1 Year

A friend once told me that she knew she’d met the right person for her when she realized she’d rather be with him than be alone. That may sound obvious, but let me explain.

See, I was never a girl who dreamed about my wedding, or really thought about being married, or imagined my future husband. I figured it would happen when it happened. I went through high school, and college, and the early days of my career and didn’t worry — at least not TOO much — about how I hadn’t yet found the person who was right for me.

I’ve always been pretty independent, and I’ve always been pretty good at making myself happy. More often than not, I was content to just do my own thing. It didn’t bother me to spend a Friday night at home alone. On the contrary, I often looked forward to it! Sure, there were times I wished I had somebody, but on the flip side — hey, all that time just for me!

That’s how I interpret my friend’s remark from many years ago. For me to give up that alone time? To consent to having to compromise on my Friday night ideas of what to watch, or what to eat, or what to do, or where to go? To compromise on everything, ever? The person that made me want to do that, and do that for the rest of my life — well, I’d have to like him quite a lot.

It turns out that what they say is true — sometimes you really do “just know.” Sometimes it really does just “feel right.” When I met Jose, I realized pretty quickly that I wanted to be with him more than I wanted to be alone.