My Mom and Mike’s Love Story
Sue and Mike Baumgardner, Christmas, 1995, Sebois, Maine
The Love Atlas • Entry No. 1
Recorded April 4, 2013
This conversation took place around the dining room table in Mom and Mike's little log cabin in Madison, Maine.
The Lover’s Waltz by Jay Ungar and Molly Mason plays in the background.
Mike:
When I met my present wife, we had worked together for a couple of years. We got to know each other very well.
After a while, I realized how deeply I cared for her. I knew I had met the love of my life.
We've been married seventeen years now.
Sue:
I don't really know exactly when I fell in love.
I went to work one night knowing Mike wasn't going to be there. We worked closely together a lot of the time, and I remember thinking, It's going to seem lonely without Mike here tonight.
When I got there, it was.
The whole night felt lonely.
As I was driving home, I kept thinking, I'm missing him. He's my best friend. He's such a great guy.
Then, all at once, it hit me.
I thought, I'm in love with him.
It was like a ton of bricks.
I did not want to be.
I started crying.
I'd never reacted like that before. I almost lost my mind. I was crying and screaming in the car, yelling at God,
"Why would You let me fall in love with someone at this point in my life? Someone I can't have?"
As wonderful as it felt to love someone, it also made me angry.
I didn't want to love anybody.
But Mike was the one person in my whole life that I trusted completely.
I respected him for everything he'd been through and because, to me, he'd spent his entire life serving other people.
He was completely unselfish.
I still see him that way today.
He never wanted things for himself.
He wanted to do for everyone else.
I'd always thought of myself as a giving person.
I'm not half as giving as he is.
And I knew he would never betray my trust.
I trusted him completely.
Mike:
She has such a kind heart.
She's incredibly smart, too.
That was one of the first things that drew me to her—her intelligence and all the things she could do.
But mostly...
I just look into those blue eyes...
and I fall in love all over again.
I'm still right there.
From Emily
When I recorded this conversation more than ten years ago, I thought I was simply completing a graduate school assignment.
I had no idea I was preserving a family treasure.
After Mike passed away in 2022, my mom asked me for a copy of this recording. Hearing him tell their love story in his own voice brought her comfort in a way nothing else could. A year and a half later, she crossed over to be with him. Now, when I miss them both, I return to this conversation.
It's one of the reasons I created The Love Atlas.
I believe every love story matters. Not because the people are famous, but because someone, somewhere, may need to be reminded that love is real, that it endures, and that even ordinary lives leave extraordinary legacies.
My hope is that these stories inspire you to ask the people you love about the moments that shaped their lives. Record their voices. Write down their memories. Save the stories that only they can tell.
One day, those stories may become one of your greatest treasures, too.
And if this conversation reminded you of someone you love, I'd be honored to hear your story. Every love story begins somewhere, and I'd love to help preserve yours.
With love,
Emily
