Welllll... Long time no write. And what a lot has happened to our family in these last few months since I last wrote!
The story of Nate and I has been documented elsewhere, but the nutshell version is:
* The Accidental Meeting *
I had a subscription to a dating site ever since shortly after the divorce was finalized, but it was only rarely checked. One of those occasions occured in early December when I hopped on to read some of the messages I'd been sent. There was a "flirt" by a certain man from Salem. As routine, I looked at his profile just to appease the curiousity, but also as was routine, didn't intend to respond to the "flirt". Before moving on to the next message though, I noticed a special little "Happy Birthday" icon. Since it was the day before my birthday, I thought maybe this man had sent me this birthday wish, but I couldn't tell for sure what it was without opening it. So, I clicked on the image to see. It turns out the icon was MY invitation to send HIM a Happy Birthday and clicking it sent it. Whoops! Lol.
Sure enough, the man responded, though he was also unused to the site and not sure if what he'd received was a birthday wish from me. Hah! Thus began some short comments and conversing. I was at that time still working out the "are we/aren't we exclusive" question with T, so I was putting forth absolutely minimal effort with individuals who were reaching out online, including Birthday Boy Nate.
* The First Date *
After I got home from Hannah's wedding and Christmas in Idaho Falls, Nate invited me to meet some time. I coyly responded to other remarks from his message without responding to that part. When he asked a second time, I decided "Oh fine, what's the harm of one little date? If there's no chemistry I never have to go out with him again." So I accepted a the invitation to go out for Hot Chocolate and selected a nearby coffee shop.
First thing as I walked into the shop and met Nate I thought his profile pictures didn't do him justice. As we talked, I realized his profile self-description didn't do him justice either. We had a lot in common and conversed comfortably. At the end of the evening when Nate suggested going out again sometime, I found myself agreeing that that would be nice.
* Taking Our Time *
We went out again a few days later for dinner and a casual wander around the bookstore. We browsed architecture books and chatted.
The next date was squeezing in a showing of "The Greatest Showman" though there wasn't really an opportunity to talk before or after that, as I went straight from work and then had to hurry home to relieve Brennan of his babysitting. The following weekend we met up at AC Gilbert house with our kids for a playdate and lunch. We all had a great time; it was fun to meet Ky and I was struck by Nate's ease with my children as he played tag with them. He did, however, wear a U of O sweater, so I wasn't so sure if it'd be a good idea to let anything continue. ;-)
Shortly after that I went away to visit Jenny and John in Mesa, and in the mean time Nate closed on his new house. Of course. We texted every few days amiably, but not a whole lot.
* Taking Off *
