The good thing about this trip coming up so quickly was that there was no time to get anxious, excited, nervous or otherwise try to talk myself out of meeting strangers in a huge city alone. One weekend, day of vacation, day in the office and 3 hours in two airplanes later I was landing in NYC.
I had a few hours of work to do, then I would be off to meet them for dinner. It wasn't until I was standing out front of the restaurant waiting for them to arrive that it hit me. I still wasn't having doubts that this was something I wanted to do, and I really didn't feel like not liking them was even a possibility. In our short two week courtship I had shared more about myself with them than I had with anyone in who knows how long. What I was worrying about was what if they don't like me? They have been searching a long time -- why hadn't anyone else made the cut? What had other potential surros done that made them realize they weren't right for them?
I recognized them immediately when I saw them. I don't know why, I had only seen maybe a dozen pictures but I just knew it was them. They seemed surprised to see me there, which I later found out was because I was at the wrong restaurant :) Who puts two of the same restaurant within two blocks of one another? We walked a block to the right place, had dinner (which was amazing, BTW), and then headed out to see the city. The whole thing was really surreal. I kept thinking that I just couldn't believe I was really there, that I had really met them, that we had really only found each other a couple weeks ago.
We talked like old friends with plenty of great conversation and silences that didn't feel awkward to me. We talked about our pasts, presents and futures. I found myself frequently thinking why couldn't we meet friends like this at home. In my experience finding people you really connect with is rare -- yet I had found this couple after only a week of looking for IPs. This truly was a couple I could see us becoming close with even if we had met under different circumstances; and that is exactly what I felt I needed in IPs.
We spent two fabulous days seeing the city. What I loved the most is that they weren't just trying to get to know me and figure out if I would be a good surrogate, they really let me into their lives too. They showed me places that were special to them and shared the memories they had at each. I also loved not only how compatible I felt with them, but how obviously compatible and in love they are with each other. The journey for a baby can be straining on a relationship -- I've seen friends go through it and it's heart wrenching -- but this couple seemed to only be brought closer together, and despite their long wait they weren't discouraged or impatient, just certain that it would happen for them when the time was right.
I went to sleep each night feeling certain this was it. This was the couple I was going to carry a baby for, and I had known it from the start -- but now, more certain than ever, I couldn't wait to get home and tell the Hubby all about them. Concerned about how he would feel about how quickly everything was moving, I didn't want to have this conversation over the phone. I had a half a day left in the city and couldn't wait to enjoy it.
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