The crazy thing is, I was essentially single from the time I had my daughter, back in 2005, until just this year. You can do the math...or, if you're like me and are terrible at math, I'll help you out...I've basically gone 7 years without seriously dating anyone. Anyone.
Weird? Maybe. Depends on how you look at it. It's not like I never went out on dates...I've had plenty of first dates over the years. But that's the problem. They were mostly only first dates...a handful of second dates, and a select few third dates. There were even a couple guys that I dated for about a month before calling it quits. But something about that one month mark was very tell-tale for me.
A little over 4 months ago, things changed. I (re)met someone...someone that I had grown up with but never even really given a second thought to. I hung out with his step-sister back in high school and my younger brother hung out with his step-brother. But never in a million years would I have imagined that he could possibly be the one for me.
And it still surprises me sometimes. He plays in a rock/metal band; I like all types of music but prefer country and my least favorite is metal. He has tattoos; I have none. He is divorced; I've never been married. He never went to a 4 year college; I went to college for 7 years and am looking to possibly go back for more sometime soon. In many ways, when you look at the two of us as a couple, you might truly believe that opposites attract.
But for me, it's more than that. I know that the real reason I've not seriously dated anyone for the last 7 years is because I've been holding out. I've been hanging out, waiting for just the right guy to come along...the one that meets all my qualifications. And now that I've found him, as impatient as I was sometimes along the journey, he was SO worth the wait! It's funny because in the past, I've always wanted a little "room to breathe" when I was dating and even thought that I'd find my true love in a long distance relationship because in my eyes, that seemed the best kind of relationship to have - one where we could have plenty of our own space and yet fully enjoy one another's company when we were together. But now I'm dating a guy that lives two minutes from my house and I can't see him often enough! And I think that's the way it's supposed to be...
I'll be keeping you posted on where things go from here, but as for now, all I can say is that being picky really has paid off for me!
I'm sharing this story over at my friend Anne's blog, where she's hosting a carnival on the Perspectives of Life and Love tomorrow, August 10th. Please check it out and if you have your own journey in life and love to share, feel free to join us!
