Since Kristi’s first post started out on a musical note, so will mine.

Last fall when investigating “the new me” after a decimating divorce during the Summer, I found a new obsession with an electronic band called “Color Theory,” who makes a wonderful tapestry of sound, like nothing I had heard before.

I was so impressed by the music that I e-mailed the musician in late December to say: “You have helped guide me through the haze and wonder of my post-divorce world with a rare glimpse of the potential richer, alternative life that awaits me.”

A couple months afterwards, it seemed like I might not find that new life, that I might have to settle for someone I liked but didn’t love, someone I had little in common with, or someone that put me back into the safe but uninteresting cocoon of a convenient relationship. Then I met Kristi.

The lyrics to Color Theory’s “A Safe Distance” begin with a pleasant, intellectual first meeting of two new friends which quickly blossoms into an effortless, familiar, deep love. This would become our story too.

So on that fateful April weekend under the cover of cold rain, we had a pleasant lunch at the scenic Mount Nittany Inn, then took the first “couples” photo of ourselves.

When we stepped into the car to drive home, I played “A Safe Distance” for Kristi on the stereo, held her soft hand, and experienced that warm electricity that we have both admitted we feel when we touch. We mused that the title described something that may have saved us from disaster — the geographical distance between us kept the relationship from moving too fast. It gave us the space that we needed to appreciate each other and allowed us to fall unconditionally in love… from a safe distance.