Originally posted by Mr. 5020
Who thinks that? I would venture to say most people get to know eachother by "hanging out" before dating.
I'm dating a yound lady, and I've seen her without make-up and nice hair more than once.
Thus, the reason for the date, or "hanging out."
I didn't say that anyone here thinks that. At least, no one's said anything to me about that.
I'm one of those weird people who believes that there are other reasons for marrying besides being "in love" with them. In fact, in some cases, I think it's better to get married because you have common goals and/or beliefs and a mutual respect for each other. The love will come in time. I know this from experience.
I kind of don't believe in "dating," as most people mean it. Family functions are all right. Some "group dates" are fine (if I know all the parties involved and their parents, I will allow my daughter to go on group dates). But, I don't think that it's necessary to have one-on-one dates.
I've been married twice. I went through both sides of this. I met my first husband while in tech school. We dated. I thought I knew him and that we shared similar beliefs. We were fine for the first few months of our marriage. Toward the end of our ten months of living together as husband and wife, I found out some things about him that I never knew. These things are why he's in prison right now, until :jessilu:'s 25 or older.
I met Steve through my mom. We didn't go on any dates. It might have more to do with our age than anything else. We both knew what we wanted from our relationship. We had celebrated our sixth anniversary a couple of months before he died. And, if he hadn't died, I could imagine us still being married now. We never argued about anything. Not many people believe that, but it's true. We got married because we respected each other and shared similar beliefs. I wanted a father for my daughter and he wanted a family of his own. I grew to love him. And, I miss him terribly. But, I know that I will see him again someday.
My point in telling you this is that Steve and I got to know each other by having family functions. We would meet at my mom's for dinner with her. If we ever went on a date, it was to take :jessilu: to a matinee and lunch when she was three years old. Steve never saw me with makeup and my hair done up until we got married, actually. He became a friend with my friends and I became a friend to his friends. He asked my mom for my hand in marriage. He introduced me to his parents at the pool at my mom's and his apartment complex.
