7 Ways to Know It's for Real (or how I knew he was the ONE)

Love at first sight is bogus, right? Well, I’m actually going to be that girl that says I married my dream guy, and I fell in love with him the moment I saw him. And just for reference purposes, Aaron and I met on April 26, 2008, and he proposed on June 18th. We were married on April 4, 2009. It was a whirlwind of perfection.

I don’t think I could pinpoint one particular moment that I simply knew he was the ONE. But once I knew, I knew. And having dealt with the “dark side” and knowing what it’s like to be in a not-so-wonderful relationship, I give you my 7 ways to know it’s for real. (Disclaimer: Please don’t blame me if you feel this checklist applies to you, you marry the guy you’re with, and it doesn’t work out, mkay?)

1. There’s chemistry – He took off his sunglasses, and I saw his ridiculously gorgeous blue eyes. I just about melted. Maybe I did a little. I think I did a good job hiding it.

2. He’s confident but not cocky – While eating, he spilled some sour cream on his lap but didn’t miss a beat. He just wiped it up and kept talking. Something about that nonchalant non-freakout spoke volumes.

3. You want to see him again – I couldn’t wait for him to call me again. In fact, I bothered every friend of mine to tell me how long I should wait before assuming he wasn’t interested. I wanted him to call or text within moments of driving away.

4. He’s nice – As soon as my daughter met him, she was at ease and loved him. He’s like that with kids and animals. They all love him. That says a bunch.

5. He says the right things and means them – My favorite story of our “courting” was an afternoon we were sitting on the swing in my back yard. I was wearing some bermuda-type jean shorts, and I said something about how they made me feel like I looked like a boy. He said, simply, “Well, then I guess I’m in love with a boy.” That was the first time the “L” word had been spoken between us. I sat in silence before I looked at him and said, “I love you, too.”

6. He is who he is without putting on airs – On one of our dates, he wouldn’t stop talking on the phone to his friends. I really thought it was going to be the deal-breaker, and I was going to have to call it off. When he walked me to my car, he gave me a sweet kiss, and I was back in la-la land. Then, in my moments of clarity that followed, I realized that he had squeezed in the driving time, eating time, and date time with me before his softball game. He had gone out of his way to see me, and I was the butt munch who was getting annoyed with him for being who he was — the dude who made sure all the players showed up to the game so they wouldn’t forfeit. And that’s how he is in everything. He says what he means, and he does what he says he’s going to do.

7. He has no jealous bone in his body – In past relationships, I wasn’t able to talk about old boyfriends or guy friends. My ex(es) would get crazy jealous and yell at me and act stupid. Aaron just listens and nods or laughs at the stories. (I will not discuss my raging emotions when he talks about his high school relationship with the head cheerleader. This isn’t about me.) He’s man enough to hear my stories and understand that the past is the past, and he has no competition…whatsoever.

So, there you go. The 7 ways I knew that my man was THE man for me. How’d you know your dude was your forever dude? Tell me in the comments!