We interupt your regularly scheduled broadcast for breaking news...

In case you're not aware, I'm not the Non-Stop Mom.... no, not cute enough, not nearly as multitalented, not half the janitor, baker or candlestick maker that she is... instead, you good people get to be entertained by the bizarre, yet enthralling wordsmithing that only "El Duderino" could produce.

Many people have wondered just what it is that I'd be inclined to speak about here in the wonderful literary world of the Non-Stop Mom... that being said, I expect it's my duty to out some things.

How did we meet...

If I had a donut for everytime I've seen this one on the blog, facebook, spray painted on the van... ok, maybe not the last one, but I'd certainly be in Homer donut heaven...mmmm....donuts. Without further ado, Amy and I crossed paths for the very first time on a dating site called Plentyoffish.com. Such an interesting swath of humanity on that site, let me tell you. Whether it's the 5,000 "Hey, Baby" emails that NSM got or the female profiles I saw, where in the "about me" section, the writer made a point to say that she wasn't interested in booty calls, one night stands or to be treated like a sex toy... yet, that very same woman would post several of the standard "booty popping" and "breast heaving" shots. Frankly, I'm sure that NSM would agree, but it was like drilling a well with a stir straw. Now, I'd found out, that NSM didn't have her search settings programmed in such a way that a guy of my particular age group would show up in her searchings, so I found her first, go me!

There was something about her smile and her shirt "I don't do costumes" halloween t-shirt. I took a little personal initiative and read her profile. In it was a sentence or so about her running and why it was special to her, but if you wanted to know more, then ask... well, I'd hate to be the one not to follow explicit instructions like that, so I wrote her a message, which boiled down to wanting to know more about the running and her in general. That was the start, we probably messaged each other back and forth that first night until 4 in the morning, before realizing how long we'd been at it... oops.

We went through a few days of messaging, finally exchanged facebook info and met for the first time... at the Burger King... I think, from that point on, you avid NSM readers are fairly familiar with our story, including "Respecting the Line", "Wifey" and her birthday surprise.

Now, we've done a road trip/wedding together, had a minor automobile accident, taken each others trash to and from the curb, cleaned each others houses and even had Christmas dinner together, that we both worked on. We both are independent sorts, so it takes some doing to get one another to let go of that control, but we're getting there.

It's so much better from day to day, to have a significant other that you can get lost talking to, until 3 in the morning, that is willing to do little things, like grab a soda for you, load the dishwasher or simply just suspend the day's activities to sit back and watch a horrible b movie zombie flick.

We take each day as it comes, talk about the future without making the crazy longterm plans, and take one step at a time. Everyday, we teach each other how a relationship is supposed to look like, with respect, loyalty and honesty as the lead actions. One of my favorite things about this aspect of our relationship is that it stands as a direct example to her kids, especially the older 2, both girls, on how these things are supposed to work... that really makes me happy to know they get to see it.

As I draw this to a close, I hope that you've learned a little bit more about NSM and her Dude. This experiment is actually a step outside of my comfort zone, as I generally write about politics, conspiracies and the like, a little harder to write while looking inward, instead of outward, but there it is.

Enjoy and buckle your seatbelt, as NSM gives you all a front seat ride to the show that is her life, keep your hands in the vehicle at all times, do not stand up and please, for all our safety, keep the safety harnesses in place.

I now send you back to your regulary scheduled programming.

Have A Nice Day!
The Dude