I'm a Lucky Girl!

"When do we start?"

Huh? No greeting? No initial compliment designed to catch my attention and signal that the games had begun. Simply . . .

"When do we start?" 

Roberto's first message on match.com gave me the impression that he was talking to several women at once and getting us mixed up (he swears he wasn't).  Consequently,  I didn't approach him with the wild romanticism that had been my hallmark. However, he was handsome and he messaged me first so I responded. 

Our first messages were pretty standard internet dating fare: exaggerating how much we exercise, talking about favorite restaurants and tv shows, pretending that we exited all of our past relationships with grace, and that all doors had been closed kindly, but firmly behind us.

He set up our first date right away (in the realm of internet dating if you don't meet right away you risk falling for a figment of your imagination). He was at the restaurant before I was and I saw him sitting by the window.  He gave me a cursory head nod through the glass, and when I sat down his body language told me that he was not interested. I feared that I would not see him again, but he slowly warmed up and then he asked,

"When am I going to see you again?"

In the year since our first date Roberto and I have had plenty of adventures.  The thing that I appreciate the most about him is that he is an introvert like I am, but he researches and plans interesting, fun things for us to do.  We have been to Broadway plays and dine in movie theaters; outlet shopping and a trip to the Poconos. We have walked across The Brooklyn Bridge and visited every Botanical Garden in the city.  We have travelled to Brooklyn just for ice cream and visited every playground recommended by Timeout New York and Mommy Poppins. Roberto's investment of time in our relationship and his desire to please me is what makes him special. 

I would like to be able to share a secret formula for landing a man like Roberto; a list of dos and don'ts for being in a good relationship. Unfortunately, I have no such wisdom to share. Timing worked in our favor.  Like every relationship, we have bad days when the consequences of our prior relationship choices make life challenging. At times our children struggle to understand where they fit in with each other.  Occasionally, he speaks to me in his cop voice, I respond in my teacher voice and he gets scared and backs down (ha ha).  However, through difficult transitions I have never seen him lose his temper.  That’s what makes him such a good cop.  He understands the art of negotiation. 

My life was good before Roberto and it has only become more full since he has come into it. Here's to another amazing year!

Roberto made this video to celebrate our first year together!