked him into going back...the Spring '99 semester. The thing is, if he hadn't gone back to school, I never would've found him online to begin with. Ironic, huh? Not only that, but the night (or shall I say morning?) that we met, he would've been sleeping because he was supposed to get up early that morning to go on a trip to Little Rock...the trip had been cancelled due to the bad storms a few days before. There is no doubt in our minds that we're supposed to be together.

When we first talked on the phone, we hit it off right away...we talked for 8 hours about everything!!! We planned to meet in person at school on Monday. As soon as I saw him for the first time, standing there in the lobby upstairs, I knew it was him. We sat down and I asked to see his highschool ring...when I handed it back to him, our hands touched and there was this amazing spark...a spark like I'd never felt before in my life. When our eyes met, it was just so WOW.

The truth of the matter is, Michael and I needed to find each other. We rescued each other from our "pit of despair." We were each at an extremely low point in our lives. I had recently gotten out of a disastrous relationship that had lasted for three years; he was still trying to get over a girlfriend who'd broken up with him...she'd married someone else just months after their breakup. Neither of us had seen any hope in sight...not until we met each other. Now, I don't even want to think back to how my life was before I met him. I love him so very much.

Click here to hear a wav of me playing a clip of "To Make You Feel My Love" (OUR SONG) on the piano. (It may take awhile to load, so be patient.)

The following is a poem I wrote for Michael. It's titled "When I Least Expected."


Only hurt was felt
In my heart of stone
Right there beside him,
But totally alone.
Then you came to my life
All by a chance;
That spark, the first kiss,
Our first dance.
Finally clear
Of the old pain,
We fell in love that night
In the rain.
Closing the books
On our lonely pasts,
We have what it takes
To make this last.

Just when there's no hope in sight, if you just sit back for awhile, love will come your way. Believe me...I know from firsthand experience

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This page was created by Candice E. Yarbrough and dedicated to Michael C. Brewer on February 14, 1999.