It really is no coincidence that whenever my friends come out with a blog...so do I. Thanks for the inspiration gals! back to the story...

On the other side of things...I hate to tell his story but he is such a perfectionist that it would take him forever to write his side...and besides, this is my take on it all! So, I join EHarmony...flippantly and Jeremy has been on it a year! Yeah, a year! I see this as the Prince in Sleeping Beauty fighting his way through the deadly briers to get to his princess...corny I know.

Jeremy was visiting his parents...he told them that he was just going to take time off from looking for a wife. His dad replied, "Well, you know what happens when you do that...you'll meet the girl you are looking for." Similarly, in my quest, I said whole heartedly to the Lord...I will gladly wait another ten years for the man You want me to marry. If you know me, that was a big deal, a very big deal. Usually I was threatening the Lord (not recommended). Jeremy logged in to shut down his matches (graciously as usual...he's not as edgy as I am) and saw my icebreaker. He read my profile, shut down ALL of his other matches, turned the matching function off and decided to pursue me...(at least that is as dramatically as he told me;). And he did...with polite affections he got to know me. It was not ravenous like usual dating. No backseats, no dates that last too long, no stupid mistakes after 2 a.m. (How I Met Your Mother fan joke). It was appropriate, kind, and exciting...he led me perfectly to falling in love with him and I let him pursue me with only the slightest hint that I may be feeling affection for him. It may have been the first relationship that I handled properly and boy was I determined to make it stay that way! I let him lead...I only emailed back (never first) waited as long as he did between emails, never suggested talking on the phone or meeting...I acted perfectly content with emailing forever...even though I was so excited and loving every word that he penned. Our questions ranged from what kind of things make you tick, to how do you want to raise your children...we both loved to write and we both love to think! So answers like how do you want to raise your kids took pages upon pages to answer...I think I decided I wanted to marry him after I read that specific email...he was so determined, knew what he wanted out of life, what kind of girl he wanted to share it with, how he wanted to accomplish it...and it became apparent quickly that we wanted the same things....and it became obvious in just a couple of weeks who we wanted that life with...one another. But neither of us suggested that this might be the case...he kept us level headed and practical. In my book there can't be a better way than this to fall in love, to have the same ideals, enjoy the same things...it leads to enjoying life together...what more should marriage be about? We both loved Jesus (which is inexplicably essential) and we enjoyed every thing about the other person. We were challenged and entertained by each others thoughts...and we were always left with wanting more. This was BEFORE even our first conversation on the phone.
Having become so comfortable emailing, it was scary to transition to the phone. Jeremy asked me when we might be able to talk...I suggested a few days later (having just read All The Rules...a must read for every single woman!) and it was a date!

Jeremy and I met on E Harmony! It was great fun! It all started back in May of 08 (ok, that's not that far back). I had just returned from a vacation in California (visiting my family and friends) and having had some recent turbulents in the relationship department, I decided (with my mother's prompting) that I absolutely knew no men that I would even consider marrying. To prove this to myself (that I would no longer wait for any guys that I knew to evolve into my prince) I joined Eharmony. I really had no expectations going into it except to have fun and maybe possibly a small chance of actually meeting someone worth being with. It WAS really fun, being a self reflector I found it incredibly enlightening to fill out the three hours of intense questions they ask you to begin matching you. It really helped me to narrow down what kind of man I wanted to marry...are you ok with (fill in the blank)...how ok are you with (previous blank)...etc. Some things I thought I was fine with only to find out that when matched with a guy with that trait, I couldn't do it. My previous inclinations became concrete resolves. At first it's hard to turn matches down, but within a couple of weeks you just aren't willing to fart around with someone you would not want to be with...would that the real dating world was like this people would choose better mates! It's much easier over the computer...you shut someone down...select a reason that is more or less neutral and move on to your other matches...and they do the same. Now if he is a guy that frequents the coffee shop where you work, that's a different matter! You can't just say...I don't think we have chemistry (at least I couldn't say that). Anyway, I was having fun getting to know myself...then I read Jeremy's profile. I was floored..I laughed I cried, I was touched, intrigued, and enlightened. I really fell noggin over bum for him that instant. Not only was I eager to get to know him...when his description of his ideal girl was Cake's song, Short Skirt Long Jacket, I knew he would GET me! He was not the typical Christian on E Harmony (Favorite person: Jesus; Favorite book: the Bible; Favorite TV show: 7th Heaven...Yuck)! I'm not like that...I love Jesus very much but I also love beer and good food and great music, designer jeans, vanilla cigarettes...7th Heaven guys would not understand me. And so I sent him an "icebreaker" that said "Your profile brought a smile to my face." Now I never sent out icebreakers, but I just felt like if he came into my coffee shop I would not hesitate to strike up a conversation with him...bat my girly eyelashes and smile coquettishly at him while I made him his Americano. Plus I knew he was probably receiving as many matches as I was and I was not going to be thrown out with the masses. To my joy, he replied back. We went through the round of communication that is structured by EHarmony and then he suggested we go to real email if I so desired. I did. Oh I did. Thus started the beginning of our 80 pages of dating...
to be continued...