What's in a Name?

A lot.
Because I no longer have to reread everything I write 20 times before posting to make sure his name wasn't accidentally mentioned.  Instead of selecting his name and replacing it with "my guy," I can now freely say that I am madly in love with the handsome Liban George.  And I haven't been able to be very sappy, so sorry if I ooze it for awhile.  Well, actually, it's more of a "sorry that I'm not sorry" kind of apology...

 If this were a fairytale, I'd say we met sometime last March and fell madly in love in the world's most romantic setting--which probably would not be his office, which doubles as a kitchen.  But that didn't happen.  The good news, I mean really good news, is that Liban was a kind enough soul to not make poor-grad-student-me pay for Hindi tutoring.  Partly because that would be super awkward to transition from me paying him each time we met to him covering dinner and cabs.  And partly because we talked more about life and faith and India and rarely spoke in Hindi :)

If this were a fairytale, he wouldn't have been sick in October when we met in Hyderabad.  He would have taken me out like he apparently planned to do, and I would have not had an 11 pm curfew.  I also would not have had to give him the world's most awkward quick hug in front of my Indian drivers when leaving with my bag of children's clothes and Reese's. Check that--if this were a fairytale, there would be no bag of children's clothes and Reese's, or bug-eyed mustached Indian men, and I would have at least arrived in a carriage, not an auto with a driver who didn't really know where he was going.

In a fairytale, the lovestruck individuals instantly know that the other person likes them.  Others of us just remain confused and contemplate with faraway best friends in facebook messages.

In fairytales, girls have fairy godmothers and servants and loving friends who ensure the girl looks stunning every time she sees her prince.  In our world, "pretty" means I only pulled a few baby lice out of my hair that day, sleep is in my eyes because I haven't even rolled out of bed yet, my hair is only curling away from my face in three directions simultaneously, and there is either a tearful/sleeping child on my lap while we have Skype--or there are twelve children/teenagers knocking at the door with "urgent" situations.

If this were a fairytale, I wouldn't be here in Ongole.  I'd have told my boss I loved her and my children, but that I was desperately, madly in love, and I couldn't be away from him any longer.  I'd have changed my flight destination in January from Bangkok to Springfield, would have packed my bags and thrown them in a cab, run past brown security guards to my plane--JUST making the flight.  I'd have landed in Springfield and run through the (one) hallway of the airport in slow-mo to jump into my man's arms and would therefore live happily ever after.  But, this isn't a fairytale.  Long distance relationships are really not fun, having "dates" via Skype with my electricity and internet cutting out after 20 minutes isn't fun, having hard conversations with a webcam that freezes and you can't see the other person's reaction is definitely not fun. But at least that chapter will end soon.

However, as un-fairytale-like as this is, it's pretty darn perfect.

Saying that he is "everything I could have wanted" is ridiculously cliche, but it's strangely so true, so I'm going to gush anyways.
Liban wants to adopt.  Let me repeat that:  he's not "just okay" with the idea of adopting. He WANTS to adopt. I never thought that I would meet someone like that.  We have similar views on and hopes for family.
He also wants to travel--and not in the "oh yeah, I hope to go to California and London and Paris and maybe Rome someday" kind of traveling; he is up for huts and rock-hard beds and villages and backpacking in addition to all those nice exotic beaches and waterfalls.  He wants to actually do something for people in need--not just talk about it or write checks.  He is also up for moving back to India someday.  (In case you don't know many Indians who live in America--that just doesn't happen much!)
Liban enjoys/can actually appreciate art.  He's sarcastic.  He makes me laugh like no one else can, and doesn't care if I'm a complete idiot for ten seconds in the middle of an otherwise serious conversation. He encourages me like no one else ever has, and he is consistently pushing me towards God, even though he's not perfect in that area either. He's willing to give up entire Saturdays to Skype me just because our daily, hour-or-two-long conversations aren't enough.  He has amazing eyes that tell his emotions without using words. And I can see in those eyes that he loves me.  A lot.

Whoops...kids need their mama, so maybe my gushing should stop? 

I'll leave you with this.  It's actually my favorite picture of the two of us. I'm weird, I know, but it's true.   Essentially, I'm just me--I'm just a girl from Missouri who is living in India and trying to pursue God's will.  And he's just a man from India living in Missouri trying to pursue God's will.  And we are not the most normal people you'll meet, but at least we can be weird together.  And our story is a little odd, but it's pretty darn perfect, and I wouldn't change a thing.  Oh, and it's officially public--so for those of you who know very little about Indian culture, know that that means this is pretty darn serious, regardless of what our faces here say :)

Our first actual date--flying from Delhi to Chennai.