"We found true love"

December 2017

“One evening after work in Vermont, my mom and stepdad, Charlie, were helping me look for apartments online. I was planning to move west, and I was sure I was going to be getting a job I applied for. We had a glass of wine and decided to just look at what single men out west looked like online. So we found ourselves onfarmersonly.com,laughing the night away. Well, after a while of laughing my mom and Charlie insisted on paying for a one month membership for me. I did not feel right about having them pay for it, so I got the nerve to get up and find my credit card. I have had mixed feelings about online dating, and after a year of trying to meet someone in person I decided to cave and try this. Never did I think I would actually meet anyone online. Between the wine, my parents, and the winter blues I decided to give it a try, and boy was it worth the $20!

I gave my computer to my stepdad and mom to find me a guy in the Montana area. I wish I still had the picture I took of them looking at my computer going through the profiles, it was hilarious to me! Within 24 hours of signing up for the website, Nathan wrote to me. I remember thinking his pictures were nice, but I couldn’t see his face at all so I was a little skeptical. For whatever reason I was drawn to keep talking to him.

Nathan and I continued to talk, and I eventually asked him for a picture of his face. I was very pleased to realize that the person I was talking with was very handsome! Not that looks matter, but it helps. We shared our Instagram usernames and continued to slowly get to know one another. I remember Nathan asking me on New Year’s Eve if I wanted to try talking on the phone. I chickened out and was very regretful the next day that I didn’t take him up on his offer.

I eventually found out that I didn’t get the job I applied for and I slowly started distancing myself from talking with Nathan, as I didn’t think anything would come from it. However, each time he wrote to me I was drawn to keep talking to him. I remember thinking, “Well why not? Even if it isn’t going anywhere, I can still write to him.”

The more we wrote, and the more I got to know Nathan, the more I wanted to learn. He even went as far as to hand write a letter, in cursive, and mail it to my house. I still remember Charlie bringing the letter to me and saying, “You got a love letter in the mail!” I immediately texted Nathan. I stalled on opening the letter for about 10 minutes, which made both mine and Nathan’s heart race with suspense. I eventually got the nerve to open the letter, something I hope to always keep.”

January 2018

“Nathan eventually asked me about meeting in person. He suggested that we meet at the Kentucky Derby in May. Well, I thought that sounded wonderful so I asked my friend Stacy if she would go with me as I was nervous meeting up with someone who I met online. Plans eventually changed, and Nathan realized May would be too difficult to get away from the ranch, so we started brainstorming about other meeting locations. Our thought process was to meet somewhere in the middle, between Wyoming and Vermont.

We threw out a couple of ideas, and eventually landed on meeting in Savannah, Georgia. One thing that really stuck out to me was that Nathan wanted to go where I wanted to go. He cared about what I wanted, and aimed to please, and Savannah was a place that neither of us had been before.

Now the question was on when to meet. I remember going into work the next day and looking at my calendar. I was looking for a holiday so I would have a three-day weekend. Monday, February 19th was President’s Day, and I could easily get an even longer weekend. After talking with Nathan, plane tickets were quickly purchased for each of us.

I slowly started to tell a couple of friends about my secret trip to Savannah. They expressed caution and gave me advice on how to go about this trip. One big takeaway is that I still had to talk to Nathan on the phone, up to this point he still didn’t know the sound of my voice. So I sucked up my nerves and we found a time to FaceTime. Nathan and I were smiling ear to ear in awe of each other over the videophone. I remember hanging up the phone with sheer excitement. It took me a couple of weeks to finally tell my mom and Charlie about the upcoming trip and I swore them to secrecy.”

February 2018

“Excitement grew as the trip got closer. We reserved a two-bedroom Airbnb in downtown Savannah, right near Forsyth Park. I shared the address and Nathan’s information with family and friends and took off for a weekend getaway to meet my cowboy. I remember having a hard time eating and sleeping before the trip, I was a ball of nerves and excitement!

Leading up to the trip, I remember talking with Nathan about having high expectations for the trip. In my mind, I was envisioning best-case scenario. I remember trying to lower expectations for the trip, as there was no possible way that it could be better than my imagination. Well, let me tell you the trip was a million times better than best-case scenario! I don’t think I can say it was love at first sight, because I knew I loved Nathan before I ever laid eyes on him.

We met in the Savannah airport, and embraced with laughs, smiles, and nerves. We were both pleasantly content with the outcome of our meeting, and had an absolutely amazing weekend together.

Long story short, I moved to Wyoming in March of 2018. Nathan and I found out we were expecting our first baby together in June. We married in August 2018.

Our wedding day is a story in and of itself. We went to the courthouse to get married with very short notice to ourselves and family, and my Vermont family was not able to attend, so we traveled to Vermont at the end of August to renew our vows and have a ceremony. Our son, Noble, was born in March 2019.

The real tragedy of this love story is that it will end sooner than we are ready. Nathan was recently diagnosed with ALS, which is a terminal disease. After diagnosis, patients usually live 3-5 years. Right now, I am 31 years old and Nathan is 35. Our son is 4 1/2 months old.

If I was given the choice to pursue this love knowing what the future holds, I would jump at the opportunity again and again. We found true love. We may only get to experience true love for a short time, but we found it. I would rather know what true love is for this short time, then to never have experienced it. Thank you farmersonly!”