Quote From: kinchyleI joined Match.com back in 1996. I had a blast. It was an adventure in self-discovery. I went out a lot. As I had a daughter at home, I was always careful to meet in public places. I was almost obsessive about making sure I wasn't followed after the date. I met a lot of interesting people - a few that were a little creepy, but most really nice guys. I learned a lot about myself - what I really wanted in a mate. I realized that some things I thought were deal breakers weren't and some things that I had thought were trivial became important. I learned more about myself during that time than ever before (or since) in my life.
I decided after almost a year on the service to take my profile off for a while. The last day my profile was posted I got a final email. I almost didn't respond to it, but I did. This was October 5, 1997. I did something I had never done before - gave the guy my real email - so we could keep corresponding. I live in NC and he lived in WV, so I thought we could be online friends. We talked about everything under the sun. He has two daughters and I have one and they are all around the same age. Things progressed to phone calls - often lasting two or more hours. He has the same warped sense of humor that I do and we have the same value system. We agreed to meet on December 15, 1997. As you can probably tell, things went well on that date. I told my best friend the next day that I wasn't worried about him calling again, because I knew we were meant for each other - true soul-mates. He would come down to NC from WV, take me out to dinner and a movie and then drive back (a 10 hour round trip). In February of 1998, he found a job down here and made the hardest decision of his life - to move to NC. He had to leave his girls behind with their mom. I knew how hard this was for him and I encouraged him to go back to WV to visit them as often as possible.
We were married on July 11, 1998 and we just celebrated our 8th anniversary. We are so perfect for each other it's ridiculous! He is my best friend, my true better half, to be cliche - he completes me. Sure, we have problems, we don't always agree, but at the end of the day we are glad to come home to each other. Our girls are now almost grown. His oldest is just starting her career, and his youngest and my daughter are both in college. We both have the same philosophy - life is an adventure. We've decided that on our tombstones we want inscribed "The adventure continues..."
I wish all of those currently on match.com the same luck I had. No one is perfect, but somewhere out there is your soul-mate, the one who is perfect for you. I wish you all every happiness!
Great email! I think this is what everbody dreams will happening. I was on Match several years ago and met many nice woman, some have remained as friends. The one I ended up with, though, responded to my profile, but never posted her own. We have been together 4 years, but as time passes I am beginning to realize what my true relationship needs are and tht they are not being met. She self-proclaims that she is not very deep, so discussions about feelings and needs go right over her head, which is a bit frustrating. We are trying to work through things, because she is a decent person, just not very communicative. I feel trapped knowing I might be able to lot happier with someone else, but having been through a divorce I don't want to face another major relationship failure.
Tom
