“He was just sweeping me off my feet from the other side of the world!”

Omar and Dionna

Being a divorced mother of two beautiful little girls, it was hard for me to make time for a social life. A good friend suggested that I try Yahoo! Personals.

At first I was very skeptical. I thought you only met "crazy" people online. But I decided to give it a try anyway. After having my profile posted for several weeks and receiving tons of responses, I finally got one that stood out from all the rest.

Oddly enough it started off with, "I know you were looking for someone a little taller and older and I'm off a little with both, but I saw your profile and I just had to say hi..." Well, there in front of me was a picture of a 26-year-old medic in the United States Army.

I never in a million years thought that I could fall for a man who was four years younger than me, but this man is so amazing that I had no choice.

An unexpected twist

After writing for about a week, I decided to give him my phone number because our emails were turning into novels. We were finding out that we had so much in common -- with our childhoods, our ambitions and goals, our overall outlook on relationships and what we were looking for in a mate. I mean everything just seemed to fit.

He didn't call me the first day that I offered him the number and I was surprised. But I thought to myself, "Just another man playing games." He emailed me the next day to apologize for not calling and to let me know that he was in the U.S. Army and was deployed in Iraq.

I was shocked. I never dated anyone in the service before and certainly had no familiarity with deployment or anything like that. He told me that he was looking to get to know me while he was there and then once he came home, we would just take it from there. He also let me know that if the situation was too much for me to handle that he understood and I could be honest.

I let him know that there was no way that I would end our friendship because of his deployment and, as a matter of fact, I now wanted to hear from him more. I wanted to hear that he was okay and talk to him about what his plans were for the future, once he was home.

We continued talking, and every day turned into several times a day. Ultimately, he began sending roses and all sorts of gifts to my job for no other reason other than to say "Hi" or "I am thinking of you." He sent me a beautiful watch for my birthday. He was just sweeping me off my feet from the other side of the world!

Coming home to big plans

This is the most mature and sensitive man that I have ever met. He knows how to care for his family and he is just an amazing person. I have more respect for him than I have ever had for another person in my life. He is in one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq and yet he has always made the time to write or IM me whenever he comes in from a mission over there. He pays more attention and makes me feel more loved than any man has before.

People are skeptical, of course, but I know that I have found my soul mate. (Or should I say he found me!). Now, after five long months of communicating online, plenty of boxes shipped overseas, cards, roses, web cams and satellite phone calls, he is coming home in a few weeks and he asked me to marry him!

I am delighted to tell you that I said absolutely, "Yes." This is just right and we both know it. We will be life partners -- support each other in everything and, most importantly, never take for granted the time that we spend together because we will always remember when we wanted to be together and couldn't.

When Omar came home, we hit it off immediately. This is the most amazing man I have ever met in my life. Our opinions and views on relationships and family are the basis of our successful relationship. Two months ago we became husband and wife and I couldn't be happier. Now we are buying a house, and he comes home for good in the next few months.

Success tips from Dionna

• Be as honest on your profile as you possibly can.
• Go with your gut instincts when you feel a certain way about the person who responds. If you don't feel comfortable with them, chances are they're not the one for you.
• Fill out all of the profile information. Leaving blank spaces may turn some people off.
• First date: We went to McCormick & Schmick's, a very upscale seafood restaurant in Center City Philadelphia, then we went to South Street and got tattoos -- talk about opposite ends of the spectrum! We had a blast!

Do you have a love story to share? Let us know!

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