30 Days of Autism Acceptance: 3
April 3rd: How do you feel about dating/romantic relationships? Have you dated in the past/are you currently in a relationship/do you eventually want one? Do you feel that your experience of autism/stereotypes around autism and relationships impacts this?
I met my partner 1998, and we will have been married for twenty years this summer. I’m chronological older than she is, but emotionally we’re pretty similar. She’s my best friend, and together we’ve created a little family.
Being in a relationship was always really important to me, though emotionally I was too immature to handle one for the longest time. Dating was terrifying, though, and being single was incredibly lonely, mostly because dating was so terrifying, which made being single feel like a condition that would never end.
A relationship is a really hard thing to manage, and I would say all of my growth as a person over these last twenty years stems from learning how to make this work. It’s extraordinarily complicated and complex, and I’m so lucky to have such a loving and patient partner to work with me through it.