Success Story: Peta, Chicago, IL. We are a “success story” for Pre-Dating!

A few days ago, my doorbell rang-a rather uncommon occurrence (my friends just walk right in!).

I was annoyed at being interrupted since I was not expecting anyone. I was quite taken by surprise as a man thrust a huge bouquet of stunning roses in my face and barked my name. I was too stunned to really understand his question, but did manage to nod assent…..

What I held in my hands was a breathtaking arrangement of a dozen perfect roses. The delivery took me by surprise, but I had no doubt of whom these gorgeous flowers were from. The date was September 23-six months from the day I had attended a Pre-Dating event in Chicago.

Of course they were from John, one of the men I met that evening, to celebrate six wonderful months of dating.

Why Pre-Dating? After several cancellations of singles events I had registered for, I was pretty fed up. So I cast a search for other opportunities to find a date. I came across Pre-Dating at the last minute, and put myself on the Waiting List (yeah-right…).

At the 11th hour, they called me to see if I was still available. She was waiting on a final gentleman to register and would have a spot for me if he did. The location appealed – if nothing else, I would experience an interesting new dining spot. In a rare impulsive moment, I signed on.

Shortly after arriving, I was impressed by the restaurant and the (relatively) great organization of the event.

That evening I had a chance to talk to several interesting gentlemen. One man that caught my eye was John, we were both single parents and lived in nearby northern suburbs. Happily, he was one of my matches.

I was very happy to hear from him just a few days later. We agreed to meet for brunch a few days later and had a great time. (We are still unsure if a brunch can be properly considered a 1st date??) Dinner and a movie followed, then dinner and swing dancing…then dinner and a show.

I found myself eagerly awaiting John’s daily 6am (yes-6 am!!) emails.

Talking to him seemed easy & natural.

As we continued to get to know each other though, I detected some hesitancy. Finally, John revealed that he had made a date a while back with another woman he matched with, but he was unsure if he should keep the date. Of course any woman with any self-respect would say “do whatever you feel is right”…yet I realized how profoundly unhappy it made me feel to think of John going on a date with someone else!

That other date never happened……After a few weeks, it was clear that this was an exclusive relationship.

Since we had both been in long term marriages that ended, caution was the word of the day. Between us, we have 4 children aged 4 through 12, two with special needs. However, when John mentioned an upcoming vacation, I had no hesitation suggesting we spend a week vacationing together in the Caribbean in late June.

Although there were few tense moments, John became PADI-scuba certified that week, and I enjoyed the most wonderful vacation I could remember.

In September, I accompanied John on a business trip to NY where I grew up. Again, we had an unbelievably wonderful trip.

We have been reluctant to let you know about this success story…. as we do not know the “end” of the story! For the past six months, we have been increasingly comfortable and happy together, so at this point, regardless of the final outcome, I think we are a “success story” for Pre-Dating.

What does our future hold? Who can say? These past six months have been a wonderful journey for us both.

Many thanks to Pre-Dating for providing the chance for us to meet.