It Just...Kind Of...Happened...

“I finally found someone

That knocks me off my feet

I finally found the one

That makes me feel complete

It started over coffee

We started out as friends

It’s funny how from simple things

The best things begin”

- “I Finally Found Someone” by Bryan Adams and Barbara Streisand

My BF and I have been dating for a year today. So I guess this makes it our “one-year-dating-anniversary.”

I think that my previous relationships didn’t work because the other person was so set in their ways that they didn’t have room in their life for me. And that’s okay. I’m better for it. Because without those experiences, I wouldn’t have been willing to throw caution to the wind and go out with someone who I wouldn’t have normally gone out with.

What does that mean? A red-headed, Jewish doctor (as if that is the worst thing to be, right?). All of the qualities I didn’t want in a man. This is funny in and of itself, but it is all the more funny because my Bubbie – that’s a Jewish grandmother – didn’t want to marry a man name Manuel who was in the grocery business.

And guess what? She married a man named Manuel, who owned a grocery store, and they’ve been married for 64 years (I definitely like those odds!)! And I’m so glad that I went out on a limb, because I would have made a huge mistake if I hadn’t.

When I first started dating, I didn’t feel like I had the right to be too choosy because I am sick. I thought I had to take what I could get because, who, after all, wants a sick girl? This line of reasoning is incredibly negative and did not serve me well at all. I made a lot of mistakes along the way. But these mistakes made me realize that I deserved so much better than what I was getting.

Insert BF here…

I can’t really believe a year has gone by so fast. But to be honest, it has been one of the best years of my life. I never expected that going for coffee on a day that I wasn’t feeling well, and got out of my pajamas at 7:00 p.m. to go on the date, would turn into something that has lasted a year (and will hopefully last a lifetime).

I feel so lucky to have found someone who truly loves me for me, who has embraced my shortcomings, has celebrated the positive things with me, and has supported and encouraged me through the negative.

The reason I titled this post “It Just…Kind Of…Happened…” is because I can’t quite believe this is happening to me. I can’t believe that this amazing man is a part of my life. We survived the disclosure of illness, we survived past the third date, we survived meeting the parents, we survived a hospitalization, we survived losing a grandparent.

The point is, we’ve survived a lot of heavy stuff in a fairly short period of time, and we are still together, and I think, loving nearly every minute that we get to spend together.

He’s my B-F (boyfriend), my S-O (significant other), my P-I-C (partner in crime), and really, more than anything, he’s my everything.

Rich, I truly hope you know how much I love you and how lucky I am to have you in my life. Thank you for making every kiss feel like it’s the first. Thank you for making love song lyrics that I used to fantasize about become my reality. And thank you for never making me feel like a “sick girl,” even when I was in the hospital. You might be a red-headed, Jewish doctor, but you’re my red-headed, Jewish doctor. And I love, love, love, love you!

Forgive me for being so schmaltzy. But healthy or sick, there are some things you just have to celebrate.