How do you know if you have been dating "long enough" to get engaged or married?

Well, the simple answer is, if you know, you know. However, what does knowing mean? Does it mean you eat ice cream on a bench together in the middle of winter? Or does it mean you play a card game at midnight because you can't sleep? When we are little children, no one told us when we would know that we were in love. I was always told "Love is for adults."

I was told that when I found the person I was going to spend my life with, that it would be unexpected. That I would probably be at the point of giving up, and being a single pringle left in the bottom of the can, broken, and alone. I was told this person would make me feel like I was on top of the world and that I could do anything (boy is that one true). I was told that when I found that person, everything would fall in to place, everything with that person would just make sense (this has also proved to be true). I was told the person I would marry would see all of my faults, all of my worries, and just look past them.

But is that actually true? Is it a fairy tale?

So a bit of a back story...

I met the person I intend to spend my life with on Tinder. I was working roughly a mile away from his dorm, but he did not come up on my tinder for about six months. For six months, I matched with the typical tinder guys, the guys just out to get lucky. But then, this pure soul popped up, granted his bio was a little selfish, but I decided to swipe left at first, but I paid for the undo, and swiped right.

We instantly matched.

There was a picture of him on his co-op for GE Transportation and one with him on a boat, but the pictures did not make me change my mind.

Either way, I waited a couple hours, and then I sent "Hey"

Little did I know, that a simple "Hey" would change two overly tired, depressed (you would have never known he was actively depressed) college students' lives.

We talked for hours and hours, everything seemed so easy. So Easy. It came up that we were both drummers, and of course I told him I owned my own marimba. His reaction was the "0_0" face. Once that was out in the air, well, we had to meet in person.

It was a lovely sunny morning, and I was leaving my dreaded night job at a local hospital, but I came down the hill, to this lovely man I had only seen pictures of. (As a side note I may have been sleep deprived) But he lit up like a Christmas tree, and had this goofy smile on his face, and that's when I knew a simple Starbuck's date would turn in to more.

If you have found the person you want to spend your life with, great! If you haven't, well, great! But when you are told that your person, will be a surprise, listen.

Did I know at 19 I would be talking about getting married, and having roombas instead of a vacuum? Definitely not. But when I walked down the hill, to the subway, and there was a man who's smile was brighter than the sun, I knew something was up.

So how do you know if you've been dating long enough to get engaged and then married?

In short, you've been dating long enough to get engaged when the simple joys in life are looking in to that person's eyes.

When colors look brighter.

When the person will not let you go to work sick unless you drink all of the Gatorade.

When you make trips to go see a moose (I had not seen one), or to go see bagels on a conveyor belt.

When you can belt Hamilton lyrics like no one else in the world matters.

When you look at rings and can mutually agree.

When he lights up like a Christmas tree because he's been wanting you to wake up all day (I'm nocturnal).

When you can hold each other and hysterically cry in each others arms.

But more importantly, you know you've been dating long enough to get engaged when discussing it is part of every day conversations.