Our first date together was idyllic.  We waited for a table in the bar for an hour and were able to talk with ease about topic after topic.  We sat for dinner and I am not even sure we really ate our food. We were so busy chatting about everything.  It was as though I had just stumbled across a long lost friend I had not seen for years and we were catching up on all   we had missed through the years.  It didn’t feel like a first date at all (which often feel like an extremely tense job interview).

We were nearly swept out of the restaurant by the staff as we just chatted for hours.  Upon leaving Alan walked me to my car and asked if he could kiss me goodnight.  Being a firm believer that a kiss speaks a lot for a man, I agreed.  With a twinge of trepidation and anxiety we experienced a first kiss that would make movie couples jealous.  And it was that sweet, tender kiss which seemed to grind the gears of time to a standstill and make my knees weak that told me that this man was someone I should make more time for.  I left that first date, and went home and could not sleep all night.  A bundle of fluttery nerves waiting for enough hours to pass so I could send him an email without seeming desperate or psycho. 

After that first date we entered into what I would term an old-fashioned love affair, writing letters back and forth every day, starving to learn more about the other and counting down the days until we could see each other again.  I would check my journal and make sure that I was on target.  I couldn’t believe that this man I was seeing met almost all of my “next time” list items.

By our third date we were head over heels and knew full well that we're indeed soul mates and began mapping out a future together.  Had there not been children involved, we probably would have been married within the year.  I was committed to our success and that meant we would have to take our time merging our lives so that my boys and Alan would grow to love and trust one another.  So we continued to date and little by little Alan and my boys forged their way down the road towards having their own relationship.

August 2008 marks our one year wedding anniversary.  It has been a terrific journey so far.  We married after about 3 ½ years of dating.  We had a simple wedding so we could invite as many friends and family without going into debt.  Our first year of marriage has been easy in so many ways despite the obligatory bumps in the road.  We remain best friends and are so excited about our future together.