Tinder Success Story

"On a scale of 1 to America, how free are you tonight?"

What can I say, Michael had me at the first right swipe.

I was fresh off a bad breakup when I headed north to my cousin's wedding in Anacortes, Washington. I'd always dreamed of moving up to the PNW - trading in the desert heat for mountains, four seasons, and lots of coffee. Logging on to Tinder on vacation was merely for research purposes - it was a family trip and I was not looking for a hook-up. Beard after beard after beard wearing a flannel, I landed on Michael. His humor (see his Tinder profile in the image carousel below) and smile had me instinctively swiping right.

"What is a girl from Arizona doing all the way up here in Skagit Valley?"

We talked on and off during my short weekend trip. I went back to college in Arizona and even though we were now a thousand miles apart, the messages didn't slow down. It came naturally - the conversation, the feelings, the planning. After three months of phone calls, Skype dates, and letters, I headed back north for the summer.

He was wearing a red and white button-up shirt on the day we first met. The sun was shining in red square at Western Washington University and classes had just gotten out. Students dodged each other as they scurried pass the loud water fountain. I saw him from a distance and my heart fluttered. He picked up the pace and just as he got within speaking range, I heard him say "I'm just gonna go for it" and he swiftly picked me up and kissed me.

Michael's entire family - mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, cousin, aunt, and grandma - showed up for our second date at Chace's Pancakes. We stuffed our faces with a variety of breakfast food while they shared stories from Michael's childhood. These people were my kinda people.

Once the summer was over, I had to go back to Flagstaff to finish my last semester of college. After six months of long distance - complete with trips back and forth along with a lot of phone calls - I got my degree and moved in with Michael's parents in Washington. A year later, Michael and I moved in together.

It's been four years since that first message was sent. Those years together have been full of adventures, laughter, family, and love.