Tony and I met when we were 13 years old at a local baseball
game that Tony was playing in (13 year old All-Star Game). We met up again
during baseball season when we were 15, started talking on the phone, and began
dating after we turned 16. We were going to different high schools in the same
county in Virginia during 11th grade. Tony changed high schools his
senior year and we ended up going to the same high school and graduating
together. We ended up dating until just before turning 21 years of age. At this
time, Tony was in boot camp for the United States Navy and I was working for
the DOD/Department of Navy near the Pentagon.
Approximately two years into Tony’s career with the Navy, I
reached out to his mom and requested for her to contact Tony and ask him to
call me. It was extremely important and I had to talk to him. Tony called me in
about 5 minutes. He put in for leave and made arrangements to fly back to
Virginia the very next night. We spent the next week while he was in Virginia
talking about things and decided to try and to do the long distance relationship
(coast to coast). Unfortunately, things just did not seem to work out. At this
time, Tony continued his career with the Navy and we, both, went on with our
lives; got married, had children, and got separated and/or divorced.
During the next 17 years, I would run into Tony’s mom and
brother on occasion, but tried to respect Tony’s privacy and still not have any
contact with him. Although, I would ask them from time to time how Tony was doing. Tony
kept a photo album of our pictures during our years together and, on occasion, attempted
to find me when he visited his family in Virginia but, due to the changes in
the roads, was unable to find my father’s house.
After 17 years of Tony and I having no contact with one
another, on January 4, 2010 we found each other on Facebook (of all places). We
communicated through Facebook for about two days and then Tony scheduled a time
to call me. Within (about) five minutes of us talking, we both felt as if
nothing had changed, no time had passed, and realized there were no hard
feelings. We continued to talk for the next 4 months... every single night for 4
hours and got caught up on the past 17 years. During this time, we decided to
be committed to one another and not date anyone else. We traveled from
California to Virginia and Virginia to California to see each other every few
months for the next 14 months. In March of 2011, I moved, with my two boys to
California.
On January 4, 2014 (our 4 year anniversary of finding each
other/being back together), Tony proposed and on January 4, 2015 (our 5 year
anniversary) we got married at the age of 45. This was truly a lifetime in the
making and we both could not be happier!