The Story of Us

I was ruminating last night over the fact that Kate Monster would not exist if C and I never met. Although he thinks we still would have met somehow otherwise, if it was not for a dating web site, we would have never known each other.

At 25, I moved back to Michigan after completing law school in Indiana to be closer to my parents, siblings and extended family. I felt sad to leave some strong intellectual and emotional friendships behind along with some unrequited romantic love. Most of my high school and college friends had similarly taken career and education paths that moved them out of state, so I had to create a whole new adult social circle.

I reconnected with a few people via a high school alumni site that led to finding a new, close girlfriend and opened the door to all of her many friends. Then I began trying out new dating web sites on and off for 3 years with varying results. I met a guy who revealed he was not wearing any underwear towards the end of our first meeting, a guy who began rubbing my calf over drinks and many others for whom there was no romantic connection. Fortunately, I also got two long time friends out of the deal. Unfortunately, I grew a bit down on finding lasting love, too.

In October 2004, I traveled to California to stand up in the wedding of my good friends, N and S. Their love story inspired me. They complemented each other and built a strong, affectionate and respectful friendship that I admired and wanted for myself. It finally occurred to me that, if they found it after exiting other painful relationships, I could, too. I returned to Michigan reinvigorated and optimistic. One week later, C sent me an e-mail in response to my profile, and we soon began corresponding.

I looked forward to our frequent e-mail banter every day. After about a month, we spoke on the phone and arranged a first date. Having been through this before, I just hoped that we also had an in-person romantic connection.

In early December 2004, we met for dinner and a comedy show in the Detroit area. I spied him waiting and watching for me in his trench coat and blue shirt, adorable blue eyes sparkling. Over dinner, he reached over to touch my arm, and I knew we also shared the elusive sparks. We spent every weekend together after that for a year, switching off between our homes that were over an hour apart. He cooked me fantastic dinners and desserts, introducing me to new wines and new flavors. We planned all of the outings we had wanted to do with someone special in the past and enjoyed them thoroughly.

On the anniversary of our first date, he proposed with his Grandma's antique engagement ring, we moved in together 3 months later, and we married on an uncommonly warm April evening 16 months after he proposed.