How I met my husband

I have been promising this post for a long time and I finally got around to it! I am so excited to share the story of how Alex and I met. I hope you enjoy reading how our love began.

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The first time I laid eyes on my husband, I was looking through the peephole of my front door.

I knew he was coming, and I was waiting for him to arrive. So I was staring out the peephole trying to catch a glimpse as soon as he got there.

The first picture we ever took together! NYE 2007-2008

Let me back up.

In the fall of 2007, I returned to UF for grad school. I had graduated in December 2006, and moved to Chicago for a few months to work in between. When I got back on campus, I literally felt like the oldest person there. Being a grad student, I quickly found, was NOT like being an undergrad. And all the boys suddenly seemed so young and...immature.

Meanwhile, Alex was living the golfer's life up in South Carolina. He had been playing professionally for 2 years and had moved back to his small-ish hometown. He also traveled all the time, driving all over the Southeast for tournaments, making it hard for him to meet people.

Basically, we both wanted to meet someone but the pickings were slim in our current situations. So we both joined eHarmony and were "matched" with one another on October 31, 2007.

After communicating online for a few weeks through the eHarmony system, Alex called me for the first time the day after Thanksgiving. The first time I heard his voice, I got chill bumps. It was so sexy. The first word I ever heard him say? Kristin. Thinking about it still makes me melt.

An early picture - we had been dating about a month

We talked for a little while - maybe 20 or 30 minutes - but it was clear that we had something special. So we talked a few days later...for hours on end. And we've spoken every day since then.

After a few weeks of talking about everything under the sun, we decided we wanted to meet. Alex offered to drive from SC to Gainesville, FL to take me out. I said okay.

Now, here is my lecture: if you ever consider online dating, please be careful. My mom and friends knew all about him and knew he was coming to meet me. I consider myself a pretty good Googler, so I was pretty sure that he was who he said he was (it helped that there were so many pictures and articles about professional golf that supported his claims). All his pictures/stories/info matched what I found on multiple sources (basically, he either was who he said he was OR he was impersonating this guy named Alex from SC). So just do your homework and be smart.

Anyway, back to the peephole: I knew he was near - he had called to tell me he was about 30 minutes away. My bestie Lesley was at my condo helping me pick out a date outfit up until about 20 minutes before he got there. I pretty much had her on speed dial in case the person who got out of the car did not match the person in the pictures! (Safety first!). And, duh, I wouldn't have opened my door.

And then his black Acura TL (which was what he'd told me that he drove - see, I was being careful!) pulled in and parked. I watched carefully, full of nerves and hope and excitement, as my future husband stepped out of the car. Definitely the same guy as in the pictures. Which meant he had been telling me the truth, just as I'd suspected (and really, really hoped). Whew!

He was wearing a striped Ralph Lauren button-down and khaki pants. His hair was styled and kinda spiky. He was sooooooo cute. He looked like a golfer. He was also about to knock on my door.

Knock knock. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

We said hello and without even thinking twice, I threw my arms around him and hugged him. I felt like I had known him forever, and seeing him in the flesh was a final piece of the puzzle.

Penny was barking and doing her normal "Hey who are you/Hey pick me up" routine. We made some small talk and I sat down in the living room. Penny was on my lap immediately, being protective but sweet. Alex bent down to pet her and I think Penny loved him instantly.

We went to a local tapas and martini place for dinner. I drove, since I was the one who lived there and knew where we were going. We had a great time at dinner. It felt so natural. And definitely did not feel like a first date. I don't remember there being a single awkward moment.

We went back to my condo and watched one of my favorite movies, What Women Want (Mel Gibson circa 2000). Somewhere near the end, we had our first kiss. And that was really the final, FINAL piece of the puzzle: we had chemistry.

We had been dating about 2 months here (Penny and I are a package deal!)

Since it might have been a little awkward staying under the same roof with a person we just met and I didn't want him to have to get a hotel room since he had already made a 6-hour drive for me, the plan was for him to stay at my condo, and for me to stay with Lesley and Lindsey. So that's what we did!

He stayed the rest of the weekend and met my friends. He was a natural fit in our group, another great sign. I showed him around Gainesville and campus, and we just genuinely enjoyed being with each other. By the time he left on Sunday, we had decided to exclusively date. And I was already falling in love.

So there you have, in a nutshell (or a very long blog post), how I met my husband. 

I like to tell people that we were introduced online, but we met in Gainesville. Because that is the truth. Did I ever think I would be introduced to my husband by a dating website? (Did I ever think I would join a dating website??). Heck no. But the thing is, God can use any method to bring two people together. And I sure am glad he brought Alex and I together.