On May 29th, Keith and I celebrated the 10 year anniversary of our first date. Ten years! In many ways, it seems just like yesterday and I remember our courtship so well, or at least I think I do.

As you know from a previous blog, we met online. Best $19.95 investment I ever made. His “marketing plan” sold me the minute I read it. Now our first date was on May 29, 2004, but my $19.95 email to him was in late November of 2003. That’s a difference of 6 months. Are you wondering why the time gap? Well let me just tell you.

I emailed this man and we had a few email conversations. Small talk and chit chat initially. In December I ran into him. It was the first time I had ever seen him in real life. I was taking photos of children in my school district singing at his bank and I HOPED I would run into him. Yes, I voluntarily offered to go and take pictures of these adorable children singing to see him. Anyway, I liked what I saw. He actually saw me from across the room, recognized me and came over to me. We talked for a few minutes while in a group of people. He was very nice, polite, handsome and I was thrilled to have met him.

As it so happened my next door neighbor and dear friend was the music director of the school whose students were singing and she had been in a play with him recently. I went over to her house after work that day and thought I would very subtly ask her about him. She spoke very highly of him and how nice he was and professional and then she said something that quite frankly, made me sit up and pay attention. She very casually mentioned that oh, yes and I think he just started dating … and said her name. My friend then said, why do you ask???? I very casually said, oh I met him at the bank today and was just wondering who he was. Slick huh?

I was heartsick. I mean I was perfect for him. I read his marketing plan. The girl he was looking for WAS ME! How dare some other girl get in the way of that. Then I thought, well it figures. Finally find someone who appears to be amazing and someone else has snatched him up. I was devastated. I later emailed him and he confirmed that yes he had just started seeing someone but that he had enjoyed talking to me. I wished him luck and I closed that chapter of hope in my life.

Fast forward to the end of February 2004. It was a Monday night and I’m bowling league with my girlfriends. I had no man in my life and I had worked in hose and heels all day so I had on my sweat pants and my long comfy slouchy shirt. I went into the snack bar and got my one beer for the evening (a light beer). Sitting in the snack bar was Keith and his 5 year old grandson. I did a double take and he did a double take. We spoke cordially, told him it was good to see him and I headed back to bowl. Well crap, I could not have looked worse. Sweat pants! Really!

His little grandson was in town and he wanted to go bowling. How sweet was that? I love to bowl you know, it’s in my blood. Well when it wasn’t his turn to bowl, he would come down and talk, you know just chit chat. He really did have a great personality and we didn’t have any trouble talking. It was effortless. After they finished bowling a couple of games he came down and told me bye and they left. When I got home that night I emailed him, told him it was good to see him, that his grandson was a cutie and I hoped everything was going well for him… There, I put on my big girl panties and again, accepted defeat to another woman.

Two weeks later, I get an email from guess who???? I was shocked. He had responded to my email telling me he enjoyed visiting with me too, that yes he was still seeing someone BUT he did enjoy talking to me and maybe we could continue emailing as “friends”. I’LL TAKE IT. Well I am no dumb blonde and I knew that if things were perfect or even good with … he would not be talking to me. There is a crack in the plaster and if I can just be patient, the crack might split open and there I would be standing on the other side.

We emailed each other almost every day talking about how our day went, family members, stuff going on a work, just general things. It was really great. We got to know one another very well before we ever had our first date.   About 12 weeks later, the stars aligned and the crack in the wall split wide open. When it did, I was standing on the other side and I’ve been standing there by his side every day ever since.