When you are dating or getting married, people usually ask, “How did you meet?” I guess for the purposes of this blog, that is an important question to answer. And that’s a fun story too!

We met in Summer of 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. I guess technically we are still in it, but in 2020 we were IN it. I turned 45 in July and was tired of waiting on the pandemic to end (good thing I didn’t wait!) to start dating again, so I joined Bumble on my birthday. That week I read two stories about people finding love in the middle of Covid and I had a friend who encouraged me to try, so I did. Without telling anyone I posted my profile late Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and his family were at his favorite place in the world - Edisto Beach. On the way home from the beach, his middle sister talked him into joining. He was new to online dating and isn’t a huge fan of social media so she offered to create his profile and hand it over to him. He went “live” on Wednesday.

On Thursday after lunch I checked to see if I had any new matches, and I did! With Bumble, the woman makes the first move. So I messaged Jonathan quickly after and I guess you could say the rest is history. We have been together ever since July 23, 2020.

But I left out a few parts… hahaha. Ok, so he was different from the very beginning. He messaged me right away. He didn’t seem to hide anything. Little did I know that he wasn't an experienced online dater! I just thought he was very real, and truthfully he is.

I actually hate meeting people through texting. I say it’s like asking “How’s the weather?” over and over again. Also, the games people play are annoying. So I usually try to move quickly from the weather and I start asking non-important questions. So on Day One, I asked him “Cake or Pie?” He annoyingly replied that he really didn’t eat either or any carbs (insert eye roll emoji here) but if he had to choose he would eat pie.

At the end of the day I asked him how his first day of online dating was. He told me that it was perfect because he only messaged with me. I told him that I would make his day even better by letting him know that the best pie was peanut butter pie.

That weekend we talked on the phone for hours and I told him that I would love to meet him in person, but I wasn’t sure how to do that with Covid. I also told him that I knew that it was his birthday coming up the following weekend so we couldn't do anything then, but maybe the weekend after. Here is that conversation:

Jonathan: I would love to celebrate my birthday with you.

Susan: [insert very long pause] That is so sweet but I’m sure you have friends and family that you would rather celebrate with.

Jonathan: Nope, I don’t have any other plans. I would love to celebrate my birthday with you.

Susan: [insert very long pause - think long and then make it longer] Why don't you think about this when we aren’t on the phone and then make a decision of what you want to do.

Jonathan: Sure, but I would like to celebrate with you.

Susan: [not as long of a pause] If it were me I would like to make the decision separately.

Jonathan: [very long pause] Susan. I would like to celebrate my birthday with you.

He really had to work for that one! And then I did something that I have never done before in my entire life, nor would I ever suggest anyone ever do this. I invited him over to my house. Yikes! I invited a man I had never met before over to my house. Ladies - never do this. So crazy.

See, Covid makes you do weird things. And in 2020 the restaurants weren’t open and I didn’t want to meet him with a mask on. I couldn’t figure out how to do it. I guess at the time I was more worried about Covid than inviting a serial killer to my house. I know in 2022 that doesn’t make sense. It really didn’t make sense then either. But I assured him many, many times that I wasn’t being forward and that I wouldn’t even give him a high-five (which I didn’t). He said we could start around 10:00am and I pushed him back to 4:00pm. He wanted take-out sushi. I bought him a birthday balloon and socks (because I felt a huge amount of pressure hosting him for his birthday).

That week I asked him what he would like for dessert. Again, trying to make a good impressions and trying to over-compensate for stealing him on his birthday. I told him that I knew that he didn’t eat dessert, but I really loved making birthday desserts and he didn’t have to eat it. In case you were wondering, he did eat some and loved it. And if you didn’t guess, he chose

Peanut butter pie.

I guess I should start at the beginning