If you read Tales from the Front, you know there's nothing I love better than a happy ending. Except a happy ending that comes along when you least expect it . . .

When Taylor was 37, she and her boyfriend decided to have a baby. By this time, she'd had many live-in relationships, but had never been married. She went through fertility treatments, but she didn't get pregnant. The relationship fell apart when he moved out of state and she didn't move with him. Two years later, when she was 39, she decided to adopt a baby as a single mother.

"I didn't want the fact that I didn't have a husband stop me from my dream of having a family. So I adopted a beautiful two-year-old little girl."

About 18 months after the adoption, Taylor started thinking about dating again.

"I had a hard time finding men who wanted to date a 41-year-old woman with a four-year-old child. I met one, but he ended up making a lot of empty promises and stole some money from me before he left for good. I decided to take a break from dating just to heal and spend more time with my daughter.

"I joked with my friends that I should change the message on my phone to 'Thank you for calling Dysfunction Junction. Press 1 if you have a substance abuse problem, press 2 for a drinking problem, 3 if you have a fear of commitment, 4 if you're a cheater.'

"In 25 years of dating, I had experienced every type of dysfunctional relationship. I could never seem to attract a good guy despite the fact that I had a great job, my own home, financial security, a great family and a large circle of friends."

Taylor had spent a year alone when she got a call from one of those friends who wanted to set her up on a blind date.

"Jason called me, we went out to dinner and we've been together ever since. We recently got engaged and will be married November 18. It's the easiest and healthiest relationship either of us has ever experienced. We're both caregivers who've been with takers. We're now in a mutually caregiving relationship. We're what the Irish call anam cara — soul friends.

"Jason is twice divorced. He's nine years old than I am and plans on adopting my daughter. They've developed an incredible relationship. We recently went to Back to School Night and found a picture she'd drawn of her family. It was the three of us and she'd labeled Jason 'Dad.'

"Recently a lot of your columns have been from men and women who say that all men are bad or all women are bad. They've closed themselves off from finding love and happiness. I had 25 years of bad dating and never felt that way. I always had hope.

"Looking back, I realize I stayed too long in relationships. People are who they are — they rarely change. If your needs are not getting met, get out and move on. And keep your heart open, like my fiance and I did. I'm finally getting what I wanted, a family — a husband and a child. It didn't come to me the way I expected, but it still came because I had faith and hope."

Did love come along when you least expect it? Send your thoughts along with your questions and problems to cheryllavinrapp@gmail.com. And check out my new ebook, "Dear Cheryl: Advice from Tales from the Front." COPYRIGHT 2016 CREATORS.COM