by Mary Powers.
At the ripe age of 25, I was anti-date. Unlike many of my friends, being single was status I relished. The freedom to do anything you wanted, when you wanted to do it. No compromising, no fighting over the remote, and I didn’t have to shave my legs unless I felt like it.
For some reason, when you don’t want to date, friends and family feel the need to become crafty matchmakers. My uncle even tried to fix me up with Scott, who happened to be my second cousin! For obvious reasons, I declined.
Married co-workers were the worst, and they would exclaim enthusiastically, “I have just the perfect person for you. You have to meet him!” Though family and friends can be avoided, you can’t avoid co-workers because you see them at least five days a week. Co-worker Joan from the legal department made it her personal goal to make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch. I kept reminding Joan that being single was the spice of life and she should set a different goal, like making sure she got five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. She seemed to give up for a while.
A few months later, Joan was going on the Spirit of Washington Murder Mystery Train with a few other couples. When I asked if I, the single white female, could come with them, Joan said she would find me a date. Though I insisted I would have fun going solo, she got on the horn and within a few days she found “the perfect date.” He worked with her husband at a local bank, had no kids and no hair. Described to me as Vin Diesel meets Woody Harrelson, I agreed to go the on the blind date. As far as I was concerned, there was no such thing as “the perfect date,” but what the heck. I’m a sucker for a mystery and really wanted to go on that train with or without a date.
To make a long story, short: The minute I saw him at the train station, I was surprisingly intrigued. Good looks, wonderful blue eyes with kind crinkles, and a subtle disposition. By subtle disposition, I mean he was not pushy. After having a wonderful time on the train and getting to know him for 365 days, he proposed marriage. I accepted and we are nearing our seven-year anniversary. Now I have a new kind of freedom and I’m working on the compromising part, though I still don’t consistently shave my legs. Just imagine if I didn’t go on the blind date, I would have missed out on the “most perfect” person I could ever imagine.
About the author: Mary Powers is a recent graduate of the University of Washington and lives in the Pacific Northwest. A paralegal by day, and freelance travel writer by night, she burns the candle at both ends. Her first publication, “The City Dweller’s Travel Guide to Rural Historic Areas in the Pacific Northwest” is being released in June 2007. Known to many as the “Twinkie Queen,” she lives with her dog Emma The Golden Retriever Powers and her husband Mike whom she met on a BLIND DATE!
