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Red Writing Hood: The Love of My Life

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The Misadventures of Mrs. B: Red Writing Hood: The Love of My Life

Cook. Writer. Wife. Daughter. Sister. Friend. Klutz.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Red Writing Hood: The Love of My Life

I'm happy to be linking up for the first time this week with The Red Dress Club! Squeal!


This week's prompt involved starting the submission with "I could never have imagined" and ending with "Then the world shifted".  I would love any comments and any constructive criticism, and am looking forward to visiting the other participants.  Thanks!

I could never have imagined that I would meet the love of my life on Craigslist.

Yes.  Craigslist.

It wasn’t the sort of ad through which men and women usually meet on that site.  There were no come on’s, no propositions.  Just a girl writing an ad, venting about the shallowness of the men she had met to that point and laying it all on the line for anyone who cared to read it, and a boy who found that ad and felt compelled to respond.

Out of all of the replies I got that day, his in particular stood out.  He had clearly put a lot of thought into it.  Hell, he could spell and knew how to put a sentence together.  That alone put him ahead of the pack.  But it was more than that.  As I read I became increasingly interested in getting to know him.  I laughed out loud once or twice.  He had a dry sense of humor while at the same time an openness, a friendliness.  He seemed eager to hear back from me.  So he did.

Two days later he told me he would happen to be in my area that night with a couple of his friends, and asked if I would like to meet up with them.  My exact words were, “I’m in a what-the-hell kind of mood, so why not?”.  

I have to admit that it wasn’t an instant love connection.  I later found out that up to that evening, he had habitually driven himself crazy getting ready to meet a girl for the first time, only to be disappointed time and again.  This time he decided to play it cool to the point of underdressing.  So no, I wasn’t exactly bowled over.

Over the next month we emailed back and forth several times a day, and I’ve saved every single one of those precious messages.  Sometimes when I’m having a bad day I go back through them and laugh over those early days, the delicate getting-to-know-you dance we performed together.  I was still unsure – this was completely new territory for me, and as much as I wanted to be a part of a relationship, there was something to be said for the comfort of knowing what to expect from life.  Change is scary.

Still, a month after our first meeting we went on an actual date.  After dinner we spent a lot of time talking in the car, as he drove in circles trying to find a parking spot in my hectic neighborhood.  Finally, after 45 minutes or so, he decided to give up – he was working on Saturdays at that time and had to be in early the next morning.  Wouldn’t know you it, though, that as soon as he decided to simply drop me off, a spot opened up almost directly outside the door leading up to my apartment? Fate’s a funny thing.

There we stood, in that crucial moment.  I remember how my heart raced, wondering how this would turn out, not knowing what to do.  My palms were sweaty. 

Something had changed that evening.  He was prepared this time, he was on his game.  That plus the deepening of our friendship over the several weeks prior sparked something in me.  

After a minute or two of small talk, I knew that it would be up to me to take matters into my own hands.  And so I took a deep breath and went in for the kill.  Right there in the dingy entryway of my dingy apartment building.  Our first kiss.

Then the whole world shifted.

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13 Comments:

Blogger amygrew said...

What a good story...Craigslist huh! Love it!

Visiting from TRDC.

February 11, 2011 at 9:44 AM

 
Blogger Poppy said...

And all I ever got from craigslist was a stroller! Great story.

February 11, 2011 at 1:56 PM

 
Blogger Unknown said...

I love this. It gives me hope. You really have no idea. :)

February 11, 2011 at 2:20 PM

 
Blogger Joey Lynn Resciniti said...

I'm happy to read a Craig's List success story! More thrilling than finding cheap furniture to be sure.

February 11, 2011 at 2:59 PM

 
Blogger The mad woman behind the blog said...

Tell me this wasn't fiction. Pretty please??!?!
I married my CL find, also with a dry sense of humor. Love me some Craigslist and loved this story.

February 11, 2011 at 5:53 PM

 
Blogger Ash said...

I'm afraid I'm an old fart and not too familiar with Craigslist - minus all the bad publicity of Congressmen and serial killers of course.

So glad true love can be found there too! It actually restores a little of my faith in the future. Great story.

February 11, 2011 at 8:19 PM

 
Anonymous redkathy said...

So happy to hear a positive story came from Craigs list. I have friend who met quite q few nightmares there. Definitely fate my dear!

February 11, 2011 at 10:50 PM

 
Blogger Cheryl said...

I love this story. Craigslist. Who'da thunk it?

February 11, 2011 at 11:43 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I met my husband online to. Indirectly. I love hearing other stories of Love via the Internet. :)

This was such a lovely story. I enjoyed every single bit of it.

On a completely unrelated note...Did you actually cook all those things in your footer? So dangerous to a woman on a diet.

February 11, 2011 at 11:54 PM

 
Blogger Not Just Another Jennifer said...

Wow, this was fantastic!!! This felt so conversational. So real. So now I simply must know - fiction, or non? Thanks for linking up to TRDC! PS I'm another Jennifer B. :)

February 14, 2011 at 3:23 PM

 
Blogger Megan said...

LOVE this! I too was done with lame guys, and posted what I consider to be a "this is why you won't want to date me" ad on CL. My mountain man says it was just real. I got a lot of inappropriate emails in return, but one that just jumped out of my inbox. We emailed for a month, then met, and all I could think to myself was "don't screw this one up!!"

I think it's a hilarious little (poorly kept) secret that my husband and i met on CL. It's so unexpected, so off the beaten path, and not likely to create good results. It's like putting an ad in the Penny Saver. But it worked. Maybe I should write our meeting story, too!

February 14, 2011 at 7:13 PM

 
Blogger Kir said...

Oh I just loved this, told with the BUTTERFLIES I know you were feeling. WOW, what wonderful writing, I felt like I was there.

I did my senior thesis in Women's Studies, on Internet Dating, back in 1996 when it was "new" and I met a LOT of very very nice guys (who I am still friends with) online before I met John at work. I think that getting to know each other like that sometimes is the best way, email...talking on the phone , getting to know each other goes a long way. SO glad you kept all those emails/msgs...they are precious!

great FIRST Post!

February 16, 2011 at 8:37 AM

 
Anonymous Lorna said...

Love this! I met the love of my life online! It's been a year and a half and we now live together. It does work, and I'm glad it worked for you!

February 16, 2011 at 2:50 PM

 

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