This is a submission we received for our “How Did You Find Love” feature, and we liked it so much we decided to publish it in its entirety.

“Hello, my name is Bill,” he said.

“I don’t have much luck with men named Bill,” she said.

“I don’t have much luck with women,” he replied.

We were at a celebration of life for a mutual friend at the VFW in Georgetown. I was volunteering as a Ladies Auxiliary member, and Bill was attending with several other friends. We talked for a few minutes, and then I had to get back to my work. He asked if I would be interested in going out, and I gave him my number. I had been single for 30 plus years and was not very interested in the dating game. I was busy with my house, grandchildren, yard work and various community volunteer projects.

During the evening, I mentioned I was looking for a Forester Sisters’ CD called Men that was released in 1972. I had it at one time and lost it during my moves, or perhaps one of my girlfriends had borrowed and never returned it.

Bill did call, and our first date was Halloween night. He drove up from Georgetown to Myrtle Beach. I was busy giving out treats at my grandchildren’s home as they were out with their mother and father in the neighborhood. We went out to dinner at T-Bonz and met several of my friends that were having drinks after work. They were as surprised as I was. Yes, I was out with a man. Who knew?

We had a nice evening and lots of discussion about our lives. He had a sad story about the death of his wife after 38 years of marriage and then, subsequently, the death of his girlfriend. My friends advised me to be careful and not to go on any trips with him. I thought, being of sound mind, retired from work and enjoying life, that this dating thing was good.

Christmas Day was a delight. We spent the day with friends, and Bill gave me the Forester Sisters’ CD. What a wonderful surprise. After that, I was willing to do anything with him, from clearing brush from his yard, uncovering all the bricks that were laid around the edge of the property, sanding, painting and all the normal work projects that go with a house.

I am a type A personality and had goals for my future. First, I wanted to stay healthy and active. Second, I wanted to complete the story of my life and planned to go to Key West for six months and put my life experiences into a readable book. I knew this was an ambitious project, as I had been working on it off and on for twenty years.

We were dating quite regularly, and after four months I had this great feeling whenever he called or came up for a date. My heart would stand still and feel as if it were outside of my body. I was sixty-five years old and considered myself an intelligent female. What was I thinking? I was reading books about dating and love in the 60s. In February, 2007, I told him about my feelings and prefaced it with, “This is a risky statement.” He did not say anything, and I thought, “Oh boy, I’ve done it now.” We went to dinner the next evening, and when I was getting into my car to go home he said, “love ya,” then turned and walked to his car.

“Hey, Come back here,” I said. “You made me wait 24 hours before acknowledging what I told you.”

He smiled and said, “I’ve been thinking about it.”

Relationships are difficult at any age and this was certainly a different type. We continued to date, and I was still getting ready to go to Key West. One evening in late October, 2007, Bill asked me to marry him. I said yes, with the stipulation that I was still going to Key West, and then take a road trip across the U.S.

I believe there is a grand scheme of life. Circumstances prevented me from staying in Key West and completing my project. I came back to S.C., and Bill asked me to stay at his house to continue working on my writing project. After discussing this with my daughter, I agreed.

We were engaged, and decided to get married in February, 2008. We were married in Key West and took a road trip of thirty-five days covering eighteen states and enjoyed every minute. We will celebrate our first anniversary this month and it has been one of the busiest and happiest of my life.