UpDATE

Drumroll please.....I have a boyfriend!

Well, it's official -- I'm in a relationship with "Antonio." I feel silly writing this, like a 12-year-old girl. Maybe I should tell you the details of our first kiss? Haha -- just kidding! This blog is about my healing and growth and adjustment, not a place to share all the juicy details of my life.

Anyway, a lot has changed in the past six weeks or so. I had spent February and March doing some dating around, and nothing really took off. Either the chemistry was lacking, or there were aspects of our personalities that didn't mesh, we drifted apart, whatever. For a while, I thought things looked good with a guy named Brian, but it abruptly ended with that debacle of a dinner date I blogged about a few weeks ago. In the meantime, I fell harder for Antonio every time I saw him. I realized, with a little time to reflect, that Mr. Debacle Dinner Date really didn't hold a candle to Antonio. As time went on, I realized I was thinking about Antonio more and more, to the point that even the hot Australian guy in my skeeball league has started to just look "cute" to me. It just didn't make sense to keep the dating door open anymore, so I closed it and I'm Antonio's girlfriend now.

A bit about "Antonio": His real name is Sheldon. He lives in San Antonio (it's about a 75 minute trip between our apartments) and he works in sales and marketing. He's 29 years old, and we met through a mutual friend, who is one of Sheldon's co-workers. He is originally from Ohio and loves cheering on the Bengals, Reds, and Spurs. He runs, plays golf, and bowls. He is caring and considerate, patient and kind. He opens doors for me, holds my hand on the street, and makes me feel like a queen.

I first met Sheldon last May, and we had a nice time hanging out from time-to-time over the summer, but neither of us was looking for a relationship and I don't think either of us expected anything to develop between us. We kept in touch periodically while I was back in Iowa over the fall and winter, and he came up from San Antonio to help out with the move when my dad and I arrived with a U-Haul full of furniture in December. Since then, something more has slowly blossomed between us, getting stronger every time we spend time together.

From here, I don't know what will happen. I'm sure the big question in other people's minds is, "What about the distance? How are you going to date someone who lives in another city?" Well, hold your horses, people! We're enjoying our time together right now in our respective cities. Also, we're not THAT far apart. Besides, if life has taught me anything, it's that you can't predict what will come your way. Knowing that, I'm not thinking ahead to what we might do down the road if we get more serious. I'm just enjoying where we are now. We'll cross other bridges when our life paths take us there. For now, I'm happy and content to have him walking next to me and holding my hand.