I think what the deal was is that she did not have enough confidence in her swimming skills to swim in the Gulf of Mexico with me.
She could swim in a pool just fine, but open water is another matter.
And I always tried to go when the surf was big enough to ride a boogie board on, and it is definitely not easy to swim in high surf, even if you are a skilled swimmer. When we did go, she would always hold on to my back, and I would do the swimming, so I think that might have been the issue.
I dated her from 1989 to 1996 approximately, so yep it was a good while ago. I remember she used to sit in the chair while her mom was applying the perm just trying to suppress a scream from the lye the whole time.
You dated for seven years, but didn’t get married? That’s a shame. Sounds like you had a solid relationship.
I never had a girlfriend that long.