Kim and Lisa met up through PlanetOut, where they both had personal ads. It was Lisa who answered Kim's ad and the circumstances of it have always made them think that someone up there wanted them to find one another. You see, it was amazing that she found Kim's ad at all because, when she did her searches, she always stipulated she was looking for women between the ages of 30 and 39 who were within 50 miles of her home. It never varied. And then one day, for no reason she can name, she did a search and upped the maximum age to 40 and didnt put in a location restriction. Kim's ad came up and, although she didn't provide a location for herself, Lisa liked what he had to say enough to write to her. Now, on her side of it, Kim hadn't checked her email at PlanetOut in months and only went there the day after Lisa had written her because a friend had sent her to look at an article that was posted at the site. She was surprised to see that she had mail and she says that she had quit reading other peoples ads long before that because she had decided that if God wanted her to be with someone, they would find her.

Now, needless to say, Lisa was a little disappointed when she found out that Kim lived in Texas, since she lived in North Carolina at the time. She remembers in Kim's first letter that she said something about Texas not being so very far from North Carolina and that she hoped Lisa would continue to write to her. Well, to Lisa's way of thinking, it never hurts to make a new friend, even if they live 25 hours away, so they continued to write to one another. It didn't take long for Lisa to figure out that there was something really special about Kim. They clicked. They exchanged emails that took several hours to write. They were both rushing home to their computers at the end of the day in anticipation of what awaited in their email boxes. It was during this time that Lisa tagged Kim with her nickname, "Cowboy".

And then the unthinkable happened. Lisa came home one day and there was no email from Kim. She was a little disappointed, but then she just rationalized that perhaps she was working late or had lost power and couldn't get online. She wasn't really worried until 4 days passed and still she had no email. She sent Kim a short message asking if she had said or done something that offended her and still she got no reply. She had no choice but to chalk it up as one of those things and she once again started reading the ads at PlanetOut. She even answered a couple (as well as responding to a few responses from her own ad) but she found that she now had a problem...Her heart was no longer in it. Lisa knew who she wanted and the fact that this person had apparently decided she didn't want her didn't change that fact. She didn't know what to do so she just kept hoping for an email from her Cowboy, although, in truth, she didn't really believe one would be forthcoming.

After a full week of silence, Lisa finally received an e-card from Kim. She was surprised to say the least and her heart skipped a beat when she read the title "You Always Really Do Say The Right Things". She couldn't be angry with her for her silence because it turned out that she had been in the hospital with pneumonia and had no way of contacting her. She immediately wrote her back and asked him for her phone number, since the ecard had included a wish that they could pick up where they had left off and a hope that someday they would try talking on the phone. Lisa called her as soon as she got her next email and they didn't miss a day on the telephone after that. They would talk for hours and hated to hang up the phone, even when the sun started to come up.

Kim and Lisa finally met in person when Lisa flew out to Texas. She admits that she was nervous. She didn't want things to change between them. Happily, Kim was everything that she knew in her heart that she would be. Kim was a little nervous too, unsure of exactly how things would be for them in person. When she saw her standing there in the airport, her heart skipped a beat and then thudded in her chest with pure delight. She thought she was more beautiful in person than in her pictures and her smile just touched her heart. They spent 8 incredible days together. Only those that have experienced an internet relationship can know the joy that comes from finally being able to touch the other person, to look into their eyes and see everything that you feel reflected there.

They both knew that the seperation would be harder once they had actually touched and they were right. Lisa's brain kept telling her to "be an adult" and not rush into some giant move halfway across the country...but her heart had it's own ideas. Kim also tried her level best to be mature about the whole thing, but once love has taken hold, logic seems to go out the window. Lisa's friends know her well enough to know that she follows her heart, wherever it may lead. And so a Ryder truck was rented, all of her belongings were put in boxes and a 1600 mile journey was taken.

Kim flew to NC to drive the big truck and Lisa followed in her car. Lisa's kitties were appropriately drugged and stuffed in carriers every morning. They rode in the Ryder with Kim while Lisa's two monstrous rottweilers took up the backseat of her car. They drove eight hours a day, sleeping in pet friendly motels at night. They survived traffic jams, truck breakdowns and 77 miles of construction in the lovely state of Arkansas. It was a hell of a trip, but they made it home to Texas with their sanity and Lisa's belongings intact.

The lesson in this, if there must be one, is that life is just too short to pass up a chance for real happiness when it comes your way. A few years ago, no one could have told Lisa that she would fall in love on the internet and move herself away from all the people who cared about her...but there she was in Texas, happier than she ever imagined she could be in a place where the daytime temperature closes in on 100 degrees regularly in the summer. *grin*

In January of 2003, Kim and Lisa once again packed up everything in boxes and relocated back to North Carolina. This time, it was 7 animals sleeping in the hotels at night and they managed to avoid any major road construction. What they COULDN'T avoid, though, was the ice that covered the roads in the last half of our journey. It slowed things down a bit, but eventually, they made it to their new home. They settled in fairly quickly and Kim has learned what life is like where the trees grow tall and the local fishing hole is only 10 minutes away. As for Lisa, she is just happy to be back where she can see her friends and family regularly and make long weekend trips to the ocean.