How did you meet your SO?

[Crankin]

Good, someone else met and married their SO almost as quickly as I did!
I wasn't that old when I met DH (25), but I was already divorced. I had had one serious relationship in between, with a couple of not so serious ones. I definitely did not want to be single, but I was enjoying my life, not sitting waiting around. It was the late 70's, so I spent a lot of time in discos and bars, as well as doing some things I didn't do in college (like going to ASU football games), because I was with jerky DH #1. Truthfully, I don't like being alone. I do stuff by myself and actually enjoy some solitude, but I would not like to not have a partner. I often think that if DH dies before me (even though he is 3 years younger), I probably wouldn't marry again, but I would want to find someone to share my life with.
It would have to be a cyclist, of course.

[Veronica]

I was 11, he was 12, local swimming hole. He loved my white terry cloth bikini - it was 1978.

We didn't start dating until I was a sophomore and he was a junior in high school. Married after my freshman year of college, celebrated our 25th anniversary this June.

Veronica

[ultraviolet]

At work. He was a product manager at a company I was doing a lot of consulting work for. I was facilitating a review of some outside agency work for his product group. We were in a late evening review session, he made a sarcastic remark under his breath about something the creative director was trying to do, and our eyes met over a stifled laugh.

We went out for a drink a few weeks later. That was three and a half years ago.

[margo49]

In a hiking hut in a National Park...he just walked in. Talked a bit that night, set off together in the morning (to the next hut up the valley) , talked a lot that night and the next day back down the valley as the snow fell and a Very Nice Night in another hut. Next night in the little dot-on-the-map town then went our separate ways for a fortnight after which he phoned and came to stay at the friend's place I was at. The end of that week decided to "give it a try"...26 years, 3 countries, 3 children, 2 cats and 3 dogs later ...still going strong despite initial racism and bigotry not to mention worry from both sides.
The funniest thing is we are now held up as an example of a "model family"...societal tidal changes have washed us in from the reef of radicaliam onto the (almost deserted) beach of "normality" (one man one woman "good" kids and pets).
Sometimes I am so embarrassed! And so sad for all those who swallowed the heterosexist Hollywood US Cutural Imperialist myth hook line and sinker and had it explode on them. And I am the one getting to live something I don't want to support really.
Not married yet though!!!!

[limewave]

At a bar.

Which is strange on all sorts of levels.
1) Neither one of us drinks. Or we didn't at the time. We were dragged there by friends.
2) My brother met his wife at the same bar 1 year earlier.
3) DH's parents met at the SAME bar 38 years earlier!
(We do have more than 1 bar around here)

We hadn't met before that, but I had seen him around. He was a roadie and his route went past my parents house. I would see him with one of his friends out riding all the time. I took notice every time I saw them. I kept thinking that looked like a lot of fun!

[indysteel]

At a bar.

Which is strange on all sorts of levels.
1) Neither one of us drinks. Or we didn't at the time. We were dragged there by friends.
2) My brother met his wife at the same bar 1 year earlier.
3) DH's parents met at the SAME bar 38 years earlier!
(We do have more than 1 bar around here)

We hadn't met before that, but I had seen him around. He was a roadie and his route went past my parents house. I would see him with one of his friends out riding all the time. I took notice every time I saw them. I kept thinking that looked like a lot of fun!

What crazy coincidences! Maybe our OP should go to that bar!

[blue_angel]

At a bar.

Which is strange on all sorts of levels.
1) Neither one of us drinks. Or we didn't at the time. We were dragged there by friends.
2) My brother met his wife at the same bar 1 year earlier.
3) DH's parents met at the SAME bar 38 years earlier!
(We do have more than 1 bar around here)

We hadn't met before that, but I had seen him around. He was a roadie and his route went past my parents house. I would see him with one of his friends out riding all the time. I took notice every time I saw them. I kept thinking that looked like a lot of fun!

What bar?

[roadie gal]

I wrote a Xena fan fiction story and posted it to one of the fanfic sites. I got a lot of replies saying they liked the story, and I ended up corresponding regularly with a few people. One of them ending up becoming my SO. We're going on 12 years now.

BTW, we met when I was 40 and she was 29. This is the first time that I've been the older person in a relationship.

[spokewench]

At a bar.

Which is strange on all sorts of levels.
1) Neither one of us drinks. Or we didn't at the time. We were dragged there by friends.
2) My brother met his wife at the same bar 1 year earlier.
3) DH's parents met at the SAME bar 38 years earlier!
(We do have more than 1 bar around here)

We hadn't met before that, but I had seen him around. He was a roadie and his route went past my parents house. I would see him with one of his friends out riding all the time. I took notice every time I saw them. I kept thinking that looked like a lot of fun!

I met my hubby at a bar - but we were both drinkers. Actually, he was working in a band (moonlighting froms his regular day job) playing drums and I was moonlighting from my regular day job as a cocktail waitress to make extra money since I had just bought a new truck. The bar was kind of a neighborhood type bar - down the street from where I kept my horse.

The place does not exist anymore. It was on leased park property and they finally tore it down. It was the Redwood Inn in the Oakland Hills, California.

[Roadtrip]

I met my SO in college. I was actually hired in another department to replace him and we spent lots of time together over three months working on a big project. I knew him from around campus and he had a GF and he wasnt exactly my type. He went through a bad breakup with his GF and when it was time for the project to be end I realized I did have feelings for him, but didn't want to be 'rebound' girl and was really hesitant. I ended up calling him up and asked if he wanted to do lunch sometime... He suggested dinner and I said yes

That was nearly thirteen years ago.

Shannon

[zoom-zoom]

I was 11, he was 12, local swimming hole. He loved my white terry cloth bikini - it was 1978.

We didn't start dating until I was a sophomore and he was a junior in high school. Married after my freshman year of college, celebrated our 25th anniversary this June.

Veronica

I thought for sure that I was going to be the one who was youngest when meeting her SO, but you got me beat!

I met my DH when I was 17, the Summer before my last year of HS. He was 18 and had just finished and was preparing to go off to college.

I went with a friend to a bonfire party. After a couple of wine coolers I was giggly and thought he was cute (he was...and still is). He totally didn't notice me.

My best friend and his best friend decided to set us up on a date. It was supposed to just be a brief Summer fling, as he was leaving in 2.5 weeks.

We went on our first date to the drive-in. I couldn't concentrate on either movie (Always and Back to the Future III). We sat in my yard talking until 3am. Well, I think I probably did most of the talking...but it didn't scare him off. I knew he was something special after that first date. After that we were practically inseparable until the day he left for college. That last night we said goodbye was one of the most painful things I've ever experienced. We both cried and held each other for hours.

Our parents said it would never last.

We dated long-distance for 3 years, including 5 months on different continents when he studied abroad in Aberdeen, Scotland. After those years I decided to move to MI to be closer to him (I wanted to transfer schools, anyhow, so the timing was right). Our parents threw fits about it. But we were adults and there wasn't anything they could do.

We lived together for a few years and were married 6.5 years after we started dating. Aug. 2 marks 21 years since our first date. This Dec. we will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.

A few years ago my folks apologized for ever meddling and trying to discourage our relationship. And I know better than to ever discourage a young couple from being together if they have a healthy relationship. Some people do meet their soulmates young. My ILs met as teenagers, too.

[marni]

my SAG guy of 37 years and I are high school sweethearts. He bought me a cheer/pep tag for the football game and later asked me out to a movie. IIR it was a Jmes Bond movie. Now I had never heard of James Bond and thought this was supposed to be a real drama not a spoof and I remember being deeply offended that he would take me to such a stupid movie. I obviously got over it.

Three kids, 7 countries and 32 moves later we are still hanging out and riding together on charity rides.

marni

[indysteel]

Good, someone else met and married their SO almost as quickly as I did!
I wasn't that old when I met DH (25), but I was already divorced. I had had one serious relationship in between, with a couple of not so serious ones. I definitely did not want to be single, but I was enjoying my life, not sitting waiting around. It was the late 70's, so I spent a lot of time in discos and bars, as well as doing some things I didn't do in college (like going to ASU football games), because I was with jerky DH #1. Truthfully, I don't like being alone. I do stuff by myself and actually enjoy some solitude, but I would not like to not have a partner. I often think that if DH dies before me (even though he is 3 years younger), I probably wouldn't marry again, but I would want to find someone to share my life with.
It would have to be a cyclist, of course.

Yeah, I didn't really want to be single when I was 25, or 30, or 35. But when you remain single year after year (minus a handful of relationships), you gotta figure out a way to make it work. I just go to a point where I was sick of being sad all the time about it, especially since I know plenty of marriages that are nothing to pine after.

[MojoGrrl]

Co-worker, who was a shoulder to cry on when my marriage was ending...and then more.

[emily_in_nc]

In a nightclub (yeah yeah, cliche). I was tagging along with my roomie and her BF as the two guys I was dating (one I was crazy about, the other was crazy about me) were both out of town. I met my DH that night when I was totally not looking. The guy I was crazy about dropped out of my life completely right afterwards, and I dropped the guy who was crazy about me in order to focus on the new guy.

26 years of marriage later, I guess it was a good thing I joined my roomie that night!