Let Me Introduce To You...

I'd like to post about Leslie, my girlfriend. I guess I've sort of kept this relationship a little quiet to people who aren't immediate family or close friends, but I can let the cat out of the bag.

After a brief thing with Gina, my dad actually told me I should put a profile on eHarmony just to see what would happen. I'm really skeptical of meeting someone online, not because of safety or security, but mainly because of how you explain to someone how you met. I hate saying "we met online". Saying "we met each other when she dropped eggs in front of me at the grocery store" or "her door hit my car in a parking lot" or something creative like that. But, Leslie is great, and I'm going to tell you about her so that's how we met, and I'm okay with that now.

I decided to try out eHarmony for a few reasons:
- I wanted to meet someone completely new. Not a friend who "becomes" a girlfriend out of convenience, or not someone a co-worker introduces you to, but someone fresh, and new, that I have no connection with
- The HARDEST work (i.e. wondering if the person WANTS a relationship) is already out of the way. You don't have to "guess" if your partner wants things to progress to relationship status. You're both there for the same reason
- It's effective. I talked to a few people on the site through guided communication, and met one other, but Leslie and I just hit it off. I think the long list of questions you answer really does pair you with someone compatible.

So, Leslie and I entered the "open communication" stage on eHarmony right before Thanksgiving. We e-mailed each other, with just small talk. When I got back from Florida, we met one day in Troy at Panera Bread. It was going to just be a 1 hour or so get together, but we were there 3 hours and things felt very comfortable and relaxed. We left that night saying we'd get together again, which we did a few days later. Our second "date" was dinner in Royal Oak. Finally, she came over to my house and we went out to dinner in Plymouth. She showed up with dog pastries for Walter and a birthday present for me. I left to go to South Carolina for 2 weeks at Christmas, and didn't think a whole lot about leaving her for 2 weeks, but while at home, we talked everyday, literally. I'm not sure if the distance made us miss each other, but I actually really did start to miss her and I looked forward to seeing her again. Sending her flowers at work, while I was away, in my opinion sort of sealed the deal. She said it was her first time ever getting "just because" flowers and girls at her work were jealous and she loved it. Making someone you care about feel special and cared for is a wonderful feeling.

When I came back, we spent a whole day together and it was great. Things just picked right back up where they had left off, and a little more. She's really special to me. I have never dated a girl who made me feel so relaxed, happy, and cared for. In Michigan where a ton of people are "woe is me" she's got a smile on her face and is joking, and doesn't work in automotive...a breath of fresh air for me! Her family is really great, she has funny and easy-going parents and siblings, and they seem very normal. Leslie took me to a bar to meet her friends last week and I never thought a great deal about it, but meeting "the friends" is a big step, because that tells you a LOT about a person; who they associate with. Her friends were really great, most of them were teachers, a dental hygenist, and a nurse. She said she got a ton of texts after we left and they all said they approved and liked me.

I think about her a lot. A LOT. And at work my mind sort of wonders off and I think about how she is, and what she's doing. I've never felt like this about a girl before, we just connect on a good level. I'm sure I'm pretty hard to find a match for, because I'm probably a little unique as far as humor and relaxing, but this is just no issue for her at all, she puts me right at ease. It's going really well.

I just wanted to "formally" introduce her, to you, how we met, how things happened, and where we are now. I'll keep this updated, because there are a ton of great things to say about her.