Romance and Reality By There’s romance and then there’s reality!I was just telling a friend of mine about how Mike and I met over nine years. But ere you think it was all a dream-like romantic fantasy, let me set you straight.I like romance as much as the next girl. Of course I liked the fact that Mike drove up in a beautiful, clean red truck and pretty much swept me off my feet by opening the door for me to enter. Of course I wanted to believe that he was as nice and honest as he appeared, but I also had some experience with online dating and I know how to do my research!One previous experience taught me that people are not always what they seem. On an E-Harmony date the previous year I met a man I loved talking to, so he suggested that we get together the next day for lunch. After that I never heard another peep out of him, even though I left numerous messages. He vaporized!So the next day, after my ten hour (!) first date with Mike, I called him up and said I wanted to see where he lived… ( just to make sure he didn’t have a wife and kids, you know!) After that went well, I looked up our county property records online to see if he actually owned the home he said he owned.There’s romance and then there’s reality, and some are more challenged by these concepts than others… I may believe in love, but I also believe in doing my research!Laura Lee Carter, MA Counseling Psychology, the writer behind the popular online Midlife Crisis Queen, has been helping others turn midlife difficulties into opportunities for personal change since 2007. Besides working as a psychotherapist, Laura Lee has authored a number of books and e-books on midlife transformation. Don’t miss her new bookFind Your Reason to Be Here: The Search for Meaning in Midlife. Follow her on Twitter: @midlifequeenShare this: