Laura Bennet – Author

Where It All Began

I remember sitting in my parents’ living room one night after sharing a delicious meal during one of my rare visits. Naturally, as it usually did, the conversation turned to my struggling, single-parent-of-teenagers life. Twice I had divorced unfaithful men (confessions of another kind), and my parents felt the time had come for me to have another husband – preferably one who cared deeply for me and who could support me in the fashion in which I had been raised as opposed to the one in which I had survived for the previous twenty-two years.

Given my history with men, I was hesitant to dive headfirst into the deep end of the dating pool even if reluctantly willing to consider a third marriage. My parents had an idea of how to launch me back into dating society stating, “You need a man. A nice Christian one with a good job. We have this friend…”

It’s not what you think. Yes, there had been a couple of men they knew who had crossed my path “coincidentally” as a result of my visits to them, but this friend was not someone they thought I should date, he was actually an acquaintance who had founded the well-known, vastly popular internet dating site, eharmony.com, a site that has been harmoniously matching soul mates for more than ten years.

Talk about the deep end, frankly, I thought my parents had gone there in relation to my single status. I considered my life, while challenging, also completely satisfying, and though I had always longed for this person who was my “soul mate,” I still remained a bit disillusioned and skeptical. Still, it had been a few years since my divorce and the healing process was progressing well. Truthfully, I had entertained the idea of meeting someone. Just not online.

I think I chuckled nervously at their seemingly ludicrous suggestion.

“Online dating??”

What did my parents, who barely used computers, know about dating on the internet? However, they seemed pretty convinced and proceeded to relate some stories of people they knew who had actually met and married as a result of trying it. I confess, it peaked my interest, and I went home with the idea rolling around in my mind. A few days later I decided to look up the site “just to see what it was like.” Right. Confession…I was getting hooked on the idea. And it ended up being a good one.