EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK: What's Your Love Story?

In June 2001, I wrote a story that changed my life.

I was a features writer for The Des Moines Register at the time, just 28 years old, when I thought my whole world had come to an end. I had just broken up with my boyfriend of three years and I was devastated. Even my friends didn't know what to do with me. I didn't want to go out and I most certainly didn't want to meet anyone new. 

That was before I met the "Summer of Tim." But I digress...

Anyway, I was looking for a local angle on a story about people who had used the Internet to get over a break-up. It was such an apropos assignment for me at the time, because all I could think of were ways to either get back at my ex or prove that I could move on without him.

About a week into my search, I overheard a group of my girlfriends talking about the "Summer of Tim." What in the world was the "Summer of Tim?" I was dying to know. It turns out they met this guy named Tim who had created a website to - wait for it - get over a broken heart.

No. Way. Bingo!

Tim's story was a good one. He was a computer programmer who built websites for a living. After 3.5 years with his girlfriend, they broke up and having just moved to the area, he decided it was time he get out and meet new people so he created the "Summer of Tim" website.

On his website, perfect strangers competed for points earned by attending events and nights out where they could meet and hang out with Tim himself. At the end of the summer, the person with the most points would win a prize. I couldn't get over what a great idea - and more importantly - what a great angle this turned out to be.

So, the next weekend, after checking his website, my girlfriends and I followed Tim to a popular bar in Clive. Armed with a business card and a quick pitch about my story, I approached Tim and introduced myself. He was cool, thanked me for the offer and agreed to be interviewed for the story.

The following Monday, in a phone interview from the front seat of his car, Tim politely answered every single of one of my questions. As was my M.O., at the end of every interview, I asked for a correct spelling of his name and his hometown.

"Marshalltown," he said.

What? No way! I'm from Marshalltown.

"Where did you go to high school?" I asked.

"Marshalltown High School," he said. It was kind of a trick question. There's only one high school in Marshalltown.

After a few more back-and-forths, we found that we had graduated only a year apart, shared some of the same friends and that our parents lived just blocks from one another. What a weird coincidence.

Now, let me preface this next part by saying I would NEVER get involved with a source. Ever. In journalism, this is a major no-no. But something in my gut told me this was someone I should pursue. I couldn't put my finger on it,but this felt right.

Long story short, I wrapped up my reporting, wrote the story and turned it in. It was scheduled to run the following week. Since the story was technically put to bed, I decided to ask Tim out to dinner. He said "yes."

That one night was all it took for me to fall for the "Summer of Tim." We started off as friends, hung out, got to know each other and in March 2002 we began quietly dating and, as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Almost 11 years later, we're happily married with three kids. The story - that you can read here - gets retold often among our friends and family. It's something we will eventually tell our kids and hope they won't think we're too weird for recounting.

What's your love story? E-mail me at jody.gifford@patch.com and you could be featured in a Valentine's Day story on Waukee Patch.

So hurry and e-mail me. I'm a sucker for a good love story.