Dateline

June 2003

Another late night online. As usual I was awake far longer than I really needed to be. The alarm to awake me (Jacquelyn) for work would go off in just a few hours. How I dread that sound! But, being the online perv that I am, I was still awake responding to email and chatting with a few friends. I had recently reinstalled ICQ and was feeling my way around, getting to know a few people and testing out everything. I had noticed that after completing my profile, I was bombarded with messages. As I made my way through the never-ending flashing message screens, I noticed a few from one person in particular. He'd been sending me messages for a few days, trying to get my attention. "Persistent little bugger," I thought to myself. I performed my obligatory Profile check to see what info he thought was vital about himself (if anything). And from this hotbed of information (not) I gleaned he was a middle aged man from Denmark that spoke Danish and English. So much to work with. I sent back my usual "hey!" and asked him a little about himself. I chatted with him for a little while and thought nothing more of it.

I gave myself a bit of an online break and didn't log back on for another few days. I was greeted with further messages from Mr. Denmark and wondered why he found me so compelling. I decided to ignore him and continue on with my regular routine. Over the next few days, I continued to receive daily messages, notes and email from him, so I decided to grace him with a response. I found myself up late again, chatting with my new online friend for hours.

August 2003

My nightly chats with my new buddy continued for several weeks. He would log on as soon as he got home from work in time to catch me a few hours before bedtime. We'd talk about our days at work, plans for the weekend and our lives in general. About this time, I began research on travel to Denmark, just in case I ever decided to visit. Of course, he would be more than happy to be my tour guide. I had always wanted to visit Europe and Denmark certainly seemed a worthy stop on what I dubbed my "European Tour".

October 2003

By this time, I had decided that I was definitely going to visit my new friend. He had become an important part of my life and I enjoyed our marathon chats. It seemed the feeling was mutual, so we began making plans for my trip there. However, life intervened and I had to postpone my plans to focus on other, more pressing issues.

January 2004

Finally, a reprieve. After months of checking airfare, arranging time off from work and deciding who would keep which animal (more on them later), I was on my way. After a few struggles with getting my documents and travel arrangements in order I had some doubts, but everything worked out. The folks at the travel agency I'd decided on (Cosmopolitan Travel) were very helpful with my endless questions and calls.

My friends had a wonderful time teasing me about traveling 4,000 miles to meet a man. My response was that I was not just going to "meet a man". I was going to see another country and expand my view of the world. By now, however, we realized that we felt like we were more than just friends. Could it be love? We both decided to err on the side of caution and see how things went when we were actually together.

JANUARY 28, 2004

My day had arrived. I was on my way to meet Morten. FINALLY! I hoped that I would remain in good spirits after my 11 hour journey. I had my doubts after the eight hour flight from Dulles to Amsterdam. The two hour layover in Schipol Airport seemed to last forever, and the extra 45 minute delay didn't help matters either. I was tired and ready for rest. An hour after takeoff, we landed in Billund. I had made it. After luggage retrieval and checking in with customs, I stepped through a door and was greeted by his smiling face. I knew I was in love.

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