MY POOL BOYFRIEND HAS MADE A BIG SPLASH IN MY LIFE

Dating update … with a twist.

I’ve been seeing someone in a casual, committed relationship for well over a year now. I didn’t know he considered me to be one of his girlfriends until we had a talk about it a long time ago but I’m happy to be one.

Here’s the story:

A few months after My Favourite Husband died, I was having lunch with one of my sister-in- laws. She knew what I was doing to work on my healing journey emotionally and mentally, but asked what I was doing physically. When I told her nothing, she reminded me I liked to be in the water and suggested swimming or an aquafit class. I liked the idea and checked out classes at a few different pools. At one of the pools I went to, on Tuesday and Thursday nights, there was a young man bantering with men around my age. Their banter boarded on the ridiculous and made me smile no matter how tough my day was. And there were a lot of tough days. But I found that even if I came to that pool crying, if I sneakily positioned myself behind them in class, my heart would always ease, my tears would stop and, for at least that hour, nothing else mattered. 

I couldn’t figure out their relationship for awhile but it turns out they’re friends. 

But back to my guy. A little about him. He’s in his early 30s. He has the best smile. He never, ever, ever has a bad day. He has a wicked sense of humour. He loves to sing and does so very badly, very lustily, mostly with incorrect lyrics. He has a job, four girlfriends (but we are only his girlfriends Tuesday and Thursday nights at the pool) and a social life that’s busier than most people I know. I swear he knows everybody at this pool. When I come out of the change room and hit the deck, I’m usually met with “TROUBLE!” … and a huge hug. The hug started out of the blue one day. He sensed I was sad and asked if he could hug me. I gulped back tears and nodded and, from that day on, I get a hug when he sees me.

He bosses me around in the pool. The instructor calls out a move and he looks at me and tells me to do it. I tell him he’s bossy. He just laughs and does not care. A whole hour of this nonsense. I pretend not to love it but how can I not? We talk on the phone almost daily. He tells me his day is awesome, his job is awesome, his Grandma is awesome. He asks about my work and tells me to get  job when I tell him I don’t work. He confirms I’ll be at the pool. Our conversations last a couple minutes and always make me grin.

My boyfriend has Down syndrome and his outlook on life is a bit different than most people in my world. While some people struggle to live in the sunshine, he does not. His world is perpetually sunny. His outlook is always positive. His smile is always lighting up his face and infectious. He is always happy to see me and, I, to see him. That teasing, that love I witnessed in the beginning, I’m now included as part of that circle.

I am blessed with so many amazing people in my life and the relationship with this young man is one of them. So you see, my dating efforts may be futile because, really, is there actually a man out there who can fill my heart with sunshine like my Tuesday/Thursday night boyfriend?

 

❤️