How did a city girl meet and fall in love with Paul Bunyan? Well, that’s easy, the internet! We met at a time in both our lives when we had essentially giving up on the idea of finding a forever love. I had just gotten back into dating after a very long hiatus (an even longer story ☺) and he had re-entered the dating scene a few years before me with nothing ever quite matriculating into something more serious. He messaged me on an online dating site (my best friend gifted me this profile, so I guess I have her to thank for all of this) and after a few messages we exchanged numbers. The first call we talked for over an hour. There was an ease in the communication that I hadn’t experience in previous interactions with men I met online, and he felt the same way and remarked such during the conversation. Soon after we had our first date which was great! We talked about everything under the sun. Can’t remember the actual details, I just remember that we laughed, a lot! I would like to say, and the rest is history, but that isn’t our story.

After a pretty world wind summer that included me traveling to Wisconsin (his home state) to meet his mother, things went cold. We fell out of touch and didn’t speak again for 6 months. I was beginning to think that maybe it was one of those summer romances, that is passionate, and exciting but eventually runs out of steam. I started dating again shortly after we fizzled out found out later Duane did the same. It wasn’t until I reached out to him on a random impulse to see how he was doing, that we reconnected. We found ourselves falling right back into a groove, our connection was undeniable. We immediately started dating again but both agreed to take things slow, which was hard for us because our chemistry was palpable. 3 months later he was asking me to move in!

Our love is so dynamic and beautiful and easy. Although living together wasn’t always easy, we had some bumps in the road, as all relationships do, but loving each other was. We always shared this unfettered love, free of pretense. Never having to worry about the cat and mouse games some people fall into. When I missed him, I called him and told him so. When he knew he was in love he told me and promised to tell me every time he felt it, I would never have to ask or wonder. He has kept that promise. We don’t profess to have a perfect relationship, but we love each other perfectly and that’s what will sustain us through all the good, bad, and the ugly. Knowing at the end of the day there is no one we would rather do life with. He asked to marry me on a random weekday at my favorite Mexican restaurant, and in true Duane fashion he brought the ring home with the groceries about a month or two later.