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| 10.01.2009
by chakra4 at 10/1/2009 3:44:40 PM
One day in the last few weeks my two daughters and I went to Kings Dominion, which is a theme park with lots of roller coaster rides. As part of our objective was to go on as many of these as possible and in doing so be taken to the top, thrown for a loop, and fly down steep slopes. Sadly, my dating experience has been an apt parallel of this. Over the same period of time, looking at hundreds of women's profiles, I saw one which caught my attention for the interests, dreams, and even this particular lady's job was a very close match to my own. So I did as you do here, got in line by writing them an eMail. By far the thing I least like at a park is waiting in the chute, but for me sending an introductory message is worse. For a moment imagine standing for an hour or more on a hot humid August day to go on a ride, finally once you are at the gate to be let on, the attendant says, "Though I know nothing of you other than by your looks, the fee you paid to be here and a few words, I've decided not to let you go." Waiting for a response to an eMail that is sent to a woman from a dating site is the same to me. Today however it is different, your number has come up and the way cleared for you to ride or in the case of meeting someone a message sent to you is opened which in part says, "Thanks for your kind emails, and for your persistence. Sorry to have taken so long to respond..." and so the ride begins. I know how it feels to take ones place on the coaster: anticipation, butterflies, and giddiness to name a few. This is where I differ from my eleven year old daughter; she has become jaded having ridden on roller coasters lots of times. The same is true for me when it comes to my dating (thankfully, my oldest daughter hasn't started seeing boys yet, though I know that will be changing soon, sigh...) I've been on this ride before and while I still hope, that is mixed with the somber realization that most of these rides end nearly as quickly as those at the theme park. Still I get on, buckling my belt, fastening a harness, pulling down the restraint. Waiting for the start is much like what I feel when driving to meet someone for the first time. At least with the rides at the park the wait is short, I have at times had a four plus hour drive to meet someone. In the case of this last woman it wasn't as far, nor was it 'technically' a date. She is an artist and what I went to was a public exhibition of her work. That said I let her know I might be there for it seemed as if it might be a bit odd for me just to show up. When I arrived, I saw her right off and she mouthed "Thanks for coming" for it wasn't a time for us to talk. In the hour or so I was there, my mind was transported by what she does to a place not unlike the peak of a giant roller coaster.?There for a brief moment, as if time stands still, one can look beyond the here and now to admire the beauty of the world we are in and through that gain a glimpse of God. I have to say, that though the woman I dated last went to Harvard, is a lawyer, and could well go on to become a doctor, she pales in comparison to the one I met that day. After her presentation, I did get to speak some with the lady I went to see. She gave me a friendly hug, which was as nice and unexpected as a sudden turn on a coaster. For a few moments, pleasantries were exchanged, however due to my other commitments I needed to go and with that, another quick hug, talk of meeting again and I was gone. On my way back home, it was as the last few moments of a ride, slowing pulling in to disembark, one's mind in part on the future and still reliving the past, hoping that this was not the only time, but knowing that life should not be a like a roller coaster rather a long journey with mountain top experiences, even valleys, and vast stretches of just living. Unfortunately this pseudo-date was as the trip my daughter and I shared on the Volcano, the only one. Upon the realization of this, I was saddened to the point that tears came to my eyes. Yet as those droplets went forth from me, I needed to remind myself that there are plenty of fish in the sea. So again, I find myself waiting in line, wondering if the great attendant in the sky will favor what I pray to be my last time on this particular attraction...
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