Finding Love Long-Distance: My Love Story

Ten years ago, finding love long-distance in the vast world of the Internet was not as common as it is today. Social networking wouldn't be established for many years to come, and chat rooms or instant messengers were about as far as socializing went in young cyberspace. Although the Internet had been available for quite some time, it would be quite a few years before it became more socially acceptable to slip onto a website and easily meet like-minded singles. And yet, this is my love story.

In 1999, I was 15 years old, and I had been online for less than a year. As a teenager, exploring chat rooms and talking to friends over IM was increasingly common with my peers, but the Internet had not yet bridged the gap in thousands of miles that Internet users enjoy today for keeping in touch and meeting new friends. It was completely unlikely if not outright improbable that I would stumble upon my soul mate in a chat room used by hundreds of strangers each and every day-although it isn't surprising I wouldn't realize that fact I had until we met in person, over a year later.

Bob and I were among dozens of frequent chat room users, and yet we became part of the same social circle. Our online clique had members in America, Canada, Europe and Australia, and yet the two of us managed to click. After a year as online friends, we decided to meet in person-as friends, but with an interest in more. He lived six hours away in Missouri, while I still lived at home in northern Indiana. I arranged to have my best friend with me the day we met-you never can be too careful, even in these days where the Internet is commonplace-and I was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

We had enjoyed many conversations over the last year, both online and on the phone, which lasted into the wee hours of the morning. Discussions about our dreams and hopes for the future, hobbies, interests, and all those little details of our "real lives" off the Internet had become increasingly common-and we'd found many common grounds. All of those logged hours of getting to know each other had made it easy to have a mental connection-something that teenage daters often neglect, in lieu of exploring physical attraction. Knowing each other as people first, instead of as appearances, social standing, or any other element which drives teenage romance, took our relationship to a much more mature level than our 16 and 19 years would have suggested possible.

He called to say he was arriving at my apartment complex, and I stood patiently and waited for the ensuing knock minutes later. Opening the door, with my friend waiting in the wings to meet the mystery man she'd heard so much about, I laid eyes on him for the first time-and it felt like welcoming home an old friend. The familiarity was so prominent, that any nervousness at meeting for the first time was forgotten. Against impossible odds, I had found a spark long-distance, and the chemistry which had made our conversations so interesting and passionate translated seamlessly into real life. It truly felt like meeting a soul mate, someone I had known time and time again. As someone who subscribes to the notion of past lives, you can probably imagine how romantic that notion felt at 16.

The three of us went for a hike in the woods behind the apartment complex, with my friend serving as chaperone. The entire afternoon felt effortless, and it was just as easy to be in his company in person as it had been online. In the years to come, I would meet many online friends in person, and only a precious few would have a similar fluidity from Internet to real-life as I enjoyed that day. We watched the sunset paint the horizon in a dozen hues, but it also marked our time as coming to a close. When we said goodbye, I went against conventional wisdom and broke the rule of "no kissing on the first date."

To this day it continues to be one of the most memorable kisses of our relationship.

I barely bid him goodbye and made it back into the apartment before my legs melted out from under me; I finally understood what the term "makes me weak in the knees" meant.

This Valentine's Day will be our 10^th one together, and we're now in our 7^th year of marriage. As more and more people turn to the Internet to make romantic connections, I am reminded of where my love story started, and how I found my soul mate long-distance against all odds.