How will I know when I'm ready for dating?

The other day I went on a first date for the first time in years. I’ve written before about past abusive relationships. There were two, and between both of them I was in unhappy long-term relationships from ages 19 to almost 26. I’m 28 now, so that is the lion’s share of my adulthood.

For the last two years I’ve been single, and the progress has been amazing. My last ex belittled everything about me, from my personality and professional goals to my group of friends and my appearance. Both of them were the jealous, possessive types, and if I wasn’t either spending time with them or checking in constantly, it was a major issue. Most of my friends were pushed out of my life, and I was also isolated from my family.

Recently I’ve been on a path to recovery- rebuilding friendships and making new ones, getting closer to my family, moving in with friends, getting a car, going on road trips, getting my finances together, and letting go of some responsibilities that weighed me down. Even more recently, I joined AA and quit drinking. I’m planning several more large steps for 2016.

I know in theory how to spot the signs of an abuser (or jerks generally), and I wrote recently about signs of a good person.

My date seems like the nicest, chillest dude ever and we had a very simple afternoon- coffee and a walk by the river. The conversation was great and we’re making plans to see each other again. I had a wonderful time. But I’m still incredibly jumpy around men, and past experience says that I don’t know how to pick them. I get infatuated easily and that makes it hard to judge someone objectively. (So many issues!) My game plan is to go very slowly, pay close attention, tell him the cliff’s notes about my past, and listen to feedback from my friends.

I’m not really attached to the idea of dating right now, and could happily go back to being single for another two years. Or however long it takes. But I would like to try eventually. My date and I had an awesome, insightful conversation and I have a good feeling about getting to know him better. He’s nice to waiters and when a fly landed on my steering wheel, he gently lifted it off and released it out the window. However, I have no idea if my intuition is trustworthy these days. Any helpful suggestions?