A Leap of Faith

I bought a plane ticket to California less than a week from takeoff, and I took a leap of faith.  My friends and family were surprised  – and maybe even a little concerned.  I’m not an impulsive person, as you get to know me you’ll find that I typically take a long time to make decisions because I have to first analyze every outcome so I can be prepared.  I am a planner, I don’t like to be caught off guard.  I have always planned my life to the minute and when things didn’t turn out like I had planned I had to make a change – and it all started with a plane ticket to California.

Flash back to a month earlier, frustrated with the dating world and determined I would never meet the person God had made for me, I did what most young – single females in their mid-thirties are doing today, I jumped online.  Downloading the latest greatest apps and paying for a online dating platform, I had my bases covered and I started the online dating adventure.

Following what seemed like a really sad country song and a long line of meeting men I hoped would just drop off the planet, it was when I met Mike that my world completely changed.  In the sea of swiping left and right and the conversations that didn’t move past “Hey”, I came across a profile that made me stop and go “wow.”  Mike’s pictures told a story about him, I knew him before we even started a conversation.  I knew he had a soul for adventure, I knew he was kind, I knew that he was different.  I just knew.

We matched – that’s an online dating term for we both swiped to the right.  So the story begins, a Texas girl meets a guy from Cali.  Out of my element and trying to stay the course of my new found passion for trying new things.

Talking for only a few weeks we decided to meet in person, you know to make sure we were actually real people.  We both had plans to be in the same state and even the same city, so why not meet up?  Making the drive to Austin I decided to call my best friend to talk to me all the way there – you know the best friend who isn’t afraid of anything and always encourages you to just go for it – yeah I called her.

Feeling confident after hanging up with my bestie, I walked into the room, potentially over confident, and I saw him.  I almost stopped breathing but hopefully he couldn’t tell that I was about to go into cardiac arrest.  A quick hello hug and off we went on our first date.

Listen up ladies – Mike made all of the plans for our first date.  He was creative and asked me two questions “are you more of a sit by the lake kind of girl? Or go out on the town kind of girl?”  I quickly answered lake because I could sit by a lake for days and never get tired of the view.  He grabbed my hand and took me to the Contemporary Museum, we sat for drinks afterwards at the Aloft Hotel rooftop bar, then made our way to the lake for dinner.

We then ended the first date with espresso and chocolate lava cake.

On the drive home, fully caffeinated and on a high from what seemed like the perfect date.  Again, I just knew…. I knew I needed to see him again.  I knew I needed to see where this was going to go.  So the second and third dates happened which were equally wonderful if not better than the first.

Mike was back in California and I was back to my normal routine of life when he invited me out to visit him.  Mind you we had only been on a handful of dates so I had to make a decision.  Flashing back to the men that should fall of the planet I thought to myself… what’s the worst that could happen?  If he turns out to be crazy, I can get an Uber and go back to the airport…. I can get an Uber and go to a hotel?

Less than a week out, I pulled up my American Airlines app and bought a plane ticket.  Yep it was that simple.  Breaking the news to my parents, besties and circle of friends was not as simple for the obvious reasons, but I did it anyway and I don’t regret any of it.

Everyday is an adventure with Mike, just like the photos I saw before we even spoke.  Everyday presents a new experience and as we plan for the future together it brings me to life, a life that I never knew was possible until now.