Dating in 2029

The other night, Emerson had a phone date with her potential future husband. Connor is my best friend's little boy, and we have secretly been plotting their relationship since the day I found out I was having a girl. That's normal, right? We have maybe even determined how and when Connor will propose to Emerson and how old they have to be before they get married.

Don't tell Connor this, but every time I meet a cute/sweet little boy, I'm always like "Awww, wouldn't it be cute if they grew up and got married???" This is batshit crazy territory, but I swear it comes from the right place. Just ask Oren, Elliot, and Curtis, among others. Jon and I were friends for a long time before we started dating, and I feel like friendship is a solid basis for a strong marriage. It seems to reason that if you like your significant other as a friend, once looks fade and your marriage is filled with trials and tribulations, you still want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with that person. (Well, in our case, Jon doesn't drink coffee, and believe me it was almost a deal breaker, so we drink wine instead.) 

Another horrifying fact is that Emerson is the "popular" girl at daycare. It's true. Evan, Adam, and Fletcher are constantly competing for her attention. One day, Adam cried hysterically because Evan got to say "hi" to Emerson first. Is this foreshadowing? I hope not. Because the answer will always be: "Emerson is not allowed to date you unless you sign a sworn affidavit in which you vow not to harm her in any way, physically, emotionally, or socially."

Anyway, our phone date the other night got me thinking about how different dating will probably be in 15 years. When I began "dating" at the ridiculously young age of 12, here are a few characteristics of the time:

~ You started out by "talking." Talking meant you were "going out", but since you're 12, you physically never see each other except at school and maybe the occasional boy-girl party.

~ When you did actually talk on the phone, it was super-awkward and, also, you're 12, so really what did you have to talk about?

~ When I turned 16, I was finally allowed to ride in a car with a boy. This was a game-changer because that meant I could go on actual dates. My high school boyfriend and I went to such exciting establishments like the movie theater and Amish country.

Back in that time, texting, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and all that stuff didn't exist. The way we live and communicate is so different as compared to even 15 years ago.

I can envision FaceTime-ing as the new "talking," which I guess is a one-up since you can actually see the person you're talking to. I can also picture them going out to restaurants and all of their food is from a 150-mile radius ("You mean these cows aren't grass-fed? We're leaving"). At 18, they won't be as excited to graduate from high school because they'll be too busy worrying about where they're going to grad school (because apparently a Master's is the new Bachelor's).

Will Emerson and Connor have actual meaningful conversations, or will they do all of their communicating via text/Twitter/Instagram/whatever technological fad is hip at the time? I guess me and Connor's mommy have some work to do to make sure they know how to communicate effectively, even with technology. We have a long way to go, just based on their conversation the other night:

Emerson: "I love you Connor"

Connor: "Thank you Emerson."

We'll get there....