A Year Later...

When we left off, it was July 2007 (missed my last blog, click here!) and my friend Amie and I were certain that our “ghost hunting boyfriends” were stalking us. But, after seeing them loitering outside the home of the philosophy class teacher, we didn’t run into them again. Rather, Spirit threw a couple other men and an engagement ring in my path (both of those tales for another time)… but not him.

After the weekend, Spirit cooled it with the insistence of me finding love. I was able to enjoy the time in Lily Dale and enjoy the opportunity of teaching the class there.

And then we returned to life outside the Dale. But, at least we had good stories. We would joke about Amie and my ghost hunting boyfriend especially after Amie’s ghost hunting boyfriend (not mine in the cowboy hat) friended me on MySpace (dates us, doesn’t it?). He would send a ‘hello’ now and again…. always certain to add, “Don says hi!” This correspondence often led to giggles and perpetuated the “ghost-hunting boyfriend” joke.

A year went by. Shortly after my joining Facebook, my friend’s “ghost-hunting boyfriend” friended me. It was at that time, rather than just receiving the HELLO that he mentioned, “Hey! Don and I are going to Lily Dale with our buddies to see Jay and Grant (the Ghost Hunters) July 25 – 27th. You gonna be there? We should get together!”

Ironically enough, or perhaps not, we WERE going to be there! Amie and I had rented an apartment in Lily Dale from a friend of ours. We were going to be there all week.

I hemmed and hawed. What did Spirit have in mind? But, after a back a forth, we decided we would get together Friday night at Cup of Joe – the place to be at the Dale.

About a day later, I got a friend request from my ghost hunting boyfriend. I hesitated accepting it, especially since my friend Amie started teasing me, “I think he likes you. I bet you two are going to get married.”

I scoffed at her. Romance was still not my thing. But at this point I had been receiving the message from Spirit for over a year… so I decided I would follow at tip from the movie Practical Magic and make a list. Knowing that specifics are important, I spent quite a bit of time on this list. It included things like: he needed to be a heterosexual male; would understand and support my business; would serenade me; could be handy and fix things; be financially responsible and stable; as well as a few others.

Nervous she might be right, I also accepted his request and Facebook stalked him. I was relieved when from his limited Facebook profile it appeared that he was in a relationship. Phew… dodged that bullet!

Amie insisted, however, “Dawn I don’t think he’s with anyone. I think you two are meant to be.”

I had my list… we would see what happens…

It was Friday, July 25th; the day. Amie and I packed up our things to head down to the Dale for the week. Before we left Buffalo, we hit the grocery store for food (and adult beverages). We were then on our way.

When we got to there, we unpacked. Settled in. And started drinking…

We drank until the designated time we were scheduled to meet the boys. A little tipsy, we showed up laughing (and probably a little obnoxious). We knew it was them from their signature black shirts and my ghost hunting boyfriend was wearing his signature cowboy hat.

Despite a little awkwardness at the get go. Do we hug? Do we not? What do we talk about? Our meeting went well. I was surprised to see the boys and their friends did not fit the stereotype I had created for ghost hunters. They were more spiritual and respectful of Spirit than I had imagined.

After a lengthy conversation, and as Cup of Joe was closing up. We (my friend, me, and the two ghost hunters) decided to continue our conversation and explore the Dale. We headed over to the museum (where we got this awesome photo), talked to the beach, and ran into some of their friends including the amazing Stacey Jones. We ended up on a bench at the corner of Cleveland and Third, were we talked LONG into the night.

Finally, at some time after 1am we decided it was time to part. But, with the agreement we would meet up the next day.

And we did.

Actually, we, the three and sometimes four of us, ended up spending the entire weekend together.

We talked. A LOT. And over the course of time, found out that YES, Don was seeing someone… they'd been together ten years! But he admitted he wasn’t happy anymore.

I fought Spirit. There was a connection between us. And, he met all the criteria on my list. But he was not free. I wasn’t going to be the other woman. There was also a strange connection between him and my friend… maybe we were just supposed to be friends?

So we enjoyed our weekend, but before we knew it, the weekend came to a close. On Sunday, we traded numbers. Hugged. Parted ways. Uncertain when (or even if!) we’d see each other again.

Lengthy conversations continued over the next few days. He'd give a ring in the morning, during his lunch break and in the evening. When he called on Thursday he informed me he had BIG news. He left his girlfriend. 

He spoke of the wake up he received during the weekend with Amie and I. He spoke about how he for the first time in years felt alive. He wanted more. And with after a challenge from Amie, he decided he was going to take charge of his life.

That night, and the nights to follow, he spoke (more like rambled) a lot. It was clear he felt a freedom and he was dreaming about the future. And in those ramblings he said a couple of things that scared me... he told me, "Dawn, I see us owning a shop or a business or something together in the future. It's named db... (after a long pause).... and it represents both of us. We have the same initials."

When he made comments like that, I ignored them. Remained quiet. Or changed the subject.

Our conversations continued and it was a couple of months before we officially began dating…. Shortly after that, the marriage topic (much to my chagrin) began coming up. It became apparent (despite his denials at first) that he wanted it. Less than a year later he was proposing. Amie was right, we did get married. 

That’s our story, and Spirit definitely had a hand in it.

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