After a 26 year hiatus from the Dating Scene and having lived a full life complete with raising a family and honing my professional skills in Dentistry, it was time to get out there and enjoy life with a special someone. I joined several dating sites for singles over 50 and after years of first dates decided to market my credentials on Match.com. Competition can be stiff so I wrote the most incredible profile and shared pics of puppies, destinations visited and body parts.

Lo and behold there was a picture of a gentleman who met my criteria. A curly haired, full bearded man with an infectious smile and an anterior cross bite. It seems like I've spent my entire life looking at teeth so I immediately thought I could offer my opinion on adult orthodontics. I contacted him through the dating website and he agreed to correspond with me as Match.com said we were 92 % compatible. The older one gets the chances of meeting someone new that you are truly in sync with is very low.

Two months of emailing, texting and talking on our phones led up to our first date at a bar at the annual Babe Ruth Birthday Party in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood. Little did he know several cousins on my fathers side were also there to supervise and give their nod of approval. Daunting for Mark for sure but he proved he could play and drink well with others.

He cooked dinner for me, then I for him, several times. Our first field trip was to Springfield, IL to visit the Abraham Lincoln museum. Then to Indiana to meet his family and visit the small town where he grew up. We've been traveling near and far ever since.

We dance in our kitchen, hike in all four seasons, fish, take road trips and get on planes for short and long hauls to some really cool destinations. We share a love for nature, respect native plants and animals and remain curious about the world we live in. Wanderlust is in our bones. We listen to our bodies and sometime they say You're Too Old to be rock climbing. Professional physical therapy has been necessary and beneficial.

I toil in the soil when I'm not at work, partake in weekly Zumba classes at the YMCA and love to entertain. Mark is still playing golf at least twice a week and strives to play once a month throughout the entire year, hence a road trip or flight. He also likes to shoot competitively at the club he belongs to. That's what we do when we're apart.

What we do together is laugh and laugh... and love one another passionately.

We talked about getting married in the traditional sense but decided on, what we thought will be, a more meaningful ceremony and celebration of our love. A gathering of family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and folks that have made our life easier and pleasurable- like our travel agent, financial planner and neurosurgeon. We invite you to witness our commitment to one another. We're in it to win it, in good times and in bad and they will happen. We've been tested numerous times by health issues but we're still kicking. We probably shouldn't eat bacon every day.

We hope to see you on the dance floor next July.

Love,

Lynne and Mark (aka Snaggletooth)

Photos