Like many love stories, Robert and I were introduced by a mutual friend. She works at Blackstone Realty as a realtor and at the time she was working with him at the American Red Cross. Countless times I remember her telling me about "this guy she works with," but at that point in my life I was not interested in dating, even casually. She would always talk highly of him and mention his great sense of humor. Even though she would describe the many ways he played pranks on the ladies at work, she always made sure to tell me that he was a genuinely good guy. Apparently she was also at Red Cross filling him in about me. It took several months of convincing before either of us decided to go ahead and try out a lunch date. What was the worst that could happen right? ;)To hear him tell the story about the day he asked me out still makes me smile. He was a nervous wreck to pick up the phone and call me at my office. If you know Robert, you know that there are very few things that make him nervous. My sister, Kristen, was a temp at our office and took the initial call. Before she transferred the line she said "Robert is on the phone for you." Immediately my heart began to race, as I picked up the line. "Hi, this is Amanda," I said. "Hi Amanda, this is Robert; Carl's friend." We don't really remember what was said, but we agreed on a lunch date later that week. We text and talked for the next several days leading up to our lunch date. He was super funny and made me feel comfortable about the fact that I was meeting a man I had never seen before.
On October 17, 2008 we had our first and only BLIND DATE at a fine eating establishment called Chili's. It was a quick hour and to be honest all I really remember is a lot of laughing and talking about the fact that he hunts and had been doing so for years with his dad and brothers. In fact, he had taken the day off and was leaving right after our date to go hunting for the weekend with them. I didn't hear from him until the following week but we haven't gone a day since without talking.
To make a long story short, we had an amazing connection! I can't lie, it was an adjustment having someone in my life who didn't thrive on drama, jealousy, and constant arguing. He showed me the meaning of being in a real, grounded and healthy relationship. I can't help but wish the same for every other person in my life now. At the risk of sounding cliche, when you find the person you're meant to be with, you truly do feel it.
