Presence.

We met in person in October.

Before that I had gone through a series of relationships with not so happy endings.  

And after the last breakup, one that nearly destroyed me, my mother died.  It was sudden and unexpected and awful,  And I just got lost inside my head.  I decided after that, that I needed to focus on me and becoming a better version of me.  I lost weight (a lot of it, thanks to some medical help) and became more content and confident with who I was and with being alone.

And then my friend decided (after being alone for several years) that maybe I was ready to start dating again. So I agreed.  She helped me set up an online dating profile.  I downloaded the app and, while playing around with it, managed to show an interest in him.  Without realizing I had done it.  He sent a message.  After a few weeks of texting, we met for coffee. And the few hours we spent together were the most comfortable and delightful I had spent in my life.

His screen name was Presence.  I asked him, a few messages into one of our earliest conversations, if he was a Led Zeppelin fan, and, my musical heart was happy when he said he was.

And that was that,  My first match took off and we became happily coupled.

Exactly two years to the day of that first date, in the same place, he proposed, and 365 days after that, we said "I Do" in front of our families and friends in the most wonderful way.  

Presence.  He had that in abundance.