Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Love makes us do crazy things. It’s one of the things we love about love, that feeling of giddiness, abandon, that we can do anything in the name of romance. But, a friend of mine recently made me wonder exactly where the fine line between crazy romantic and just plain crazy lies.

Mr. X is a hot, eligible bachelor with a heart of gold. But he’s what I’d call a serial dater. Not because he’s a womanizer (remember the heart of gold thing), but because he is determined to find The One even if he has to date every woman on the west coast to find her. He’s constantly calling to tell me about the perfect new girl he’s fallen for, only to find out later that she’s a pole dancer or religious zealot or gun enthusiast with an itchy trigger finger. (Sadly, I’m not making these up. And you though my dates were bad!) But, he’s always ready to shake the dust off and continue his search, ever hopeful that Miss Right is just around the corner.

Recently his quest paid off. Mr. X found love. A cute, mature, no-skeletons-lurking-in-her-closet (at least non involving felony warrants) great girl. The only catch was that Miss Perfect lived three thousand miles away. Undeterred, Mr. X pursued her, carrying on a whirlwind email courtship until, three months later, he called to tell me he was moving in with her and they had plans to get married.

Needles to say, I was a little floored. Yes, she sounded fantastic but, um, isn’t that rushing things just a little? I tried to talk a little sense into him, pointing out that he and Miss Perfect had never actually dated in person. But, incurable romantic that he is, he waved that aside as a tiny technicality. He was in love, that’s all there was to it.

At first I was pretty sure Mr. X had crossed that line into just-plain-crazy-ville. But, then I thought about it a little. I have to admit, there’s a certain part of me that admires Mr. X for taking such a leap of faith despite having been burned by love (and pole dancers) in the past. For following his heart despite all logic warning otherwise. And there’s something very sweet about falling in love long distance – very yesteryear. Makes a killer tell-your-grandkids story.

So, I found myself changing my tune. In fact, his crazy romantic gesture spurred me to do something a little crazy in the name of love myself. I signed up for a speed dating session. I know. “What is she thinking!?” “Hasn’t she seen The 40 Year Old Virgin?” Yeah, I have. And I’m honestly a little nervous. But, I figure if I’m going to go on 10 bad dates, might as well have them all in the same night and get it over with, right? And who knows, maybe my Mr. Perfect just might show up, hoping against hope there’s a non-felon, non-pole dancing lady in the crowd.

So, spill it, ladies – what’s the most crazy romantic thing that’s ever happened to you?

~Gemma "Trigger Happy" Halliday