I will change your life.

And you did.

4 days. 33 hours. 2 states. 3 parks. 2 dogs. 1 headstand contest. 6 new Pandora stations. 1 hammock. 2, maybe 3, incredible iTunes playlists ;-). Phone chemistry. Glow bracelets. A late night truck stop. The insect attack of the century. A bottle of champagne that we never opened. My least favorite breakfast spot in the South.

And 1 really. difficult. conversation.

You said it more than once. “I will change your life.” It wasn’t a dead serious, groundbreaking kind of changing your life. More of an I’m-kind-of-joking-but-not-really, semi-serious, you-might-not-realize-it-now-but-it’s-true kind of way.

It was often accompanied by a playful smile, almost a smirk, as if to keep me wondering, “Is this girl for real?”.

We spent time together on 4 separate occasions. 4 dates, if that’s what you’d prefer to call them. And how much can someone honestly change your life in 4 days? It’s a valid question, for sure. One that I asked myself several times on the car ride back from Gaston.

Well, day 2 was the best conversation I can remember having in a long time. And as far as dating goes, maybe the best ever for a 2nd date.

Day 3 we set a world record for longest 3rd date. 7+ hours. We also did it with no agenda, no plans, no bug spray (huge oversight), and for the last 3 hours, no light (it gets pretty dark in the woods). And all of this on a work/school night.

Day 4 we spent nearly 20 hours together. No break from each other, other than a few hours of sleep. I met her dogs, her students, her colleagues, and the sweet Italian woman at the only Italian restaurant in her town.

I could go on and on about all the things we crammed into 4 dates. It’s an impressive list. But the more impressive thing is that in 4 days, she really did change my life.

Those who know me know that I am a bit of a perfectionist. Those who know me even better know when it comes to girls, I can be very selective. And the crazy thing about this girl is…

The only thing wrong with her is that she can’t keep her tube of toothpaste clean.

Yeah. I think I can get over that.

Yesterday, we said goodbye. Not goodbye for good, but goodbye for now. A little thing called timing got in the way of a great opportunity.

Although I might have made that last conversation seem easy, believe me, it wasn’t. You know how Murph & Kota looked when they thought you were leaving them? The same thing was going on inside my head (I just don’t have Murph’s puppy face to illustrate my feelings).

And if timing can so easily, and so quickly, break something apart, I’m really hoping it can put it back together again. (Humpty Dumpty, we need ya, bro.)

Here’s to our next adventure…