My name is Cheryl & I'm in my mid-30's. I was born & raised in Phoenix Arizona and moved to Arkansas a little over 5 years ago. Why, you ask?

Once upon a time, there was a 16 year old girl, yours truly, who was introduced to a 19 year old man, Shawn, thanks to a mutual friend named Laura. Shawn and Cheryl fell in love, much to Laura's delight and Cheryl's parent's disappointment. They dated for 8 months.

One day, Shawn told Cheryl that he had to leave. His family was moving to Kansas. He realized that he was not self-sufficient enough to give the fair Cheryl what he felt she needed in a man.

This broke the fair Cheryl's heart.

They parted ways and life went on for the next 13 years.

In 2003, our heroine got back in touch with her friend, Laura, thanks to Classmates.com. They would chat and wonder, "Whatever happened to..."

One day, Laura IM'd Cheryl, very excited, and told her that she'd found Shawn and very strongly urged Cheryl to get back in touch with him. Cheryl wrote him a quick little "Do you remember me?" email. A month went by with no return word. She figured that was The End.

Lo and Behold, he wrote back shortly after, explaining that his computer had crashed. Cheryl and Shawn reconnected and, almost immediately, all was like it was before. Once daily emails turned into several daily emails. Those turned into hour long IMs which then turned into hours-long phone marathons.

Two months after their first contact, she flew out to see him. She flew out again two weeks after that. Her third visit was a month after that. He flew out to spend a week with her the next month.

A mere 5 1/2 months after their first emails, she had the UHaul packed and, leaving behind the city she was born & raised in, she moved to a MUCH smaller town in northwest Arkansas.

Again, much to the disappointment of her parents BUT to the delight of his.

Since then, our fair couple has married and gained custody of Shawn's son from his first marriage. Life continues in it's own little routine. Cheryl's parents have become resigned to her living in Arkansas and have even come to like, and maybe even respect, our hero whom they still see as the 19 year old boy who fell in love with their 16 year old daughter.

The End