Sixteen Candles (x 2 + 1)

No, it's not my birthday.  This post is all about my date that would have been appropriate for a sixteen year old, lol.  But, the tone was completely created by me.  I wanted simple and sweet.  My date, he delivered.  I don't think I could have had a better first date.

We met in the city and had dinner at popular New York must do that I never did before.  In keeping with the "Sixteen Candles" theme, I had a burger and chocolate shake, no lie.  After our 15 minute in and out dinner, we just walked around the city.  It was a beautiful night.  We just walked and talked.  There were no awkward silences.  The conversations flowed and we got one another's jokes.

The site that I met him on didn't give me the option of stating I was a widow, so he didn't know.  I did tell him.  He asked a few questions and could tell that I didn't want to go into any more detail than what I provided and he casually dropped it with care.  I later felt comfortable enough with him to tell him that he was actually my first date.  Flattered is not the right word.  But he understood the importance of this first date for me and his role in this.  He immediately asked if I was having a good time, and I was.

However, with the stroke of midnight... no, no.  At the stroke of 10:00, I jumped onto the subway and was on my way home.  This is true... I purposely didn't ask my babysitter to stay too late.  I wanted this date to have a definitive ending and I wanted it to be short and sweet.  So just before I walked down the steps into the underground world of the NYC MTA, I got a hug.   I also got asked to go out with him again this coming week.

This person gave me a comfortable place to live out the reality that I am in fact moving on.  I am moving on and I have to do with it someone who is not the man that I married, the man that I had been with for almost 14 years, the only man that I had ever known in each and every way.  I am truly grateful that it was as soft as it could be.

But, I think I gave him something too.  He laughed at how cheap of a date I was, but I think he realized that was only monetarily speaking.  He could tell I was being honest and genuine and that I wasn't playing any sort of game or following any "rules" of dating.  I think that made me different and I think he appreciated that.

One date at a time... let's see what Tuesday brings.