If you ask Michael:

I kept swiping left… left… left. Or maybe it was right? I have a callus on my finger to prove what appears to be a perfect finger swipe technique. Not only that, but I also mastered this addiction all with one hand. I was very proud of myself. But so is the life of an online dater. Who would have ever thought you could listen to music, be having a text conversation with your friend, all the while scrolling a dating app looking for your life partner at the same time. Life is good!

And there it was. One night in early October of 2023 -that little red heart notification at the top of the App pops onto the scene. The excitement was overwhelming, and I felt the endorphins kicking in. Someone likes my profile!!. I am thinking to myself, “This is probably just another catfish, or pretender, scammer or the like, or worse, it’s some middle-aged dude having a joke at my expense.” Of course, the suspense is killing me. And like any devoted online dating scholar you can’t click on that notification fast enough.

“She’s cute….”, I said to myself.

Cat fisher? Scammer? Just another fake profile?

I took a read. It felt genuine, is the best way to describe it, so I respectfully chime back with “Thank you for the like”, and the rest is history.

Okay, okay, there’s more to the story than that if you want to hear it.

So here it is for all you curiosity seekers….

In a land far, far away blessed into this world comes this cute little chick named Tiffany, only to find this incredibly handsome guy named Michael -“that’s me” -also in a land far, far away. Okay, I’ll confess, we were only 15 minutes away from each other but in Houston, with the traffic. Whew! That 13-mile drive between us can be painful! It’s like driving all the way to Australia on a good day.

So, after several days of exchanging those dating App messages, we made it official. Yes, I gave her my phone number. I was terribly excited, and nervous. What was she going to think of me? So, we set a date at this little café in Katy Texas marking our first face to face. Just five months later, after our first Halloween dressed as gangsters, a wonderful and memorable Christmas, and the crazy, fun days that followed, it was her! IT WAS HER!

I was overwhelmed with excitement and on March 8, 2024, I dropped to one knee as she finished reading the last page of our story book I handed her moments before. It was that little book that paved the way to an unforgettable proposal.

She truly is my kind of rain.

The End!

If you ask Tiffany:

In an effort not to reduce the moment I met my future husband down to a swipe left on an app I will give you a little context. I had recently re-joined a dating app and went on a couple of dates that didn’t amount to much. Fresh off a mediocre date I decided to log-on to the app and “put myself out there”. What I mean by “put myself out there” is: like or swipe a couple of profiles. I rarely do this. I am the online dater that would respond but never initiate contact with anyone. Why? Probably due to a fear of rejection . Also, if he likes my profile, then it is safe to assume he is interested.

So, I perused through the app and liked or swiped on a variety of profiles that evening. Later that night, I received a response from Michael. It was a generic response that gave no indication of whether or not he was interested or responding as a courtesy. Since it was late, I sent a brief note back. Over the next few days we chatted and went through the typical online dating questions: Where are you from?, What are you looking for?, What do you do for work and fun ?, etc. Although he responded promptly, I honestly couldn’t gauge his level of interest because he was very nonchalant. At some point, he gave me his number using the line: I’m not on the app often, here is my number. You can call or text anytime you’d like.

I took him up on that offer and we continued to connect, exchange additional pictures, and set a date to meet at a small coffee shop near by. On the day of our first meeting, I arrived before him and waited to see if he would be “as advertised”. He was ! I was happy, a little nervous but excited as well. The meet and greet went well and we continued to communicate throughout the following days. Then Michael said, “Let me take you on a real date”. I agreed and we made arrangements.

What I loved about our first date was, he was completely flexible. It was college football season and I’m a sports junkie! I love watching my teams play. It turned out that Auburn was playing a conference game the night of our official date and I couldn’t miss it. So he accommodated by picking a place that facilitated me watching them play. It was that moment that I knew he was a keeper. Well, actually there were a series of things over the course of our relationship that brought me to that conclusion. However, he didn’t know it, but he had just began to win me over.

Now engaged to be married, after numerous dates, events, holidays, and special moments we have built a bond that continues to grow stronger by the day.

I look forward to spending my life with him and as we say about our journey : All gas, no brake!

Photos