How I met my Prince Charming

Well, with the encouragement of other bloggers (mostly Fried Okra), I've decided to tell y'all how I met my sweet husband.

It was December 2003. I was living it up at the Christmas party hosted by my employer. I was dressed in my fanciest, slinkiest little black dress. My coworker, Brenda, and I had decided that we would attend the party as each other's date. We were both sick of the whole dating scene and just wanted a night of fun! I absolutely HATED going on dates. And when I say HATED, I mean loathed! To me,dating was awkward . . .uncomfortable . . . stressful . . . you know what I'm talking about! So, she and I arrived at the party and had our picture taken together. We danced, we ate, we had a glass of wine . . . or two . . . maybe even three. It was so much fun. We talked with coworkers and friends and laughed at each other's stories. We made our rounds from table to table until we settled down at a pub table with my friend, Robin, her husband and two other coworkers. I absolutely adore Robin. To me, she seemed to "have it all together!" She's in her mid 40's (I think) but lived like she was in her 20's. She's hip, cute and fun! It's impossible to be around her and her husband without having a great time.

I sat down next to Robin and began to speak about life in general . . . how's life? how's work? you seeing anyone? why not? So, I began telling her how much I hated to date. This is how our conversation went:

Robin: "Are you seeing anyone?"

Me: "No. I hate dating!"

Robin: "You hate dating?"

Me: "Yes . . . I HHHAAATTTTEEE dating!"

Robin: "Well, I know someone that you need to meet. He's great . . ."

Me: cutting her off before she finishes "Absolutely not! No blind dates for me! Didn't you hear me, I hate dating!"

Robin: "But this guy is different. He has a lot of the same interests that you have, he's handsome and he's available. You want me to set you up?"

Me: "You do it and you die!"

Robin: "Well, how are you ever going to find someone if you don't date?"

Me: "Mr. Right will find me . . . trust me, he'll find me."

Next month, about the same time we had a similar conversation:

Robin: "Hey, you remember that guy I mentioned a month ago . . . well, he'll be back in town this month. How 'bout I set you guys up for dinner!"

Me: "Absolutely not! I told you before, I'm not interested!"

Robin: "He's a great guy - you REALLY need to meet him."

Me: "I'm sure he's a nice guy, but I'm not interested."

And again, the next month, approximately the same time (did I mention that she's very persistent):

Robin: "Hey, you remember that guy I keep mentioning that you need to meet -- well, he is in town and looking at purchasing a motorcycle. You like motorcycles, don't you? Perfect, huh? I'll set you two up for dinner and you can talk about motorcycles. And as an added bonus, I'm sending you a picture. There are five guys in the picture and he's one of them." (I think she said this all in one breath as to not give me time to cut her off again!)

Me: "Ok, wait a minute! Let me look at this picture. Ok, so which guy is he?"

Robin: "I'm not telling you! You'll just have to show up and find out. So are we on?"

Me: "Ok, if I agree to do this it will be on my terms. Rule #1: It's a group date with you and your husband. Rule #2: At no time will I be left alone with this guy. Rule #3: You must never ask me to do this blind date thing again!"

So, she agreed and set me up for this blind date.

Scenes from tomorrow's episode : Meeting Prince Charming for the first time, Sudafed and wine do not mix, What kind of impression did he make?