The Gift

The Gift

Melissa 

            I kissed many frogs over the years in the hopes that they would turn into my Prince Charming and I would live happily ever after.  Needless to say, my fairy tale dreams were consistently, and often horribly, dashed.  I have been cheated on, dumped, told that it just wasn’t working out, and just plain hurt by the opposite sexes idiocy and misdeeds.  I know that I am not the only woman who has ran through the dating onslaught and emerged jaded and cynical.  I know that I am not the only one who has declared at the top of my lungs that “I’m done with men.”  There was even a very short time when I toyed with the idea of becoming a nun just to no longer have to put myself through the hopeless dating/relationship scene.

            Through all of my trials and tribulations, my parents were there for me, watching from the sidelines, cheering me on when it seemed right and supporting me as I licked my wounds after a dating debacle.  My mom always said not to settle, to wait until I found the right one who would be the right fit.  My dad also told me the same advice and tried to teach me how the right relationship would be.  He described it as being one full of love, support, respect, and most importantly he used the words, the relationship “just is.”  That piece of advice was the hardest one for me to wrap my head around.  I usually just thought he was full of it, and that the dating advice that I read in magazines and books was the way to go.  It goes without saying that that advice absolutely does not work. 

            As the years passed and I was approaching the point where I was going to consider myself an official spinster, my dad got sick and went into the hospital for what would be the last time.  I remember on my dad’s last day on this earth, we had a conversation in which I told him how proud I was of the many battles he had fought throughout the years when it came to his health.  He had persevered through so much, and always kept as positive an attitude as possible.  He, in turn, told me he was proud of me because of my own battles that I had faced in the dating department.  I scoffed, and he told me again what he had always told me, that he wanted me to just be happy.  He also reiterated his statement about the “just is” aspect of the right relationship.  I tucked it away in my memories, and focused on the more important events that were going on. 

            It wasn’t until after my dad passed away that his comments about a relationship began to come true.  By this point in my life I had moved back home with my mom so we could help each other during our time of need, and dating was on the back burner in my mind.  Nonetheless, I still had hope, so I had put my profile out on match.com., and it was on that website, just as I was about to shut down my profile, that I met David. 

            We had so much in common in personalities and desires, and after speaking on the phone we agreed to have a first date, which turned into a ten hour marathon.  That date was the best date I had ever had in my life.  David was adorable, handsome, sexy, a gentleman and funny all wrapped into one.  He took my breath away with his honesty and acceptance of me.  One date became another, and another, and now a year and a half into our relationship, we are happier than we have ever been in our lives. 

            David is wonderful.  He is charming, thoughtful, compassionate, understanding, loving and stable.  We have a healthy relationship that is based on mutual respect.  We are partners together against life, and we find enjoyment in each other.  David enhances my life, helps me to be a better person, and has taught me so many things about the positive things of life that I had forgotten.  He is everything that I want in a partner and more.  He is my world, and I love him completely.

            I also know with every shred of my being that David is a gift from my dad.  My dad was in a position where he was able to find my perfect match.  He helped David and I find our way to each other.  He knew that we would be wonderful and dynamic together; that we were a perfect match in every sense of the word.

            So, on this day, I say thanks to my dad for helping me find David.  It is a wonderful gift when your dad points you in the direction of the man of your dreams.  And what is even more appropriate, I now finally understand his advice that the right relationship just is.  David and I just are, and it is wonderful.