The short version for now until I write up a longer one: I was using OkCupid because as a farmer and an introvert, I wasn’t going to meet a lot of potential dates during everyday life. During the winter/spring of 2014 I was going on some “first dates” with a couple guys, but nothing special was happening. Only with one man did I get a chance to relax and enjoy the dates because he could carry an intelligent conversation and make me laugh, but he took forever to respond to online messages or texts, so I was sure he wasn’t interested in me, and with how busy he was with work and friends, I was pretty sure he wasn’t serious looking then anyway.
I was disgruntled with everything about dating by the summer and seriously considering giving up and looking into making a family via adoption as a single parent instead. While discussing this possibility and griping about how the only guys interested in me were ones I didn’t get along with and the ones that *I* liked weren’t interested in me, one of my dearest friends sent me this message: “I think you will [find someone], just don’t give up looking. I know it looks like you won’t but you don’t know that for sure.” That was July 2nd, 2014. The next time I had a date with Matt was August 15th; by September we were dating seriously; by the winter we were talking about a future together; and by April we were engaged.
So in a way, it happened slowly… we were both on OkCupid for years before we connected, and then our initial contacts and dates were so scattered… but in other ways it happened so fast. When it finally clicked for us, to me it felt like “oh, THIS is what I’ve been waiting on and looking for.” I still have my friend’s text message from before saved, because it helps remind me that good surprises are possible, and how very lucky I am that Matt and I finally did connect.
A more coherent and polished version of the story to be posted later, but there’s the gist of it for you.