Meet Dane!

I wanted to introduce you to Dane because you will be seeing and hearing about him a lot as I blog. Dane is our newest member of our family.

How we met!

Is it cliché that we met on Tinder? I was on a few apps to date and I will say that I didn’t usually have luck with Tinder. But never say never, right?

He had just moved to Oregon on the New Year from the east coast. I was very excited to meet someone that was new to Oregon and Portland because I had a great list of places I wanted to explore that I had never been (I had a full bucket list!). I really wanted a friend to hang out with me and explore those places. So someone new to Portland sounded perfect.

Who is Dane?

Dane was born and raised in Texas. He is a professional glassblower. He came to Oregon to blow scientific glass for a company that moved him here.

He started learning how to blow glass 8 years ago and creating his own business. Then a few years ago he broke his back. Breaking his back was life changing for him – he got a new perspective on life laying in bed for days at a time contemplating life. What he wanted in life and where he wanted to go in the future.

He knew that glassblowing was a passion of his and he found that he could continue on with the work in scientific glass while he rehabilitated from his injury. He is still recovering from his injury.

Our First Date

I was pretty cautious about meeting people from apps so we planned on a coffee date. Something casual and easy to see if we clicked.

Oh, he was a scruffy guy that day we met, he needed to trim his beard and hair from his trip across the country. But he was so polite and gentlemanly – his southern roots were showing – he paid for coffee and when we went for a walk he made a point of making sure I was away from the cars.

We talked about everything – including art, business, passion for life, quantum computers, theology, and so much more. Our date was amazing and I was surprised at how well we clicked.

Dane and the Boys

I debated when to have Dane meet the boys. We had been dating for a couple months and Zarek’s birthday was coming up. I know that most advice says to wait 6 months to introduce your kids and I may write more about this later.

Dane and I took the boys mini golf at the end of February. They loved hanging out with him! He was so gentle and kind to them and loved every moment with them.

As we have gotten closer he has become a great example to my boys of a mature and empathetic man. The boys have really bonded with him and I have seen them grow as I watch them follow his example of how to treat me.

Dating During Covid-19

I feel like Covid-19 had a huge impact on our relationship, but not a negative impact. Between the pandemic, the social unrest and the changes in our world we actually got to know each other in a very deep way and quickly bonded us.

We had hard conversations very early in our relationship to help us see that we had many of the same beliefs, same morals, and same goals in our lives.

Dane was a huge help as I was facing the schools closing down. He has helped me face this new school year for me and the boys. He cheers me on when things get hard and he is my biggest support for the future.

I am so excited to see where our relationship leads and I am excited to share more about him here on Pepper Scraps.