June 2, 1967 – My ex, Jimmy, was born
June 3, 2002 – Two years after our separation, I was having a pity party for myself the day after Jimmy’s birthday. I decided to do something about it and went on my Yahoo Personals profile and reviewed potential candidates for a date. I ran across this ad:
Best Kept Secret on the Shore
Age: 45 – Capricorn
Gender: Man seeking a Woman
Location: Easton, MD
Looking for . . . : Commited – Just Dating – Friends – Pen Pals – Intimate/Physical
Marital Status: Divorced
Ethnicity: Caucasian (white)
Body Type: 6′ 0″, average body
Education: High School Grad
Employment: Works at home, no answer on income
Profession: Executive/Management
Religion: Other, rarely attends services
Political Views: Middle of the road
Smoking: Smokes occasionally
Drinking: Drinks occasionally
Kids: Yes – at home full-time, doesn’t want more
Interests: Community Service – Dining – Family – Movies – Music – Outdoor Activities – Travel
More about Me:
Hello and thank you for reading my add. I am a divorced dad raising my two wonderful (most of the time) children. People say I am handsome, funny and caring person. The majority of my time revolves around the children and their activities. Anyone in a similar situation understands what I mean. I have turned a corner in my life and wish to meet someone in a similar situation for a long term relationship. I have allot to offer that special person and hope they feel the same way in time. Well send me a message, I will respond to everyone. Until then, take care! (Note to my readers – This was harder to type than I thought – I wanted to fix the spelling and grammar.)
Hummmmm, I thought. “I will respond to everyone” he says? Lets just see if he’s telling the truth. So on Monday, June 3 at 5:26 pm, I emailed him. He replied. We chatted on the phone. Ok – he chatted on the phone and I would occasionally chat back. Days rolled into months into years. We, I mean he, chatted away the time. At a couple of parties with friends, they threatened to take me down for the count if I didn’t get off the phone with him soon. On one particular occasion at Danny and Lauree’s house, they got so fed up with the phone glued to my ear, Lauree got her cell phone speaker out. After planting my phone in the speaker and setting Keith on the table, he joined the party, chatting away with not only me, but everyone that came and went. We were like giddy school kids. We fell in love. When I traveled to Pigeon Forge in 2007 with my best friend from high school, Karen, and Kitson (remember Kitson – my best friend from college?), they both threatened to toss my phone out the window of the van if I spent more than 5 minutes chatting with him. I was a good girl but I actually found myself going through Keith chat withdrawal.
I usually text Jimmy on the 2nd to wish him a happy birthday. Preoccupied with thoughts of this imminent milestone, I missed the 2nd and ended up sending belated birthday wishes today – of all days – but without his birthday rolling around 10 years ago, would I have had my pity party? Would I have sent that fateful email? So maybe it was fitting that I would have texted him a day late.
In the absence of Keith’s chatter, I do find myself moving to fill the void – travel, walking, busy work. Despite my struggle to fill the silence and my moments of missing Keith, I’ve never stopped feeling the love. It is a love that will last beyond his lifetime or my lifetime. With every word I write, it fixes what we shared in the archives of cyberspace. Our children can tell their children about a love that was stronger than cancer, brave in the face of death, and capable of outlasting the life of a cell phone battery. Today, I celebrate that lifetime of love that started 10 years ago.
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