How to pivot from "pen-pal" mode to a real date without adding pressure?
So I've been talking to this lady on Facebook dating for about a week(both early 40s). I've been really enjoying talking to her but I asked her out for coffee and a stroll after we'd been talking for about a day or so and she dodged the question. It's made even more annoying because we've been communicating in a very pen-pal manner(she only responds 2-3 times a day but we send novel length messages back and forth) so it makes it hard to highlight any given message without feeling like I'm derailing the rest of the conversation.
On top of that, the other night she mentioned she'd been having a really heavy month, so I invited her to vent if she needed it. It turns out it's been more than a bad month, she's had a nightmare of a year. I appreciated her openness and gained some understanding of her time constraints.
I'm not sure where to go from here... I want to confirm that we're both on the same page as far as what we're both looking for relationship-wise(I mean we both have only LTR as what we're seeking on our profiles), but I'm not sure how to proceed. I don't want to feel like I'm pressuring her, but I'm also not on a dating site to make friends. Should I just more or less ignore one her next messages and be straight up? Like let her know that I understand that her free time is limited and I'm willing to move at whatever pace is comfortable for her, but ultimately put what I'm seeking on front street?
Any advice would be appreciated, especially from someone that may have navigated this sort of situation in the past.