When You Least Expect It

My father came to visit Valentine's Day weekend. Several weeks before his visit, he prepped me for the fact that he wanted to babysit for his granddaughter by himself. He started in by saying things like, "You can go shopping, you can run errands, you can go on a date. I will babysit for the afternoon, the evening, or both."

At the time I remember wondering, "Who in the hell am I going to go on a date with? I barely have time to shave my legs, let along troll the streets for a date."

Little did I know the planets would align and I would met a guy on-line about 10 days before my father arrived. We corresponded, he appeared witty and smart, and we decided to meet for coffee the weekend I had 24 hour babysitter coverage.

This guy was the last guy I would have expected to date. English was not his first language -- and was, in fact, his fourth. He was not born in the U.S., and is not from my area originally, He is a bit younger, has different hobbies, and an entirely different family and personal background.

And yet we met for coffee and hit it off. And then we met for dinner the next day - Valentine's Day. We spoke, saw each other, or both every day for the next several weeks.

I liked him enough to introduce him to my daughter -- a huge leap. And I liked him enough to show him the real me. And, although I had feared that all men would view my single motherhood situation as a 21st century leprosy, he viewed it as courageous, brave and beautiful.

Sadly, we both agreed this relationship can go no further for reasons that are both complex and quite simple. But I will take from this experience that love can fall into your lap when you least expect it. And, there are some real men out there who can see beauty and bravery in carving out a dream for yourself.