Two days before Christmas 2008, this man who had told me how I was the perfect girl for him, and that he loved me, now was not in love with me anymore. It crushed my heart into a million pieces. The day after Christmas I moved out of our apartment. Suffering from anxiety and depression, I was in a very dark place.
Over the next few days, my mom joked around with me about going on an online dating site. With nothing to lose I did. I signed up for a free site and within a few days I came across Eric's profile. I thought he was cute, but he was from a city 300 miles away. I sent him a message anyway. We quickly started emailing each other, and I noticed myself smiling again. He was so funny. We then started to text each other, both of us too shy to actually call. About 3 weeks later, he sent me a text that said "I am going to do something out of character" within seconds my phone was ringing. We talked for about an hour and I remember the whole time I was smiling.When I got off the phone my jaw hurt! From then on we talked for hours on the phone. I could feel myself coming out of that dark place and being able to do things I hadn’t been able to do in months.
We finally made plans for me to make the trip to his house. I was nervous, and giddy! My friends and family were concerned that I was going to meet someone that I didn’t know, who lived 300 miles away, but I wasn’t concerned in the least. I felt like I had known this man all of my life. To satisfy them, though, I invited my best friend to join me on my adventure.
It was quite a trip, two country girls making their way to a large city! The trip was great until the last 10 minutes. We got lost and Eric had to come and find us. At this point I was tired, miserable and nervous. Then I saw it, his truck! When he stepped out of it I was amazed. This beautiful man that was walking toward me was mine! I couldn’t wait to wrap my arms around him and never let go.
Over the next 6 months we spent as much time together as we could, he came to my hometown, I went back to his house, and we took romantic trips together. We decided to try living together and that year was the best of my life. I learned so much about myself, Eric, and our relationship. When the sad news came that he was being transferred across country, we both knew that it was just another hurdle we could handle. Now we talk everyday and plan our next steps.
I wanted to write this, because people are so afraid of online dating. Yes, it can be scary but, I had already learned that you can even make a mistake with someone you’ve known your whole life. The moral of my story is that I met an amazing man when I least expected it and where I least expected it, and I am so glad that I did, because he is the most wonderful thing that I have ever had in my life.
