It Must Be Real

It was the summer of 2001 that I first learned this great concept. I, of course, always knew it. It is ingrained in every woman. But we don't realize this is what we are doing when we are doing it. I learned several great lessons that summer [and not all of them were about boys!]. "Trips to Italy," "Tossing the lettuce," etc. Muffy [now goes by Meredith] was so educational and inspirational.

It Must Be Real is the trap women fall into when they are delusional [which, I hate to admit, is much of the time] about a boy. We can't see straight so suddenly everything we see becomes a sign that we should be together – this boy is perfect – he can do no wrong – and God has created us exactly for each other, we are quite sure of it.

Let me give you a few examples:

"Oh my gosh…he wore his Northface fleece today and so did I….IT MUST BE REAL!"
"Oh my gosh…he likes the show Everest: Beyond the Limit and I've been to Nepal…IT MUST BE REAL!"
"Oh my gosh…he's eating purple grapes and my favorite color is purple…IT MUST BE REAL!"
"Oh my gosh…he showed up for the free screening of Trade, that must mean he cares about the sexually exploited just like I do…IT MUST BE REAL"
"Oh my gosh…he works in a coffee shop and I am addicted to coffee…IT MUST BE REAL!"
[Note: I certainly have never though any of the above mentioned things…these are merely hypothetical examples]

OK…so some of those are pretty ridiculous, but girls actually do that. If you both happen to be wearing sweater vests on the exact some day you can bet there are wedding bells in your future. Who else could be so perfectly knitted to her heart in such a fantastically unique way?