Steve and I met on eharmony.  Yes, you heard me right.  We're one of "those couples"  :).  I gave him a chance, but really didn't think much of it.  I was in FL, he in VA, and he wasn't really what I was looking for.  But, we chatted online and then on the phone.  We swapped pictures (more pictures). We chatted more.  I kept him at arms length.  I was not sold on this deal.  But he was not put off.  He was very patient.  We use this analogy for our relationship early on:  Whenever a man knocked at my heart door, I would answer with a shotgun at the ready.  Steve didn't knock.  He came and sat on a bench in the front yard and serenaded me until I poked my head out the door.  :)  Steve was (and is) the most selfless man I'd ever met.  He gently befriended me without requiring anything in return.  Of course, that made me really want something more!  This went on from May until September.

September 4, 2008, Steve and I met for the first time in person AT MY PARENTS' HOUSE!!!!!  (They live in GA).  He wanted me to feel safe and comfortable--even at the expense of his own comfort level.   By the end of the weekend, I was ready to give up on the whole thing.  I felt like it had gone badly.  He was totally different in person than on the phone.  But, something my sister in law said to me made me decide to give him another opportunity.  Back to the chatting we went.  Thank God for Verizon "in-calling" or our phone bills would have been the size of Godzilla. 

In October, we decided to meet up again and give it another shot.  I had a conference for work in Orlando, and I invited him to join me there for the weekend (in his own room, of course).  :-)~  We went to Disney and enjoyed ourselves.  I was loosening up.  Also, with him on more neutral territory, his "phone personality" became his "in person personality," too.  I had found the "real Steve," and I was pretty sure I liked it!  :)  That weekend, he asked me to be his girlfriend, officially.  I said yes. 

In November, we decided that I would travel to VA for Thanksgiving with his family.  That was nerve racking, but Steve was wonderful.  He rented me my own hotel room and rental car so that I would not feel awkward or stranded around his family.  I had a marvelous time.  And, seeing Steve on his own turf--relaxed and real, I was completely sold.  He was the man I wanted to marry.  We went ring shopping the day after Thanksgiving. 

The day before I was to leave VA I got a 1am phone call that my grandmother, who had lived in OH, had just died unexpectedly.  Steve became my rock.  He held me and let me cry.  He then bought my plane ticket to go to her funeral.  (Keep in mind that Steve is just a blue collar worker.  He basically spent a whole paycheck on me that weekend to put me up and send me to OH.  He just wanted that badly to take care of me.)  When I told my dad about the plane ticket at Grandma's viewing, my dad said, "Well, I guess you'd better marry that man."  I smiled.  "I plan on it, Daddy."

In December, Steve came back to my parents house the day after Christmas and we spent the weekend together.  He asked my dad for my hand that weekend.  I am 32 years old and a professional who owns her own home and is out on her own, so I guess he didn't relaly have to ask my dad.  But, I honestly appreciated him for it.  It showed his respect for me and for my family.  (I am a total daddy's girl :).  He also has shown his deep respect for me in honoring my wish not to have intimate relations until after our vows.  I appreciate it sooooo much!

We were engaged on February 12, 2009.  I can hardly wait for the rest of our lives together.  Steve has proven consistently that he will be a kind, gentle, loving companion until "death do us part."  He is wonderful.  So, I guess I owe kudos to eharmony--it worked for us!!!!