Take a Chance on Me

Colin and Sheila

Colin and Sheila met on Match.com and Colin got a message that they had been connected. He had seen a couple of other women from the site prior to meeting Sheila. However, her profile intrigued him. Sheila mentioned that she had an Irish father and enjoyed kitchen parties, playing games and was influenced by her time spent in Prince Edward Island (PEI). Colin’s father was from PEI and his mom is from Nova Scotia and there was this Maritime connection and he thought,

I have to meet this woman because I know it will be a cool experience.

Colin

Sheila was trying to get off of Match.com because she didn’t like it and she had been pestering her daughter to help her remove her profile. Often our daughters act as personal assistants when it comes to technology–just ask mine. Sheila’s daughter was busy and kept putting her off. Sheila hadn’t been answering any of the requests but the beginning of Colin’s response caught her eye because he said his mom is from Nova Scotia and his dad is from PEI. Sheila decided to open his response and it was very sweet. Sheila had mentioned in her profile that her friends say she reminds them of Aunt Clara from the sit com Be Witched and at the end of his response, Colin said, and by the way my boat is called Be Witched. Sheila decided she would respond to this one last guy. She said, “I love your picture–you must be on a magazine.” Colin in his self-effacing manner responded, “If I was on a magazine, they wouldn’t sell many copies.” They decided to meet that night because Sheila was leaving the next day for PEI. They met at Vittoria Trattoria in Ottawa, Canada.

When Sheila walked in, the first thing he said was “Your pictures don’t do you justice. Sheila sat down beside him and replied, “Now I’m sitting next to Superman. Has anyone ever told you you look like Clark Kent?” They stayed and talked til the restaurant closed and then carried on their conversation in the parking lot as they watched all the staff leave an hour later. Sheila was talking about how much fun she has in PEI in the summer and then suggested that Colin join her. Colin suggested that was the wine talking. Sheila taunted him with “Aren’t you whimsical?” and Colin said “I can be whimsical but in the cold hard light of day that might not be the best idea.”

The next afternoon she texted Colin, “Guess where I am.” She had left at 1:00 a.m and driven to PEI arriving at 2:30 in the afternoon. Sheila wanted to know if he had booked a flight. Sheila told all her cousins and children, “this might seem crazy but I went on one date with this guy and I invited him down here.” No one thought it was crazy with the exception of one cousin–he was more skeptical and checked Colin out on Instagram. Her kids thought it was fun and great until the day before he was to arrive and then her son started to question whether he might be a Ted Bundy and would the family be safe. Sheila had given strict instructions not to tell her parents that they’d only been on one date. When she mentioned Colin was coming to her parents she made it seem like she had been seeing him for awhile.

Colin was a little nervous himself and joked, “How do I know that you aren’t a member of a cult and you’re going to sacrifice me off the red cliffs of the ocean?” When she picked Colin up at the airport, she had two carpets rolled up in her backseat that she was returning to a store. Colin joked about being somewhat concerned he’d be rolled up in one of them.

Despite their initial concerns, they had a fantastic time together. They went to a ceilidh–a kitchen party where her dad played and entertained a group of tourists. The following night they went to a hootenanny–open mic night close to their cottage where Colin met about 130 family members. When they crossed over the sand dunes onto the beach there were all these umbrellas set up and over 100 people milling around–like Colin, most of them were over six feet tall and Sheila said, “This is my family.” Colin felt like he had known Sheila for years. He left a favourable impression on Sheila’s parents bringing them rum and wine and coloured drinking glasses. Behind Colin’s back, Sheila’s family members were giving her the thumbs up. After dropping him off at the airport and returning to her family, Sheila exclaimed she had never met such a salt of the earth gentleman in her life.

A couple of weeks later, she met Colin’s mom and was asking herself “Is this for real? Are we falling for each other so quickly?” At the time of the interview they had been together only four months but they had been on different trips to Toronto and boating adventures and had fallen in love.

Colin and Sheila are currently engaged and will be married in 2021, Covid allowing.

Colin had advice for people using the dating apps. He said he felt badly for some of the women reaching out to him. They came across as really lonely and anxious and wanting to meet someone. His suggestion was to have a friend review your profile because it’s your first impression and you want to get the messaging right–what do you want to present. Colin believes everyone deserves to find love and if you’re ever on these sites and someone reaches out to you, as a sign of politeness you should respond to their message even if you aren’t interested just to say “thank you and I wish you well on your search.” He spoke to people who’s feelings were hurt by no response.

Colin told Sheila on their first date that he really liked her profile but her pictures didn’t do her justice and told her that she should get better photos. Sheila was thinking obviously he’s not interested if he’s giving me advice on how to move forward, which was the exact opposite of how he was feeling. Colin’s suggestion to others is to get a great photo–have someone take a photo of you that you feel great about and really reflects your personality.

Sheila, thinking Colin wasn’t interested, totally relaxed and they were able to talk freely and it seemed like they’d known each other for years. Sheila’s love of games and kitchen parties painted this picture of a fun-loving person and that is what Colin was looking for. Sheila’s friends comment that they are very similar and they get along on so many different levels. One of the things Sheila looked for on profiles was whether a person seemed to have a lot of friends because that’s really important to her. Maybe not everyone thinks about looking at that aspect of a profile but for Sheila there would not be a match if one of you was very extroverted and the other person quite introverted.

Broadcast Love wishes Colin and Sheila years of fun-loving kitchen parties, hootenannys and houseboat adventures together.