My LDR story 💜

So it all started on March 11, 2022. I met this fantastic guy on a dating app. The app is called "Jebena, " an East African dating app. So, I am 30 years old and still haven't given up on finding love. To find love, you have to put yourself out there, so that's what I did; I matched with someone on the Jebena app. I think this time he could be the one. I feel this way because he shows me signs that he could be the one. His communication is great, talking every day, whether by text or phone call. He texts me good morning every morning and goodnight when he goes to bed. There is a bit of time difference because he lives in Norway, but that doesn't stop him from remembering to text or call me. I feel I can trust him after three months of talking and getting to know each other. He is a charming, kind and honest man. We talk about everything from school to our jobs, family, favourite tv shows or movies. Some things I learned about him when it comes to movies and tv shows. He likes Marvel movies and superheroes. I'm not too fond of Marvel movies, but I'd watch it for him. When I started a tv show called Gilmore girls and guess what, he had watched it before, so each time we called each other, I told him not to tell me what happened. So after two months, I finished Gilmore girls. It was a great show. Another thing he does is talk about the future. He talks about school and about going back to school to finish his studies. He works now in an investment company and writes articles for his blog. One thing we have in common is that we both have blogs. I would say we're doing pretty good in our lives and our careers. Another thing I like to note is that we are open with each other. I opened up about my mental health struggles. Something was telling me to be open and honest about it. So when I first told him about what happened, he was so understanding and realized that in our Eritrean community, it's not discussed. We understand there's a lot of stigma about mental health and nobody seems to talk about it. That was a relief when I was open to him about my mental health and taking medication, and he was calm and understanding while I was talking to him about it. Now that it is out in the open, I like to add that we talked about everything, and one of the other things we talked about recently was the subject of having children in the future. I wanted us to be on the same page about wanting kids, but not wanting kids is a deal-breaker for me. So I didn't know what he was going to say, but I wrote out what I was going to say and then sent it to him. Then, after he read it, he was open and honest about his thoughts on children in the future. He told me he wants children someday but would like to wait a bit. And that answer was okay with me; I agreed. So he would want to wait. That is a good answer for me. We talked about mostly everything leading up to now. We discussed in March how we would make this long-distance relationship work. He and I want this to work. Whether it be him coming to see me or me coming to see him, we discussed it and agreed that he would be the one to see me first. We would make it happen. Now, I am happy to say he delivered on his promise. Three weeks ago, July 16, was the day that he came from Norway to visit me. He flew overseas to see me. So leading up to July 16, I was nervous because we would be seeing each other for the first time. I thought he wouldn't like me in person, just the usual anxiety feelings. So when that day came, I had to get everything ready at the Airbnb because we rented out an Airbnb in Vaughn for one week. So, I had help from my cousin and friend to set up things at the Airbnb. I blew up welcome balloons, taped them to a wall, and got him a thoughtful gift, a book I created online with a cartoon story of him and me. When the time came to pick him up at the airport, I was nervous but excited to meet him in person. So what happened was, funny story, my cousin and I went to the wrong terminal to pick him up. So he got there before we did. We were standing at terminal 3, not Terminal 1, so we had to take a train to terminal 1 to meet him. So when we got there, my cousin was videotaping the whole moment. I was so nervous; my cousin saw him before I saw him, then she swung me behind a wall. It was hilarious thinking about it now. Then I got the courage to walk up to him, and he saw me, and when we saw each other, everything felt right. We hugged for a very long time and took a picture together. After dropping us off there, the first night was so lovely. He was a gentleman the whole week; he would do small things like holding my hands, opening car doors, and cooking for me. He is a great cook; he made grilled cheese with Nutella and this bolognese sauce, which tasted so good. The whole week was beautiful, and I had a great time with him. We visited the Kensington market, CN tower, moxies and jackastors. We watched a tv show called a lethal weapon, and the movie Raya and the last dragon. Both were entertaining. We chilled mostly inside for two days doing that, and then, July 20 was a Wednesday, and it was a big day because he would be visiting my parents; it was pretty nerve-racking, but everything went well; we had traditional coffee and ate dinner there. I would say my parents liked him. All and all, we enjoyed our time. He left on Friday, July 22, and it was the hardest saying goodbye, but we made it like a see you later kind of thing. Although, I did cry a lot the night before. Overall, It was the best week of my life and what was better is we made things official and were boyfriend and girlfriend. He is so affectionate. We have plans to see each other for his birthday in November, so we will see what happens then. Stay tuned!

ps. If you guys want an update on how everything is going, let me know in the comments! I just want to say thank you so much for reading this far.