M: Tell us how you met?
We met on a warm summer night, when we were both wandering around our home city in search of adventures. This was an exceptional moment, and I remember every part of it very clearly. Did it feel truly faithful to me from the very beginning? I am not sure anymore, but the stare he gave me was so piercing that I remembered it forever.
It happened at the doors of a nice cozy music club in Riga. I saw him and understood that the minute before the moment when our eyes met was the last minute spent without him. A few more random looks at each other, a slight trembling of my heart, awkward soft smiles. He invited me to dance and then...on a date! After a few evenings spent together, heart-to-heart, it was obvious that we didn’t want to let each other go. Ever.
Then we found a common interest - we both liked the idea of spending weekends in Latvian skiing resorts, relaxing, skiing together, being together...so this is how it all started. But the most interesting thing is that we never went skiing again after we officially began dating. So this is also part of the magical start of our relationship - we got to know each other better in amazingly beautiful places - experiencing wintery fairy tales somewhere in the deep Latvian snows, breathing the cleanest air with the light scent of pines.
Did it feel truly faithful to me from the very beginning. I am not sure anymore, but the stare he gave me was so piercing, that made me remember it forever.
M: Really? Are you still skiing?
E: No, we aren't. After those skiing adventures in Latvia, we also went on a skiing holiday to Finland once, but that's it. It feels like the skiing hobby had a mission - to bring us together.
M: How long have you two been together?
E: Although it feels that we have been together for no more than just a couple of years, our family is already 20 beautiful years old.
M: Do you have children?
E: Yes, we do. Christiana was our gift for New Year's Eve 16 years ago. Matiss is 15, and he’s a great buddy for both of us.
M: What are the brightest memories of your time spent together?
E: There are a lot of absolutely crazy things we have done together: travel, events, sunrises, sunsets, other memorable moments for just two of us. But the brightest memory of both of us in a sports car rally beats everything else. Just imagine that - the two of us in rally gear, driving a small, and now I would say dangerous vehicle, stressing out to get closer to the champion's first place… Thankfully, that was ages ago. Actually, it was before the kids; I wouldn’t ever agree to do this now.
So is our life - a rally full of emotions, ups and downs, winnings, and places off the pedestal.
Rallies were crazy adventures full of adrenaline - both of us were dirty, our knees black from the machine oil...now it seems an absolute disaster to me, but in fact, it was such fun back then. Silly, ridiculous and dangerous, but a sweet, dear memory today. It was a frivolous, light, and serene time. Just like our life - a a rally full of emotions, ups and downs, wins and loses.
Some days you’re a winner, other days your hands and knees are black with mud. But the happiest moment is to understand that I have him beside me, and that everything I've just told you we have lived through together, and so much more.
...And those rallies are a waste of money!
So you told me there was a story about your marriage...you are married, aren’t you?
E: Yes, we are. Our marriage is two years old now.
M: Wait. Two? You said you had been together for 20 years. How come?
E: That's the story I gave you a sneak peek of before. Yes, it's true - we only got married two years ago. He says those 18 years was a probation period. Sometimes I joke that I don't get it- was I that good or that bad that he couldn't stop testing me?
M: That's surprising. Tell me how you feel.
E: Like a family. Well, I felt almost the same way before. I have never thought that marriage is important, I've felt that my person is my person and that's it. And this feeling was the only important thing to me. Honestly, there was something that confused me from time to time - what should I call him in front of my relatives and friends? A husband? But he isn't. A boyfriend? He never was a boy, he is a man. A lover? We had two kids already, it had to be something else. Even so, we always wore the same design rings, even though we weren’t even married. There was a ritual we had - if we went somewhere for holidays together, just the two of us, we bought the same style rings and changed the previous ones. So this marriage ceremony felt to me more like a milestone to draw clear lines and to legalize our ring-buying ritual once and for all.
There was a ritual we had - if we went somewhere for holidays together, just the two of us, we bought the same style rings to change the previous pair. So this marriage ceremony felt to me more as a milestone to draw clear lines and to make our ring-buying-ritual finally documentary legal.
Before we decided to get married, I thought that this was an absolutely unnecessary option except the official part. I thought that everything would be the same. Actually, it is. But now I am in another position. I am the wife now. It does feel different, it gives me more strength and energy and makes me belong here for 100%. And finally, I have the same surname as the kids and my Mr Charming.
M: What are the main personal qualities you think are the most important for a successful marriage?
E: It's not only about personal qualities. It's all about respect, the ability to rely on the person you have so much in common with, you have joint memories, mutual interests, the same wardrobe...and, surely, your winds blow the same direction. Ah, yes, and the same kids.
Reliability. Both partners have to be reliable; otherwise it's almost impossible to move forward.
You have to trust each other, be alongside not only while romance and happiness is around, but also at those moments when you think you cannot be there anymore. Keep respect, keep warm looks at each other and try not to lose hugs and kisses. Do they also count as personal qualities?
And it's important not to forget that your person is a reflection of yourself. If something doesn’t go the way you've planned, stop for a moment and remember what I've just said. ring-buying ritual once and for all.
You have to trust each other, be alongside not only while the romance and happiness is around, but also at those moments when you think you cannot be there anymore.
When me and my husband met, few believed in the strength of our relationship, but we defied all the odds. After 18 years together, we finally tied the knot! To commemorate our union, we had a diamond created from our wedding bouquet. Whenever I gaze at that diamond, it symbolizes a love as enduring as the years we've shared.
M: Has it ever gone wrong for two of you?
E: When me and my husband met, few believed in the strength of our relationship, but we defied all the odds. After 18 years together, we finally tied the knot! To commemorate our union, we had a diamond created from our wedding bouquet. Whenever I gaze at that diamond, it symbolizes a love as enduring as the years we've shared. Ok, we can joke about it a lot, but we are just people, just a regular family, and of course, there were different times we experienced. But there are a couple of thoughts that make me happy - we are together, happily married, always glad to see each other, talking all the time about something new, discussing things and plans, and we mean it. We are real with each other.
M: Tell me more about the wedding bouquet diamond.
E: Oh, yes. This is our intimate and emotional moment that shook up our feelings in a good way so much that Gints decided to share a piece of this happiness with other people.
M: How was it decided?
E: It was his idea, and it had to be a surprise to me, but he couldn't find our dried wedding flowers because I hid them so they didn't get dusty. This is howI knew that I would get this brilliant gift so soon.
M: What does this jewel mean to you?
E: This is the hardest question of all. Have you ever hadff something that reminded you of your entire life in one second? No? I think I will have such a symbol very soon. When Gints said he wanted to make new rings for us, and that we could grow our diamonds by ourselves, watching how each millimeter is being formed, I closed my eyes for a couple of moments and imagined every single second we have spent together from the very beginning. Every look we gave each other, every touch I could remember, every emotion we felt, everything...could this all be made from our wedding flowers? Inconceivable. But it’s the truth. Now I believe it.
Every look we gave each other, every touch I could remember, every emotion we felt, everything...could be made from our wedding flowers? Inconceivable. But the truth.
M: Are you going to wear the ring on a daily basis?
E: Sure. I want to look into the jewel and see not only the reflection of the light, but also a reflection of my whole life. Every single minute of it.
M: What does the word “love” mean to you?
E: Love...it is our story. And our rings.
