When It’s Meant To Be

February is the month when love seems to be popping up everywhere. Drawings of hearts line the hallways, posts about receiving flowers from an admirer fill up social media and it’s almost impossible to go into any store without oversized-teddy bears or boxes of chocolates jumping out at you. College is when these pop-up romances tend to go from fling to forever.

One couple in particular was able to find one another among the stress of college life. Teresa Saboe, formally Stalcup, met her husband Tom when the two of them were young adults. The two met when Teresa’s roommate and Tom were dating.

“[My roommate] would disappear for hours. Often, I would not see her again ‘till long after he had left,” Saboe said. Her roommate thought Saboe and her now husband had more in common than herself and Tom. Saboe and Tom were a part of a large friend group. Many of their friends started dating, however, the two of them did not have the time to date while in school.

“We both came from [a] similar situation where we had to work in order to make our way through college,” Saboe said. Both were studying in the science field–Saboe for biology and her husband for chemistry. “Science classes were difficult, 21 credits a semester and working didn’t leave much time.”

In 1975, Tom graduated from Cabrini. Five years later, so did Teresa.

The two went their separate ways after graduating. “We each had jobs, careers we pursued, traveled, bought homes and cars and moved on,” Saboe said. It wasn’t until many years later the two were reunited.

“Tom’s younger brother was getting married. Since I knew the family, I was invited and decided to go,” Saboe said. A few months after the wedding Tom had moved back to the area. Shortly after, the two had picked up where they had left off years ago.

Fast forward to present day and the two have been married for 26 years. “[We] had the ultimate 25th wedding anniversary last June at Cabrini’s Mansion,” Saboe said. “There was a mass in the chapel, reception in the foyer with music from the Philadelphia Orchestra and exceptional dining in the dining hall.”

Saboe recommends not focusing on a relationship while in college. “Friendships are lighter and easier to manage than a committed relationship,” Saboe said.  “Get the most out of those four years rather than dedicating to a single relationship. Relationships will come later.”

• anniversary
• college
• fate
• love
• marriage
• relationship
• valentines day