I had never tried online dating before, and it wasn't my original intention. My mother suggested I try to find a local Catholic singles group, and I thought perhaps I would have better luck dating a man of my own faith. In my last relationship, it had become a problem when he disliked my church. I went online hoping to find a local group, but the Catholic Match web site came up when I googled Catholic singles. I decided to look through some profiles and was sufficiently intrigued enough to join. I communicated for a few months with several men but was never interested enough to take the next step until I met Bill.
I saw him listed under new matches and when I read his profile I remember saying, "wow!" out loud. Instead of writing about his career and accomplishments, he wrote about wanting to sit beside someone in church, and he wrote about visiting with friends on his front porch when he was growing up and how now he occasionally visited an inn in his town so that he could sit on the porch and talk to people. It was so different! He didn't have a picture posted yet, and I can remember hoping that he was at least moderately attractive.
We had written back and forth several times before he finally posted a picture and I was very pleasantly surprised. We became friends online and then I invited him to call me because I wanted to get to know him and trust him before meeting. We began to communicate over the phone every evening and often during my lunch break. Once we knew each other well enough for me to feel more comfortable, we arranged to meet. Bill lived about an hour away, so he arranged to meet me at a bed and breakfast. (with a porch!) I met him in the parlor of the Herlong Bed and Breakfast here in Micanopy, Florida. I'll never forget the intense look he gave me the moment I introduced myself. We had lunch and visited while I showed him around my little town.
Even though we'd just met, we connected enough that I wanted him to meet my parents. Although we've joked often about how I rushed things, I know he was excited about being made to feel welcome to a close family. His family lives in New Jersey and he'd been missing them. He accompanied me and my family to church the next morning. Afterward my family always sits on the porch at my sister's house to catch up on the events of the previous week. I remember seeing the little contented smile on Bill's face, and I felt blessed to be the one who allowed him a chance to have just what he'd been wishing for.
After that first weekend, Bill came to see me every weekend and eventually relocated to Micanopy. Fortunately he works from home, so relocating was possible for him. We knew before too long that we were right for each other. We traveled together to New Jersey so that I could meet his family. Almost a year later we were married and celebrated with a trip to New Orleans. Now we are expecting a baby. I have three older children, and they are excited about the new addition.
Because Catholic Match makes it possible for people to read through profiles and find personality matches, we both were able to find someone that we were very compatible with. I think it is a wonderful way to meet someone. Normally, I would date someone I met in my area and spend time trying to figure out if we were right for each other. Usually, I'd get attached to the man and invest too much time even though I'd realize that our goals were different, or our personalities were not so compatible. With Catholic Match, I was able to eliminate the matches that I felt would lead nowhere. It gives you the option to be choosy or "shop around." Dating Bill was so different from all of my other dating experiences. I know it was for him too. I feel like I married a man who is my best friend, as well as my lover. Our transition to married life has been remarkably smooth. Because of my age--I'm forty--we wanted to try to have a baby as soon as possible and were lucky enough to be blessed two months after our wedding.
