I got a knock on my door an hour ago and it was my new neighbors, Pete and Margaret. I had slipped an invitation for a “Leap Day Adult Neighborhood Mixer” under their door earlier today. They moved in before Christmas, and I had tried many times to introduce myself to them then – running over in the cold with the same plate of home-baked pecan shortbread cookies (drizzled in chocolate) about a half a dozen times before I gave up and ate the cookies myself.

Leap and the net will appearSome of the neighborhood ladies thought it would be a good idea to have an adult mixer – that is, invite the men too – to supplement our weekly “Ladies’ Respite Hours” and I volunteered to host. Something about the Leap Year and Feb 29 captured my imagination, and I sent out a little invitation with a photo of someone leaping and the quote “Leap and the Net Will Appear” (this has been my motto for the last week – thanks Susan!)

Anyway, Pete and Margaret had dropped by to tell me they couldn’t come to the party, but they wanted to say thank you for the invitation. I herded them in out of the snow so I could hear their story. I had heard parts of it from neighbors and now wanted it from the horse’s mouth.

Pete (New Jersey, 50′s, divorced, 3 children in college and high school) and met Margaret (Mt Lebanon, 40′s, divorced, 2 children in middle school) through eHarmony.com on Sept 11, 2008. They emailed each other for about 10 days before Pete drove 7 hours from New Jersey to meet Margaret. A month later they had bought the beautiful stone house next door and were married. It was quick but they were both sure, and they were now enjoying getting to know each other better.

This was Margaret’s first attempt at online dating, but Pete had tried some of the other sites, and he hadn’t liked them. He enjoyed the guided email conversations of eHarmony, and felt that by the time he met Margaret he really knew her.

Pete told me that it was only after he met Margaret that he realized that he had never been in love before, and of course that made me really like him.

I am an hopeless romantic and I love happy endings.

Pete and Margaret – welcome to the neighborhood – we wish you all the best!

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