Tony & Sherri Goldsmith's Love Story

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!