When KingLeo met Elmatress

People always look at me funny when I tell them I met my husband on the Internet. Maybe its because we didn't meet on one of those dating sites? We met in a football chat room.

Let me start from the beginning....

When I was a senior in high school, my mom had a computer obsession. She would spend hours on Yahoo, in a chat room designed for people to go in and talk about football. She made a ton of friends and usually the same people showed up and chatted in this room. She still talks to a lot of the people 11 years later.

I moved away from home not long after I graduated. The summer of 1999 I made my way across the country and ended up in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I have no idea what made me think moving to VA was a good idea. In many ways, and for many years I regretted my decision. I made many friends, but it never really felt like home. I was looking for ways to go back to CO.

In April of 2003, I went home for a visit. Mom was still chatting in her chat room and had met new people. She told me about some kid with the nickname "Leo". I told her I was not in the mood to talk to guys from the Internet. My previous boyfriend was a guy I met online and he turned out to be a cheating asshole. She insisted that I would like this guy and when he found out she had a daughter he said he wanted to talk to me. I still don't know what made him think he needed to talk to me. He was a Packers fan and I was a Chiefs fan. It was, after all, a football chat room. So I took a chance. So began, the story of Dave and Niki....

So then the next thing I know, I am talking to this guy on the phone every single day. Sometimes for hours at night. It was ridiculous how much time I spent on the phone. I was really starting to like him too. I knew this couldn't end well, so in July I decided I would just stop talking to Dave. He didn't like that very much and was super persistent. He called me numerous times, and told me that he liked me too much to stop talking to me. Against my better judgement, I figured Id keep talking to him. If nothing else at least I had made a friend.

Dave spent the next 7 months, writing me love letters, sending me money when I needed it, and calling me every single day without fail. I still have the love letters. Anyone who knows Dave, knows that if there is one thing in this world he can do, it's write. Imagine how short, sweet, well written, and to the point a love letter would be from Dave, and you are correct.

In Nov. Dave was turning 21. He invited me to come to NJ and go to Atlantic City with him for his birthday. I just took another big chance and decided to do it. We had been talking on the phone for 7 months. Why not meet in person, right?

So a friend of mine drove me up to NJ. I was scared and nervous to go by myself. You hear all these creepy stories about guys from the Internet ya know? When I first saw Dave, he was standing outside his mom's apartment building. He wasn't as tall as I thought and he kind of looked like a street thug. (hahaha! Sorry, I just pictured it again. That site makes me laugh, and smile, and makes my heart swell to this day) He ordered me Domino's hot wings. It was late at night and they were the only place open. Plus I was craving hot wings.

We stayed the night at his place and then went to AC the next day. It was an amazing couple of days. Dave payed attention to me, listened when I talked, and most importantly, MADE ME LAUGH. I didn't want to leave. I was convinced that was the last time I would ever see him. I was feeling like a cliche from a movie. Girl falls for a guy while on vacation. Girl has to leave. Girl never sees the guy again and becomes a bitter old cat lady. That, however, didn't happen.

Dave had never been on a plane in his life. I told him I was going to Colorado for Christmas. He said he wanted to come to. I was a little surprised. I was also nervous. My family is not the most normal of families. My older brother is the manager of an Adult Entertainment store, and at the time, my younger brother was, well he was a stripper I believe.......

So we spent that Christmas together, and I could tell I was really starting to like Dave. I didn't want to put myself through a long distance relationship though. It sucked leaving Colorado. Not only was I having to say good bye to my friends and family, but I was having to say good bye to Dave as well. Then we saw each other again....

Dave convinced his mom and sister to drive him down to VA. in Feb for valentines day. It was crazy. We got to spend a couple more days together and he had to leave again. Now it had been almost a year and I was getting really discouraged. Dave was going to college at the time and I couldn't afford to move to NJ, plus at the time I really wanted to move back to Colorado. When Dave left this time, he told me he wanted to move down to VA in May when school let out.

So in May of  2004 Dave moved down to Virginia to be with me. It was a decision that I couldn't believe he made. He left all of his friends and family and even his dreams of finishing college in NJ, to be with me. We lived in a house in Staunton until March of 2005. In March, we moved to Harrisonburg. We have lived in the same apartment complex ever since.

For four years we were Just happy to be together. We talked about having kids all the time and tried for awhile. I told him I cared more about having kids then I did about getting married. Both of us have divorced parents, so we have equally negative outlooks on the whole matrimony issue.

Then in Aug of 2008 I started having a lot of problems. I was sick all the time and never seemed to be well. I was constantly shaking and feeling light headed. I was always thirsty and even when I drank 8 bottles of water a day, my thirst was never quenched. I gained 60 lbs and I couldn't get it to go away. In Jan. of 2009, I ended up in the E.R. I was pretty sure I had strep throat, but I was scared because I had a high fever and was really not feeling well that night. Dave came with me to the E.R. He was pretty worried, and I was about to find out just how worried...

The E.R. doctors at this hospital I was at, are not very compassionate or smart. I wont name names, but I am sure anyone reading this who lives in VA knows which hospital I am talking about. So I was laying on a very uncomfortable bed and the Dr came in and checked me. They really didn't know what was wrong so they just gave me an i.v. drip of some antibiotics and told me I needed a family Dr. Dave held my hand as they put the needle in. The Dr. said I might fall asleep. Dave just kept holding my hand. Then I passed out. I have no idea how long I was asleep. When I woke up, Dave was still holding my hand. He was just looking at me like no one had ever looked at me before. I wish it wasn't such a cheesy moment, but it was. I knew by the look on his face 3 things. 1. He wasn't letting go of my hand, 2. He was pretty scared , and 3. I wanted to marry this man.

So I went to an OBGYN and found a Family Dr. Between the 2 Dr. I found out what was wrong with me. I have type 2 diabetes and PCOS. The PCOS makes it nearly impossible for me to lose weight and helped with development of the diabetes. I have a severe case of PCOS because I don't ovulate at all, whereas some womenw ith it are able to ovulate and can still get pregnant, I cant. At least I can't get pregnant without a lot of help. This I know makes it really hard on Dave, since I know he wants babies as much as, if not more than I do. He is bound and determined to be a daddy and to be a better Father than his biological father was.

After all of this news, I just figured it would be smart to at least get married. If anything happens to me health wise, I need someone to be able to make decisions, and who better than the guy who has held my hand through it all??? In February of 2009, my mom and Dave's mom decided that they would both come visit in March. I figured why not get married when they were both here since there was no way we could afford a big formal wedding.

So one night after I picked Dave up from work, while we were driving home, this is the conversation we had, in typical Dave and Niki fashion:
Me: "since our moms are both going to be here the end of March, you wanna get married?"
Dave: "sure"
Me: "OK what are you gonna do when we get home?"
Dave: "play some Call of Duty. you?"
Me: "Watch t.v. I guess."

Not much has changed in the 7 years we have been together. I occasionally almost sign my name Niki Vance, that's about it. Dave still makes me laugh, and he grabs my hand every chance he gets. (it's one of the things I love the most and I am sure now he will comment about it) I always read about people asking older couples "whats the secret to a long happy marriage?" It's usually the same 2 or 3 different responses "the wife is always right", "never go to bed angry", or "listen to what the other person has to say". In my opinion it's all about being there to hold the other person's hand and above all else, MAKE THE OTHER PERSON LAUGH!!!!!!

(Cue Dave saying "I am funnier than her")