I’m 50. There’s a small sigh attached to that sentence, although I realize the number itself hasn’t done anything to deserve it.
I’ve dated plenty over the years. I’m not looking back at a life with no romance in it, or wondering what it might be like to go on a date. But I’m not sure I’ve ever found my person. After all that dating, that’s still the part I’m waiting for.
I’m a romantic, which may be contributing to the problem. There’s a real possibility that my expectations are unrealistic. I can acknowledge that possibility without feeling especially eager to abandon them.
What I’d love to hear is that someone met a partner after 50 and thought, yes, this is it. This is the person. And then years passed, and they still felt glad they’d found each other.
The years matter to me. A wonderful beginning is lovely, but I’m curious about what lasted. I want to hear from someone who can look back on that meeting with a whole stretch of shared life behind it.
And I want the ordinary details of how it happened. How did you actually meet? What put you in the same place at the same time? When people say they found love later in life, I always want them to linger over that part of the story.
I’m aware that someone else’s happy relationship can’t tell me what’s ahead for me. Still, I’d like to hear those stories from the people living them.
So, if you met your person after 50 and you’re still together years later, how did it begin? I’m still a dreamer. I’d love to know where you two first said hello.
