My husband and I met on Reddit and dated for a year before we saw each other in person. This is how we made it work.

• I met my husband in 2019 through Reddit.
• He lived in Canada, while I was in Iowa, so we knew whatever happened was going to be long distance.

In late 2019, I met Dawson through a Reddit personals page. We started chatting about everything, such as our favorite books and movies and day-to-day routines — his as a grain farmer and mine as a digital-marketing writer.

From the start, we knew our relationship — be it friendship or romance — would be long distance. He lived in rural Saskatchewan, Canada, while I was in Des Moines, Iowa.

At first, our chats had a platonic, almost pen-pal-like vibe, but after a few months of talking, we started to develop romantic feelings. We decided we should meet in person to see if we had a romantic connection. We planned to meet in Minneapolis — a short, direct flight for him and a three-hour drive for me. He'd arrive on March 20, 2020, and we'd spend a weekend together. Or so we thought.

In the tumultuous days of early March 2020, we canceled our travel plans, and on March 21, 2020, the US-Canada border closed to discretionary travel. We were devastated, but the fear and uncertainty brought us even closer. That week, we confirmed our growing feelings for one another and committed to an official, exclusive relationship — sight unseen.

We cultivated our relationship from afar

Understandably, there were initial questions and concerns when I told my friends and family members about the boyfriend I hadn't met in person yet, but he eventually won everyone over. He joined virtual game nights with my friends and me, and he even met my family over Zoom — fielding rapid-fire questions with ease and grace.

During the pandemic, everyone relied on technology to stay connected, so it didn't feel too strange to be dating someone I could see only on FaceTime. We found creative ways to spend time together, including synced movie streaming and almost 300 games of "Words With Friends."

The US-Canada border closure was extended each month for the rest of 2020. It was impossible to make travel plans, but we frequently daydreamed about how nice it would be to finally be together.

These conversations naturally led to more discussions about the future and the possibility of a shared future. Day after day, we talked about our goals, dream jobs, travel bucket lists, lifestyle aspirations, and biggest hopes.

When we finally met, everything clicked

Fifteen months after we first started talking on Reddit, Dawson and I were finally able to meet in person. After meeting him at baggage claim, we sat in the parking garage of the Minneapolis airport, holding hands across my car's center console and grinning at each other, marveling at the miracle of being together in real life. Our first kiss had all the butterflies of a new crush with all the warm certainty of a long-term love.

Although our relationship transitioned seamlessly from virtual to reality, the pandemic was far from over. After a weekend together, Dawson returned to Canada, and we faced more long months of separation. After we were both fully vaccinated, he came for another visit, and we got engaged.

Now, we're married, and I've been with him in Canada for the past seven months. Winter is slow for farmers, so we spent almost every waking minute together from November to April. It felt well deserved after two years spent living apart. As the last of the snow melted, May — and planting season — arrived.

Planting season means frequent 16-hour workdays for Dawson and long stretches of solitude for me. It gets a little lonely, but I'm thankful for our time dating long distance — which taught me to endure time apart and savor time together.