Meeting the man of my dreams - Part 2

After chatting for long hours for a few weeks, we finally got up enough courage for a phone call. We were contemplating meeting for our first date. I called John on the 4th of July. I remember calling him once before but he was not at home, so I left a message with his roommate. It's funny how nervous I was just thinking about hearing his voice for the first time. My roommate, Stacy and I took my kids to the lake for a relaxing day. I was nervous the entire day just thinking about meeting this guy.

We talked on the phone briefly to plan our date. He lived a few hours away but he agreed to drive to my town to meet. We decided to meet on July 6, a Saturday. He was familar with the Ramada Inn because he had been there before for baseball card shows. So that's where we decided to meet. I remember it took me such a long time to get ready for this date. I changed clothes about ten times. I was having a bad hair day. I'm never satisfied with my appearance. What if he saw me and changed his mind?

I finally agreed on a casual outfit and headed out to the Ramada Inn. The drive there was only a few miles but it seemed to take forever. I was still very very nervous, but also excited about seeing this guy for the first time.

I pulled into the parking lot and saw John in his truck immediately. I parked my car and got into his truck. I remember as I walked over to his truck, hearing him whisper, "nice". That was a good sign.

We decided to have a late lunch at one of my favorite places, Milano's Italian Restaurant. It was mid afternoon and the place was fairly empty. We were both very nervous about this day and didn't eat much. I was very glad to get the initial meeting over with. He was as nice as I had thought. Things were working out fine.

After lunch we talked about seeing a movie, but had several hours until it began so we went to my house for a while. My roommate and I shared a house and it was out of the city limits so I'm sure as John was following me there he was wondering, "where is this chick taking me"?

We wanted to see the movie, The Bourne Identity, but unfortunately it was sold out. We settled for Minority Report. I like Tom Cruise, so it sounded good. We found ourselves looking over at each other during the movie to exchange glances. How sweet!

After the movie, we went back to my house. Since John lives so far away and it was getting late, I suggested he stay the night (on the couch of course). I remember sleeping in my room and thinking how awesome it was for John to be sleeping just a few rooms down the hall from me. We had a great first date. I'm so glad I gave him a chance. I'm sure I'm leaving out some details, but it's hard to recall everything from 9 years ago.

After this initial date weekend, we began seeing each other every weekend. I longed for the time we could spend together. Since he lived a good distance away, we planned time together on the weekends. I was currently going to college and was laid off from my job during the summer, so I had enough time to spend time with my new guy. This was one of the best summer's in my life. We dated a while, moved in together a few months later, and became a couple.The rest is history.

John actually kept some of our "first" emails to each other. I wish I could have kept them too, but at the time, I had a MSN hotmail account and deleted it. So, all of my saved emails were deleted. :( Around this time of year, he usually forwards a few to me so I can relive the experience. That is such a thoughtful gesture! I love it. Its interesting to read the emails and see how nervous, insecure, and cute we were. Love that guy! I wish I had more pictures from our early years, but here are a few even though they are more recent. I think we are a good looking couple! Thanks, John for 9 years of love, laughter and fun. I'm looking forward to many more years with you.

Meeting the Man of my Dreams - Part I

 We are nearing July 6, the anniversary of our first date. Our love story is so sweet. I feel the need to share it. During the month of June, 9 years ago, I received an email from John Lennon via Yahoo Personals. I had recently placed a personal ad because I was very frustrated in my search for that special someone. I was divorced with two young daughters, which didn't make dating easy. A few guys had contacted me but most were only interested in a one night stand or someone to have an affair with. I only agreed to meet a couple guys in person for a date. Those didn't work out for me. At this point, I didn't have too much faith in this personals thing.

A picture of my daughters a few weeks before meeting John

I read John's email and was intrigued. It is always exciting to receive an email regarding the personals ad. Its a much better feeling than NOT getting emails for your ad. His email was short and sweet and he sounded like a nice guy. I vividly remember reading his email. I was going to college and found myself in the MTSU library in between classes.I didn't respond to his email right away but I didn't delete it either. I didn't want to appear too anxious and I was busy with school. Should I respond and give this guy a chance?

I noticed that his email address had a different name than his signature. How weird, I thought. Especially since his signature was John Lennon. I remember asking about this when I replied to his email. I said, "Is John Lennon your REAL name?" For those of you that don't know who the Beatles are, this won't mean much to you. But if you do, you have heard that name before. Obviously, this was not the first time he was asked this question.  We joke about it now, but he doesn't care for people joking about his name. It's similar to the scene in Office Space, when Michael Bolton is being interviewed by the efficiency experts. If you haven't seen it, definitely check it out.

Now, back to the story. I found out that John is a pretty smart guy. He didn't use his real name as his Yahoo user name. So John Lennon, I think I'd like to get to know you.

We exchanged a few emails and pictures. I remember thinking, "Gosh, I sure hope he really looks like that. And I hope these pictures are recent, not an old photo that isn't an honest representation of himself." I'm sure he was thinking the same thing. That was one fear I always had when dealing with the personal ads. People would post pictures of themselves when they looked more attractive (like in high school), then when you meet them, you would be shocked.

This is one of the first pictures I sent him

After the initial emails, we agreed to meet via Yahoo Messenger - not in person just yet. For the next few weeks, I found myself at my computer screen at all hours of the night so I could chat with this guy I am so intrigued with.

To be continued...