Like so many love stories in this digital age, ours began with a swipe. It was simple at first, scrolling, swiping, passing by faces and profiles. Until somehow, we both paused at the other's image and hearted the pictures. Terrance at my photo in a hat and me at him in a tux...posing at the Grammys. Then, as online dating goes, we both swiped right. Now, normally, Andrea had a system. A thorough system. A month or two of vetting. Questions. Conversations. Observations. No rushing. No early dates. So this time I wanted to do something different. So I decided to be spontaneous. After a few rounds of questions and answers, we agreed to meet in person much sooner than usual. Still cautious (because wisdom never takes a night off), I Andrea called her girls before the date: “I’m at Lola’s on 8th Street. First date. If I don’t check in, check on me.” Safety first. Always. As what has become a norm, before Waldorf...I was early... and surprisingly, Terrance was late (he is almost never late). He had sent me a message communicating that he was running behind. He was shocked that I wasn't... given his previous experiences. Then he walked in smelling like a real man. He greeted me, asked me what I was drinking..."An old-fashioned. Which surprised him, but it is one of the things he has learned to love about me. That first date was one for the history books.… We talked all night. About kids. About family. About wanting their friends to mesh. About loss. About past relationships. About lessons learned the hard way. The conversation flowed so naturally that it didn’t feel like a first date. It felt familiar. Easy. Safe. Like something that had been waiting to happen. He’s a country boy from across the river. She’s a church girl who believes in real love — the over-the-moon, World Series kind of love. And somewhere between the laughter, the vulnerability, and the hours slipping by unnoticed…We found it. What we both had been longing for... our person... our helpmate, the love of our life, and now we are on a journey of endless love.