November 8th . . . A Memorable Day

Every year on November 8th, I have a reason to celebrate. On this day in 2002, I heard the voice for the first time of someone who I would fall in love with and who is now my husband. I was on an Internet dating service and in early November, there was a notice in my email that I had a new match. I looked at his profile, but I didn't contact him. Since he appeared in my matches, the same thing happened on his screen and I appeared in his matches. I wasn't sure what to think. He lived about 15 miles from where I grew up and I wondered if I even wanted to do internet chat with him. My search criteria included Rochester and Buffalo and Syracuse, but I was living in Ithaca. I was searching far and wide for a match, and often added downstate to my search area. It never occurred to me that someone from "home" would end up in my search! I looked at his profile and there were some similarities, but there were also some differences that could be roadblocks. One was my height. He listed on his profile that he was interested in women 5'10" and taller. That put me out of the running, since I am 5' 3 3/4" tall! While I was still deciding whether or not I wanted to proceed, he reached out to me and we started to chat. I liked him right away. He was kind, funny and thoughtful. He warned me to be careful of the men "out there". We chatted online for about a week, often late into the night.


We eventually took our conversations a step farther and we decided to talk on the phone. I gave him my number and he called me at 10:30 P.M. I loved his voice and I could detect in it the nuances of a Western New York dialect, which after living in Central New York for more than 20 years, was recognizable to my ears and surprisingly comforting to hear. We talked and talked and talked all through the night until 7:30 the next morning! This date is etched on my heart and will forever be an  important and memorable day for me.


The winter of 2002 - 2003 was a happy whirlwind of dating and getting to know one another. We went to museums, the theater, had coffee dates, visited wineries, after-work gatherings, and so much more. It is hitting me this year that it was all a long time ago. Fourteen years is a long time. I went to the bookcase today and took my box of memoriabilia from our first year off the shelf. What wonderful memories that box holds!

Precious Memories

His story, my story and our story is a long one. If I was to write it all here, it would be much too long. I have considered writing it as chapters for a book. Perhaps that is what I will work on next year when NaNoWriMo comes around again. But until then, I just want to say I hope you have some special days in your life that you can always look back on and celebrate. I know that God had a plan for me. I just had to be patient and wait.


I wrote the poem below in 2003 before we were engaged. I knew he was the one!

You may need to tap on this box to read the poem.

I dedicate this blog post to my husband, Paul.

I thank God for choosing him for me.



Thank  you for stopping by and reading my blog post. I wish you happy memories and until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand.


Emmy