You know that category they used to have on report cards: "Uses time well"? Well, if they still had it, Brigitte would get a double check mark!
Back then, she had a little time to kill before she had to leave for a doctor's appointment, so she went online. And that's where she met Keith.
She says: "We talked for a while and the conversation was very intriguing. So much so that when I had to leave for my appointment, he asked me for my phone number. At first I was reluctant to give it out, but I was truly intrigued so I gave him my cell phone number."
Three days later, Keith called. This time, with no doctor's appointment looming, the conversation went on for four hours!
"For a week and a half, we spoke on the phone each night, for three to four hours every night. He was smart, engaging, very charming, very mature," she says.
Very mature for his age, that is. Brigitte was 36. Keith told her he was 25, but he was really 23.
After 10 days of talking, Keith told Brigitte that he had to meet her in person. "I was reluctant because I didn't want anything physical with him. He was so much younger and the picture he sent me of himself was just awful. I wasn't at all attracted. But, I decided to meet him in person and that would be it. No further involvement."
Keith asked her to meet him at bar at 8 p.m. He gave her the cross streets but not the actual address.
"I drove around for what felt like a lifetime trying to find this place but couldn't. I decided to go home. On my way home, I found it! It was meant to be. I walked in at 8:20p.m., not knowing what I'd find."
At the very end of the bar, there was Keith, dressed in a white linen shirt. "He stood up and smiled at me. All I could think was, 'Wow, I could really like this guy!'
"Long story short, we dated for four years. For three of years he had to live out of state. I'd travel there almost every weekend to see him. We were married in a beautiful ceremony at Lighthouse Beach in Evanston, one of the places he took me to on our first official date.
"Last year he officially adopted my two children. He is their father. He is their dad, their mentor, our provider. He is the love of my life! Sometimes I worry about the aging thing, but I talk to him and he puts me at ease. He truly loves me and our kids. He's not going anywhere. We're together for life.
"To those women out there who think that love can't happen with a younger man I say they're wrong. Age is nothing but a number. It's an old cliche but it's true. Give it a chance. I did and I am happier than I could ever have hoped to be."
Did you take a chance on love? Send your tale, along with your questions, problems and rants to cheryllavinrapp@gmail.com. And check out my e-books, "Dear Cheryl: Advice from Tales from the Front" and "I'll Call You. Not."
View Comments