Fools may rush in.

And Cathi Watson and Ken Sanders, who married after just five months of dating, certainly didn't wait around.

But they're no fools.

Unless you count being foolishly in love for 25 years.

"We didn't see any reason to wait," said Sanders, a 66-year-old entrepreneur, about getting hitched in 1981. "We wanted to get on with it. We were already madly in love."

The two first met in 1980 when Watson, who was a mechanical drawing teacher at Punahou School, took her class on a field trip to Sanders' advertising company downtown. She took a class to meet working professionals each semester.

"I probably would've met him sooner," said Watson, who retired from teaching at Punahou last year, "but S was toward the end of the phone book."

Sanders spoke to her class for about an hour — and noticed its pretty and poised teacher.

"It was just enough intrigue and love-at-first-sight that called me to ask her out," Sanders said.

But he never got her last name.

So he waited for the teacher to write him a thank-you note. When he got her full name, he called the school. But by then, it was Christmas break and Watson had gone to San Francisco on vacation.

Weeks went by before Sanders decided to look Watson up in the phone book. He called every Cathi Watson listed, nearly asking one out — she was also a teacher, just not at Punahou — before giving up.

Then as fate would have it, on Jan. 3, 1981, he grabbed a salad at the Honolulu Club and was looking for a table in the lounge when he spotted Watson.

He invited her to sit with him and they chatted for three hours. Later, they headed to Stuart Anderson's in Ward Warehouse, where they talked for another three hours.

"Oh, six hours was enough for me to know she was the one," Sanders said, smiling.

They made a date for the next Saturday — and have been inseparable since.

"We were 100 percent with each other," Sanders said. "Day in and day out."

They went to dinners and movies, hung out at the beach and met each other's families.

After three months of dating, the couple flew to Maui. While frolicking in the surf at Ka'anapali Beach, Sanders turned to Watson and, without a ring, asked the question she had hoped to hear: "Will you marry me?"

They flew back to O'ahu and started planning their wedding.

Never once did Watson or Sanders, both divorced, worry that they were rushing too quickly into marriage. Both knew what they wanted in life — and in a partner — and didn't hesitate when they found what they were looking for.

"He's such a gentleman," Watson said. "He's what my students call 'old school.' He has manners and would never lie or cheat. He's a very honorable guy."

Watson took particular pleasure in announcing her engagement to her class on another field trip that semester.

As the school bus went down Bishop Street, she asked her class if they remembered Mr. Sanders from the semester before. They all said yes.

Then Watson said, "Well, I'm marrying him next week!" The class erupted in cheers.

Watson and Sanders exchanged vows on May 24, 1981, at their home on Maunalani Heights in front of 50 guests. Then they left the Islands for a four-week, cross-country honeymoon that took them to several cities, including San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Aspen, Colo.

They returned to O'ahu and began renovating their tiny home, adding bedrooms — in anticipation of starting a family — expanding the kitchen and installing a deck and hot tub.

It didn't take long for the family to expand with the birth of a son. (Sanders also has two sons from his first marriage.) But when their son was about 2, they decided their hillside house wasn't toddler-friendly. So in 1984 they began building another home in Lanikai on property owned by Watson's mom. (This was a thrill for Watson, who earned a degree in architecture from the University of California-Berkeley.)

The couple had two more children before moving back to their home in Maunalani Heights, which they had rented out, when the kids were in school at Punahou. (The commute was easier.) In 2003, the family moved back to Lanikai for good.

They love being with each other, despite their belief in independence. (He's an active volunteer; she designs online math courses for the state Department of Education.)

"We're both very passionate about our work, so we respect that in each other, understand and support each other's passion to achieve our goals," Sanders said. "We don't take for granted that love is the major ingredient (in our marriage)."

For 25 years, the pair has had a standing Saturday night date. Movies and dinners are still one of their favorite things to do. On Sundays, they have brunch right after church. And they often enjoy a club soda in their hot tub.

The best part of being married, they agree, is having someone to share their lives with.

"One of the most important things in a relationship, which a marriage certainly is, is being really good friends," Watson said. "And we are. He's my best friend."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.