I've had the EXACT same thing happen. I've been battling with CWOJackson for literally YEARS here on FR, mostly on libertarianism and immigration. However, as much as I hate to admit it, I've grown to like the sumbitch over the years. We can go from tearing each other up on threads like this right into another thread where we reminisce about our military days or swap funny every-day stories.
Another example is this dude named Sinkspur. I don't even consider the guy to be conservative, but he and I are both "dog guys" and I can't help but deeply respect his advocacy for canines. I recall after Katrina when he used his FR tagline to offer up his home to any displaced family as well as their pets for as long as they needed. Say what you want about his politics, but the guy's got a heart of gold and we chat like old buddies when we tell pet stories.
Chesterton has a nice thing on this that I will post. It may take a while to find it.
We, here, are an acidental family, joined by chance, Clinton and the constitution.
Chesterton's core is made when he states in Heretics: "The best way that a man could test his readiness to encounter the common variety of mankind would be to climb down a chimney into any house at random, and get on as well as possible with the people inside. And that is essentially what each one of us did on the day that he was born."
Dealing with the variety of our own family is what civilizes us, what redeems us and what teaches us love.