TRO/TD

Avoiding Scientific Discovery

I tried the internet thing for quite a while. I got sick of it. Then, I realized that for the younger people at work, it was the fashion to find people they knew! I have a semi-prestigious job ---I am a scientist and I run my own lab at a medical school. When my junior scientists were doing searches, I didn’t want them to find me! I do have a semi-prestigious position. The bottom line was, I felt vulnerable and needed privacy.  Also, I wasn’t making high quality connections over the internet.

I joined The Right One and was introduced to three other women before I met Amanda. One out of four is a pretty good rate. I am happy with it, though,  I guess in a way it is a pity I met someone I got along with so early.  I have 8 unused introductions, (insert sound of elbow entering ribcage), but I don’t feel like meeting anyone else.  It’s like being at a buffet: you don’t want to hurt yourself but you want your money’s worth.

It is going very well. We hit it off from the beginning. I thought she was very, very cute when I met her. Our first date was in a steak house. We are comfortable talking about how to raise kids and we’ve met the parents. We just haven’t taken the plunge yet, but we feel comfortable and it will probably happen. 

She is a very nurturing and caring person. That is pretty rare and something you can tell right off. She likes to make the people around her happy and so do I. Anyone who laughs at my jokes has a great sense of humor, I go with that. She is creative in her sense of humor with a little bit of slapstick and clever with words. She will do things like get ahead of me on a trail, we lmaike to go hiking, she’ll hide in a bush and jump out at me. When we go with her nephews, they will get way ahead and leave messages in the trail for you to decode. I take photos and there are ample opportunities to get ahead of me.

We’ve been hiking from Maine to Texas. We like to hike and Cape Cod is one of the top hiking places in the world. It is only an hour and a half away. She’s basically a tomboy who loves the outdoors. This winter, we’ll go skiing. We are having a great time! Thanks to The Right One!

Fell Into Love With the Right One

Michael Girardeau and Diana Webb Girardeau

On our first date, we went to the Olive Garden. I was running late and tried to call his cell phone. He had given me the wrong number! I was so worried about what I would find when I got there ---would he be mad, be gone? When I arrived, I literally tripped over the door facing and nearly fell into his lap! I was so embarrassed and I said, “I hope you are Michael!” He was. When we left, I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear from him again!

I knew his birthday was two days after our date, so I called and told him I wanted to take him out. He accepted and we have been inseparable ever since. That was in December, and in July, on my birthday, we got engaged.

It was funny, we had a bunch of people over that day to swimin the pool. Being the nut ball that I am, I had said I wanted a diamond they could see from across the room. I picked out the most expensive one I saw, thinking that would end that, never thinking he would buy it! He had the ring on one of his fingers and a friend was gawking at it. Then, he went to get down on one knee and I thought he had fallen! When I realized what he was doing, I just started crying.

We are both widows and just wanted a small affair. We both have a lot of grandkids and I decided my granddaughter would be the maid of honor. It ended up that everyone in the wedding party was under 12!  They were just fantastic. With 10 kids, you would have thought it would have been a disaster. I was told, “You are crazy!”  No, I thought it would be fun. Sure, anything can happen, but that’s alright. I had a six-year-old give me away, but we found out that was the wrong term. We had to convince him that he wasn’t really giving me away, as in never seeing me again, because he wasn’t going for that.

We even had a child sing at the wedding. He got about half way through before he teared up and forgot the rest. But he did real good. While they had to behave at the church, when we got to the country club, they could do what they wanted. They danced and danced. We were expected about 40 to show up to an old folks wedding, but we had more than 100! After all, I turned 56 and he is 64. We had a great time.

We went on a cruise for our honeymoon and had a great time. It was his first and he loved it. We went on jet ski tour and he said, “you drive.” I got it wide open and then came to a dead stop. I thought I was going to die because it was so funny. The next night was formal night and his face was so wind burned, it was blood red! We must have being going 70 mph and he never goes over 60! 

We went horseback riding on St. Thomas and went on one of those bob scooters you can ride under water. 

We really do feel Together Dating picked the right person for us.

He is a wonderful guy. He has a beautiful voice and sings with the praise team at church in Florence, S.C. The first time he met me, he told a friend he was going to marry me and everybody thought he was kidding. HE had to convince me this is what I really wanted. I am so happy. Wehave a good time and he hangs in there with my wild ideas. I never thought I could meet a man who would put up with me!

Diana