Back in 1983, a girl met a boy…not, really. Actually, a young divorced mom met a college student through a mutual friend. The odds were against them. She was just getting out of an almost 10 year marriage, had two little boys, was working to support them while taking some classes at the local community college, and had vowed that if she ever became interested in another man that he would be older, stable, and would have enough money to take care of her and the kids with no worries. He on the other hand, was a “poor,” carefree college student still trying to determine his direction in life, and was certainly not interested in anything remotely like a long-term relationship. She was four years his senior, and though mature and stable, was not very “worldly.” He, however, had much more life experience but was more immature in many ways than she.

They continued to run in the same circles providing numerous opportunities to see each other and soon became good friends. Over time, the dating ensued (if you can call dinner at Taco Bell, shooting pool at STIXX, and dancing at Cody’s that almost always included his best friend Gene a date). I can’t speak for his decision to do the dating thing, but for me it was safe. I couldn’t possibly become serious about a guy who was the total opposite of what I thought I would eventually look for. I think it was pretty much the same for him; a girl who was older, divorced, with kids? Again, totally safe.

But, who would have thought that four years later, they would be saying their “I dos,” and four years after that would have a daughter together making their family of five complete. Fast forward ten years years after the wedding, and Mike had gone from Parole Officer to owning his own insurance agency, and Diane had gone from a sales and marketing position for a local manufacturing company to three years of college to teaching and coaching at the local high school. Who would have thought it?

Now here we are on the brink of retirement. Ready for new adventures and to see where the road will take us on this new phase of our life’s journey. Hopefully, you can enjoy sharing this new journey with us.