Real Life Success Stories (Lydia and Andrew)

Andrew and I met after I put an ad out in several online dating sites. I had just broken up from a very intense love affair and really had no intention to meet anyone at all. However, a friend of mine convinced me that I should give it a try. I wrote the strangest ad I could think of and was very blunt about who I was and what I was looking for, and honestly didn’t think I could get a reply.

Every night though, just to soothe my broken heart at that time I would peruse the dating sites wondering if there was anyone out there for me at all, or if I was just kidding myself. I got a few replies but none of them seemed to interest me. I wasn’t really in the mood to start anything, though, mostly because I was in the middle of a bad rebound.

However, one evening I got a reply from this man who happened to live about five hours away from me. My last relationship was a long distance relationship so I was truly afraid of starting another. But this guy read my ad in detail and responded honestly and intelligently so I was intrigued.

I stared talking to him on instant messenger, and we also moved to phone conversations. These conversations were so successful we decided to meet in person. Andrew came over to my city, and waited for me in a bookstore.

The day I was supposed to meet him I had hit just about every traffic jam in the city and actually I came a little late. He was waiting outside, in the cold. When I saw him I recognized him immediately. Against my basic rules of caution, I let him into my car, and then we had this unforgettable first kiss, that managed to fog up my windows and make me forget where I was. A part of me was very surprised I was doing this, and afraid, and as we started talking I started to have second and third thoughts. Needless to say it was a yo-yo like situation, where I played hot and cold through the whole weekend, and when Andrew left Toronto he was sure there wasn’t going to be another date.

This guy had this amazing habit though of knowing exactly what he should say. We exchanged more emails and I realized if I ran away from him, I would regret it for the rest of my life. So we got back together, and Andrew traveled ever other weekend to my city, and we escaped the world to enjoy some time together. He paid for the trip and the hotel, and I was responsible for meals, and transportation costs.

This pattern continued for about nine months. To deal with the loneliness, we called each other every night, and also emailed each other, and chatted on IM. This helped pass the time, but it wasn’t easy. We were starting to understand that it might be a good idea to take the next step. Separating every Sunday was heartbreaking, and we had had enough of that. So, we went and looked for an apartment together.

Andrew was still working in his job in the other city, so his plan was to look for a job here, while I stayed at the apartment. This worked out okay until fate intervened and he lost his job. From that day onwards though we knew it was time to end the “long distance” part of our relationship and move together. We never regretted our choice.

This April the two of us are going to get married, Andrew for the first time, and me for my third. I know that the odds are against us, but there is this solid feeling to our relationship, where we feel comfortable in each other's presence and communicate all the time. If I would say anything is important in a long distance relationship it’s communication. Talk, talk and talk…don’t’ stop talking, because that will help you figure out where you and your partner are at.