NANAIMO -- Dale is tying his shoes, preparing for a date with the woman he fell in love with at first sight.

“I never gave up chasing her until she caught me!” Dale laughs.

Dale and Muriel dated for a bit before saying ‘I do.’ Since then, their love has expanded to include four children, eight grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.

“We’re going to populate Canada,” Dale jokes about his ever-growing family.

Raising children and staying married for 48 years wasn’t always easy, Dale says, but it was always worth it. 

“I tell people to hang in there,” Dale says with a reassuring smile. “There’s going to be struggles but you’ll come through much stronger.”

You’ll also have so many wonderful memories to surround yourself with, Dale says, pointing out the countless photographs that fill his living room. 

“It makes me feel more at home,” Dale says of all the pictures of Muriel. “I always told her a house is just a house without you in here.”

But now, after almost half a century together, Muriel is not here.

“It felt very lonely for a while,” Dale says. “Very lonely.”

It felt that way at first, until Dale switched his focus. Instead of mourning what they can’t do, he celebrates what they can — their daily dates at her long-term care facility.

“Me and my wife can sit together and hold hands all day and say nothing!” Dale says proudly. “That’s how much we love each other!”

But since the pandemic, Dale and Muriel have had to replace holding hands in person with blowing kisses through glass. 

“You’re looking good honey,” Dale says into his cellphone outside her window. Muriel smiles listening on her phone inside. 

Dale says they usually talk about their family and friends, before he breaks into song. “Honey I miss you and I’m being good,” he sings. “I’d love to be with you, if only I could.”

Dale says he couldn’t be more grateful for the staff at Dufferin House who work to facilitate these dates. He’s thankful they can help him show Muriel that the window that separates and protects them will never diminish his adoration for her.

“She never says anything unkind,” Dale smiles. “She’d always go the extra mile to help people.”

And how will their daily dates change when the pandemic is over? 

“Must be three months since we’ve been able to touch each other, so it will be something,” Dale smiles. “[She’ll] be covered in hugs and kisses when I get in there!”