Would you believe that in June 2000 I posted an Internet personal ad on Yahoo! Personals?! After being single so long and not finding anyone in my hometown, I figured it was worth a shot. Since I'm not into the bar scene, and I'm a total computer geek, I just thought I'd see what happened. Little did I know how it would all end!

Mike was one of many respondents to my ad, but his message stood out due to its sheer length and the fact that he actually sounded normal and just what I was looking for! We began emailing nearly every day, learning more about each other. Eight months after our first email, I decided to move to Colorado and emailed Mike that I didn't think we should write or talk anymore because it just wasn't working out.

Several months later, I was really starting to have a hard time. I really needed to talk to someone. Lucky for me, I caught Mike on Yahoo! Messenger that night. We started chatting every night and after a while, we started talking on the phone again. I started to realize that I really liked this guy! I let him know that I was going to come home for Labor Day weekend. We decided to finally meet in person at a softball game that he would be coaching on Aug. 30, 2001 -- one year and two months after we first met online at Yahoo! Personals.

Their first meeting

I went to the softball game very nervous, but when I saw him, I calmed down and enjoyed the games. (I thought he was a total hottie!) After the game we finally met when Mike found me and said, "Come here!" And gave me a hug. Wow! We went to dinner and afterwards came back to the park and sat on the swings and talked for several hours. I had to go back to Colorado, but I knew there was something special brewing. Three weeks after we finally met in person, I lost my job in Colorado. I moved back to Nebraska and I got a job in the same town that Mike lived in. In March 2002 he proposed, and we were married in July 2003. We are just so happy to have found each other.

At first a lot of people were pretty skeptical of how we met, and they were very shocked that we were able to find each other. I really feel like this was a great method of looking for potential dates without wasting people's time trying to figure out what, if anything, you even have in common, because it gives an outlet to lay everything on the line. It pretty well narrowed down the field for me to help me find more specifically what I was looking for. You just never know where Prince Charming might be waiting!

Tips from Stephanie and Mike

• Be yourself and be honest. If you aren't, you are just going to waste each other's time and have to compensate for any little white lies you told, later on -- for example, using photos from about 20 pounds ago!
• Honesty includes honesty with yourself. Be realistic with expectations and go into any meeting with another member with open eyes.
• Don't be so scared of really going through with meeting someone you have connected with from Yahoo! Personals that you don't take a chance. If it seems to good to be true, it might be, but it might also be the man or woman of your dreams.
• However, don't let the excitement of the moment cloud good judgment; don't compromise beliefs and values because of a desperate moment. There are a lot of people out there who could be a match. Don't settle and compromise just because of the excitement of the moment.
• Once you start talking more, share about your family. It will help the other person understand where you are coming from and more about why you are the way you are. That's especially crucial if you are from different parts of the country (or the world for that matter!).
• When and if you decide to meet, do it in public. Not only is this safest, you will likely feel more comfortable. If you decide it's not going to work out, you can just leave.
• If you aren't interested, make that clear. Otherwise you may leave the other person confused and wondering, and get lots of phone calls and emails from them!
• Communicate! Be open about what you are looking for: long term, short term, just a date, etc. You don't want to come into the date or the relationship with different levels of expectation.
• Tell your friends and family when and where you are going to meet the person. Not only will that protect you, but also, they won't be so shocked later on if things work out and you say that you have met someone online. The older generation still has a few reservations about this method of meeting the perfect mate!

Do you have a love story to share? Let us know!

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