BY VANESSA COMTOIS

Pointe Claire residents Michael and Nancy Gizas have been together 22 years now. They first met in 1985, she was 17 and he was 19. It was destiny.

Both were walking along the street when a car pulled up beside Nancy. “Some guys were harassing her,” recalled Michael.

“They were trying to flirt with me,” Nancy said. Scared, she turned towards Michael and started talking to him.

“I walked over to her and we hit if off from there,” Michael said.

The two quickly found out they grew up and lived just over two kilometres away from each other in Ville St. Laurent. For Michael, about three years into the relationship is when he realized they were meant for each other. “It just (felt) right.”

Nancy, on the other hand, knew it the moment she laid eyes on him. “I felt it at that moment. I know I was young but I just knew.”

No official marriage proposal by either one was made. Nancy just began speaking of marriage and children and Michael just one day asked her, “You want to get married?” “Not very romantic,” Michael admitted.

They were married Oct. 1, 2000 at a small ceremony of only 30 close family and friends. “It was the first beautiful day of my life,” Nancy said.

In September 2003, planning ahead for the child they so desperately wanted, the couple moved from their childhood neighbourhood and settled in Pointe Claire. On June 4, 2006, their daughter Alexandra was born.

“She’s an angel,” Nancy said.

“With the arrival of a new baby girl, we are absolutely indestructible,” she added.

The couple believes their lives are now complete. When asked if more children are in their future, Michael replies with a giggle, “We’re going to stop at this one. We’re getting up there in age.”

So how does a couple stay happy together for as long as Nancy and Michael have? “Never go to bed angry at each other,” Michael advised. “Don’t get mad over the little things. It’s not worth it. And always kiss and hug each other ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye.’”

“Trust. Always be honest,” Nancy said.

The couple’s ingredients for a successful, healthy relationship also include patience, love, respect and communication.