New Leafs

The last month has been a challenging but good one for this introvert. I took myself seriously and worked hard to work on relationships with the people around me. I went to lunch with students, went to parties with friends, and made a real effort to connect with the people around me. I want to have real relationships instead of the surface "how are you?" "fine." conversations. It's not easy still - I'd much rather just smile, nod, and move on to my comfort zone, but it really is great when you connect with people on a real level. I even considered starting dating again - and wasn't sure how that would all work out with Jordan and my work schedule, but it was a consideration. I signed up for internet dating and then subsequently ignored any message sent by them and deleted my profile - just too weird for me. About a week after signing up however, I got a note on my car window from a neighbor asking me out to dinner. I waited a couple days and then texted him that I wasn't sure how to respond, and left it at that. After giving and receiving several more texts, I had breakfast with him last week and we've been having a pretty good time together. He told me he had been trying to get to know me for a really long time, but I was hard to meet - Really? Shocking! Anyway, I'm taking it very slow with this guy, but am amazed at the timing of everything. I must finally be ready for this stage of my life.

Oh, and Jordan doesn't know about it yet so don't spill the beans to her if you talk with her.

Also, if you would pray for me, dating this guy has brought up a lot of painful memories from the past - things I'm dealing with and which he is very understanding about, but it's not pleasant.