I had been on Catholic Match, off and on, for about 2 years. Alison joined
Catholic Match at the request of a friend from college, who had already joined
and was dating someone from the site. Alison claims that she wasn't even
looking to date anyone at the time;)
I received an encounter the day that
Alison had joined. She was online when I had received the notification. I read
her profile right away and really liked what I had found. I sent her a chat
invite and was pleased that she responded to it right away. We chatted for a
little while and then exchanged AIM and Y! Instant Messenger IDs. We chatted
online each day, sometimes for hours. She was in grad school at the time,
working to complete her degree, and my job has me on the computer for a large
portion of most days as well. It worked out well for us to get to know each
other in a conversational manner, rather than by exchanging letters or emails.
We had our first date on December 3rd, 2005, the day before my 31st birthday.
The first meeting in person had very mixed results. I was very nervous,
which isn't normal for me. It was just that the connection that we seemed to
have from talking was so great, that I guess a part of me was worried about how
our expectations were so great, that I didn't want there to be a disappointing
outcome from the actual date. As a result, I talked entirely too much while on
the date. That is something that is a major turnoff to Alison. She took it
that I was just someone who "talks your ear off", and that personality trait was
something that Alison was not looking for in a future spouse.
I felt a
really strong connection with Alison from the start, and was quite disappointed
when, after our first date, Alison told me that she just didn't see us dating
beyond that first date. At that point, I had to at least find out why things
had gone from so well, to so bad, so quickly. After discussing what she felt
from that first date, I was able to explain to her that I can talk up a storm
when nervous. Lucky for me, that when Alison talked to a close friend, shortly
after our conversation, her friend told her that my explanation made sense to
her, and that it couldn't hurt to give me a second chance to make a first
impression. Thank God Alison listened to her friend. Date #2 was great for
both of us. It started a relationship that would see us becoming engaged, 6
months later, and married the following year. Nine months later, our first
child is due any day now!
We encountered our share of obstacles to get to
where we are, today, as well. We started out in a LDR of about an hour and a
half drive. 7 months later, while Alison completed her one year externship, we
found out what it was like to be in a real LDR. We were ten hours apart, and
only able to see each other every month to month and a half. Looking back, it
helped us learn to communicate better, because we had to. We both feel that our
time apart really strengthened our relationship. Our relationship continues to
grow each day. We both couldn't be happier with the way our lives have turned
out. My best advice to those who read this is to be persistent in your search
for the right one for you.
