Our story begins on Friday March 16, 2012. Some background before that day- Joshua had been in Yeshiva in Israel learning but came back to the States for Purim/Pesach break. He was at an age where his mother wanted him to start dating but he wasn't sure he was ready to be set up just yet. But before his mother set him up with anyone he decided to check out some online dating sites to see if it was even worth it to start dating, and if he could find someone himself without his mothers input. So, he creates an account with JWed to see if there's anyone worth talking to.
Esther on the other hand, had been using online dating sites for about a year and was not having much luck. She was getting so frustrated from dating so many guys and many not even going past the first date that she was ready to call it quits to online dating.
The day Esther was ready to close her JWed account was the same day Joshua created his. Joshua came across Esther's account and was very intrigued by her profile and it appeared they had some things in common. So he sent her a message questioning something she had written on her profile to see if she really meant what she wrote. Esther received the message, was sceptical to read it because she wasn't interested in another let down, but she had a feeling she should give the site just one last chance before deleting her profile. During one of the initial conversations Joshua mentioned he was just in Israel learning in a certain Yeshiva. As it just so happened, Esther's brother was in that exact Yeshiva at the same time and she was then able to get some more information on this prospect. The information given to Esther though, was " Joshua, yeh I know him, he's socially awkward though". That made Esther slightly uneasy. She wasn't sure what to do with that information at first. After giving it some thought (all while still messaging back and forth with Joshua), she decided that it was only fair to at least give him a chance and see whether his social awkwardness was something she could handle or if it was just another fail.
After messaging each other back and forth for a few days, Joshua's friend said he needed to call Esther 1) because he can't just keep stringing things along, it wasn't appropriate and 2) he needs to make sure she's real. So that day he called her on the phone and during that first phone call they began talking more about family and where their siblings/ cousins live. Joshua mentioned that he had an uncle that lived in Israel who owned a bakeshop. Esther started freaking out because she knew someone who also owned a bakeshop that she was set up to stay at, several years earlier while she was in seminary, for a shabbos to experience other neighborhoods. So as it turns out the family she was set up by was none other than Joshua's uncle. Mind blowing moment.
At the end of the phone call a date was set up for that coming Thursday. Living in Brooklyn, Joshua didn't have his license so it was agreed that he would travel to Monsey by bus and Esther would pick him up by the bus stop and she would drive them around on that date. Thursday arrives and it's time for their date. Esther drives to the bus stop to await Joshua's arrival. His bus pulls up and he walks over to the car, peaks into the open window and says "hello" in a way that just made Esther think, this is either going to be my last first date or this is going to be a complete waste of time. They head to their destination and the car ride conversation is flowing nicely. The first date took place at a local park with a walking trail so the two walked the trail several times, turned out they had a lot in common. As the sun started to set they realized the park was closing as a result, but both felt like it wasn't time to end the date so they went in search of a place to eat but most eateries were closed so they popped in to a Starbucks but even that was closing so they sat in the car in front of Starbucks talking the hours away. At around 2am (8 hours after the date started) they both finally realized just how late it was that Joshua wouldn't be able to go back to Brooklyn at that time so he found a friend he was able to sleep at for the night. As Esther was driving Joshua to the friend they spoke about going on another partial date the next day, Friday, since Esther had to drive in to the city to pick up her grandmother, Joshua would be able to get a ride in (save himself some money) and they could also spend some more time together. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt when Esther agreed to that idea, even if it meant he was secretly trying to save himself some money. The fact that he was willing to spend more time with her as she was with him, it was perfect. The car ride into the city was very long due to lots of traffic after a while neither Esther or Joshua knew what to talk about and the two just sat quietly for a bit. After realizing they were quiet for so long Esther pointed out how the silence was actually very comfortable and Joshua agreed that it was nice to be able to spend time with someone and not always have to speak or come up with something to say so neither one is thought to be boring. After that one and a half date the two continued dating for about 2 months before getting engaged, and then married 3 months later. This August will be 7 years B"H, they are still happily married with 4 kids.
*Take the information people give you about someone with a grain of salt.
* It's hard to know what you really want before going out with a few different types of guys. The external details Esther thought she wanted or needed (being taller than 5'8, not wearing a black hat, being bigger in size than her, etc.) and how Joshua turned out (only 1" taller, wore a black, and was much thinner than Esther, etc.) doesn't matter when you find the right person your meant to be with.