Adam and I met on my birthday in April of 2009. We had only spoken on JDate for a few hours the night before we met. The truth is we had no real expectations for the date; he knew full well I simply wanted someone to take me out to dinner on my birthday. Adam was running late the night we met (not a great way to start a date) and when we finally met, he pulled a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back and wished me a happy birthday. He regained back all the points he lost for being late! What I find funny is that our first date was filled with weird pauses, bad food choices, and general awkwardness! In the history of first dates, this was definitively not the best, but something just worked between us that night. What started as just a birthday meal ended in a phone call from Adam (10 minutes after dropping me off) asking about a second date. I was hooked.
Over the next few weeks, we spent time in Central Park, went out for drinks with friends, and generally got to know one another while refusing to make it official. A month after our first date, on his birthday, Adam took me to a Mets game and asked me to “go steady.” I should have said “no,” as I am a Yankees fan, but the truth is I thought it was a pretty good proposition. I agreed on the spot. And then we got married and life was perfect, right?
Not quite. Almost a year after we met, Adam and I hit a really rough patch. I have a history of anorexia, and, while living together, the disorder reemerged. Adam could have walked away right then, and I wouldn’t have blamed him. I know I was hard to live with, and it must be incredibly difficult to see someone you love going through something like that. But that was the key; we love each other. Instead of walking away, he stuck with me, got me a dog to take my mind off my own crazies, and told me he wanted to marry me but wouldn’t ask me until I was healthy enough to eat our wedding cake. Adam’s support was key in my recovery, and he did eventually ask me to marry him. In October of last year we were married, and I enjoyed every last bite of our wedding cake.
Through JDate, Adam and I were able to find the exact mate we had been looking for: someone who let us be ourselves, supported us in each of our individual endeavors, and would do anything to put a smile on the other person’s face. We are the nerdy couple. The couple that loves sci-fi and superheroes. We are the people who know all there is to know about Star Wars and X-Men, watch way too much Discovery Channel, and think going to the Galapagos Islands sounds like a great vacation. We are the perfect match for each other, and we are very, VERY happy.
Rena and Adam
Livingston, New Jersey