After things fell apart with my last relationship, I concentrated on getting my life in order, physically and financially. And I had managed it, more or less. I prided myself on taking control and being a "strong woman" able to overcome the adversities that had come my way. But emotionally, my life was a wasteland, even as I started this Web site, and I didn't foresee that changing at any time in the near future, if ever. I had accepted that and made myself accept and embrace the independence I had gained, and not think about the loneliness.

However, I began chatting online again, simply as a way of interacting with others without having to go out to bars etc, which is so "not me." After a couple of months I started noticing a particular person who seemed to be intelligent, mature and have a fun personality. For a while, we said hello and nothing more, but one evening we got chatting privately and found out we had a lot of things in common. Each subsequent conversation revealed more similarities, both in our life experiences and our likes and dislikes. Soon we realized that we had fallen in love, each of us finding that the love and romance we had thought gone from our lives forever had been revived.

I had no inkling, during that first online conversation, that our relationship would blossom into something so wonderful, so fulfilling and complete. To find someone that I love so deeply and who returns that love tenfold was completely beyond my comprehension and I am in awe. To go from simply sharing space with someone who rarely gave a thought to my needs and wishes, to being with someone who totally cares about me, physically and emotionally, fills me with hope for the future. Up until meeting Eric, I had looked at the future as just an expanse of time to be endured in loneliness. Now I can look forward with hope and joy, seeing at last the delights the future can hold for us as we share every moment we can, celebrating holidays and special occasions whenever possible, and hopefully eventually being together permanently, if the Fates allow.

It's amazing how you can live your entire lifetime, even be married for years, and never experience the pure love and romance that really makes the spirit soar. I have finally experienced that with this wonderful man, Eric.

Update
It seems so long since I originally wrote and uploaded this page. Eric and I have continued our long distance romance and it has grown, as we hoped it would, into a meaningful and fulfilling relationship that would last. We have been so lucky in that, although we live on different coasts, we are in a position where we have been able to see each other on a fairly regular basis, usually every couple of months. In May of 2006, Eric made my heart soar and my dreams come true when he placed an engagement ring on my finger and made our engagement official.

Below are a couple of photographs that were taken in May 2006.

Update
On October 30, 2007, Eric and I became man and wife on the island of Oahu, at Wailae Beach Park in Honolulu.

Read about our Wedding in Paradise! and visit our online Wedding album.

So why, I hear you ask, is there still a countdown to Eric's next visit on the main index page of this website? Well, due to difficulties in working out transfer arrangements so we could both live and work in the same city, we are going to have to continue the long distance relationship which we have had until Eric is eligible for early retirement, October 31 of 2008.

We've done it this long... a few more months won't kill us!

Ever the romantic, which is one of the things I love so much about Eric, below is a small collection of poems that he has sent, in letters, cards and emails throughout our long distance romance.

The Most Precious Thing

You are the most precious thing,
in my life today.
You mean more to me than anyone else
and I hope you're here to stay

What I feel for you lies deep
deep within my heart
The amount of love you see
is merely just a part

Not even these poems
that you inspire me to write
can describe how I adore you
or how I dream of you day and night.

You fill my head with things
I've never thought before.
You've let me feel true love
and you let my heart soar.

You are all I've ever wanted
and all I'll ever need.
Because you my sweet angel
are the most precious thing

~ Taylor Hiigli

Inside my heart
there is a place
that only you can reach.

Inside my heart
there is a feeling of trust-
the knowledge that I can turn to you
with my greatest hopes
and my deepest fears.

Inside my heart
and inside my very soul,
there is deepest joy
and truest contentment -

For all I could ever want
is what I have with you.

~ Carolyn Hoppe