The man who I dated-not-dated for a good part of my 20’s was friends with my friends, for the most part.

The man I dated long distance, he knows everyone and their brother. (Seriously I am two degrees of separation from most of Washington D.C. because of him.) However, I never once met one single person in his life. Although he did meet several important people in mine, who came to D.C. to meet him, not Buffalo. HUGE red flag warning sign for our future there.

Well, the next person who I was NOT dating, but sure spent a lot of time with…also never introduced me to anyone in his life, except his best friend. Although, I’m not sure he had people in his life. A better explanation of that situation would be, he did not want to come around MY friends and family, ever. Hence, another red flag and REALLY BAD SIGN.

So having Mark in my life? Mark who introduced me to his circle of friends um, with a very short time of meeting…took me by surprise, a very good surprise. I met all the Wing Chun people, including going out for dinner with KEN (the one and only master of all things Wing Chun across the globe.) I met his best friend Paul. I hung out with friends from RIT and the Planetarium. Met his family. You know, these little things that make up a NORMAL relationship? Within weeks…many of his friends became my friends also.

And then Mark moves to Buffalo…and BAM! A whole new world of friends and co-workers are in his/our lives! I love it. Cocktail parties, happy hours and Mardi Gras parties oh my!