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At age 41, Jannelle (Cowles) Nelson of Redfield found that starting to date again was scarier than starting her new job.
In 1997, her husband of 19 years died. Three and a half years later, she was embarking on her first date with her new boyfriend, Bill Nelson.
"It was the first date I'd been on since I was 17," she said.
She and her late husband have two children, Jennifer and Cindy. Bill has two children, Chris and Becca.
Becca and Jennifer were friends growing up. However, Bill and Jannelle didn't know each other personally.
That changed one day when Jannelle e-mailed Bill to help her brother find a part for a piece of farm equipment.
"I didn't know anything about her, so I asked," Bill said. "A lot of her answers were like me."
Bill eventually asked Jannelle's daughters, Jennifer and Cindy, if he could date Jannelle.
"They were both tickled to death," he said.
Bill and Jannelle's first date was Dec. 31, 2000. They came up to Aberdeen, had supper and went to two movies.
"We still do that every New Year's Eve," Jannelle said.
Bill had been divorced for 16 years before his first date with Jannelle. He had thought he didn't want to get married until he retired, but he said Jannelle changed his mind.
On Valentine's Day 2002, he made supper for her. He had bigger plans, but they would have to wait.
Jannelle was on the phone for much of the night, talking to Jennifer's husband-to-be and Cindy.
Finally, around midnight, Bill got the chance to propose. He and Jannelle married April 13, 2002, at the Centennial Village church at the Brown County Fairgrounds.
In the last five years, Jannelle said she's learned that getting married at age 42 is totally different from getting married at age 18.
"When you're young and you're first married, kids are your life," she said. "I thought I'd be bored after my kids left, but (Bill) makes sure I'm not."
The Nelsons say a sense of humor and lots of communication are the keys to a successful marriage.
Although they don't have any children together, they enjoy spending time with their three grandchildren.
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