In January of 2009, eharmony commercials were on TV all the time. They were always advertising that you could find your perfect match with their 29 levels of compatibility and then they'd have free communication weekends. Well, they had it even before 2009 because somewhere in the midst of 2008, my mom started telling me that I should join. And telling me. And telling me.
Between my mom and the commercials, I went to the website to take a look. I like magazine quizzes and determining 29 levels of compatibility is a lot like taking one of those fun personality quizzes. So I started the process. Matching is free; communicating is what costs. I finished the questionnaire and was notified of my matches. I'd like to say that they came rolling in, but I live in Central Oregon and wasn't willing to relocate. Plus I'm very picky. There just aren't many men who match my requirements and are compatible on 29 different levels.
I also wasn't willing to pay. I was okay with the free communication weekend over the New Year holiday, but after that I just kind of checked on my matches and deleted or ignored them. And then my mom offered to pay. Actually, I think she offered to split a three month subscription with me. I went for it. When you teach at an elementary school, live in a small town and attend a small church, there just isn't a lot of opportunity to meet quality, single men. Apparently even if you pay for a three month eharmony subscription there isn't a lot of opportunity either. I mean, I started a few conversations with a couple of guys, but they never got past level two on the guided communication. (Don't ask because I am not an expert on guided communication.) My subscription expired and I ignored the emails that told me I had a new match--even on free communication weekends.
Then in July of 2009 I got an email about a new match (a couple actually). I logged on to eharmony intent on deleting my account entirely. I was tired of reading about available men who may or may not be right for me and may or may not be ready to communicate. It was while trying to delete my account that a match named Danny popped up. No, the name isn't what grabbed me. Under occupation it said "Farmer." Really? What are the chances? I read his profile and he really was a farmer. And a Christian (which is more important to me than being a farmer). And he had good spelling. And...I wanted to know more.
Suddenly those free communication weekends became pretty great, and it just so happened that the fourth of July was that very weekend! So I quickly sent him my first set of multiple choice questions to start the process of guided communication while it was still free. He responded to my questions, I answered his and then I sent my short answer questions to him. Now, we were nearing the end of our free communication weekend. In his short answer responses, he told me that he hadn't paid for eharmony, although he was considering it. He also hid his email address so that we could begin unguided communication after the weekend was over.
I emailed him. We were friended on Facebook. He found out it was my birthday and messaged me that he felt bad because he hadn't known. I laughed thinking we had only been "communicating" for a couple of days. I had friends for years who didn't remember my birthday.
Thus began the start of our relationship. After about two months of emailing almost daily we finally got to meet...but that's another post.
