Monday, February 7, 2011

First Date Jitters

photo courtesy of Kris Boevers

My friends, it has been far too long since I have filled you in on the progress of the I.O.U. Blessings Project. Maybe it was the snow days, the muscle relaxers (I woke up one morning with some crazy muscle spasms in my neck which may or may not have been a delayed result from slipping on the ice and falling down our stairs), or just plain laziness... but it seemed the only things on my mind this last week were caramel apple ciders, cozying up under a blanket, and the occasional snowball fight.

But alas, I have returned from a week-full of adventures to share. Most especially... this last week's coupon.

I. O. U.... a re-creation of our first date.

Sounds fun, eh? Indeed. And Saturday was the perfect day to create such a thing.

After a long and slightly frustrating morning [insert sad story about forgotten homework, piled with body image issues, and the cherry on top of Riley peeing in the apartment], we begun our adventure... which was actually pretty simple. You see, the husband and I's first date was somewhat of a non-date. Mostly because I tricked him into taking me. The story went a little like this...

[insert telephone ringing]

J: Hello?
B: Hey, whatcha doin' friend?
J: Just getting ready to head to the mall to look for some new jeans.
B: Is K going with you?
J: Nope, it's just me today.
B: You mean--you're going by yourself? What if you get hurt or stolen or--- raped?
(Yes, I know how ridiculous this sounds. But this was all a jab at him after he and our group of friends had freaked out at me the weekend before when I went walking along the Bricktown canal 30 feet ahead of them by myself. Apparently, this is a sure-fire way to get taken.)
J: First of all, I don't think I'm gonna get stolen or anything like that. Second of all, I don't have anyone to go with and I really need some jeans... so I don't really have a choice here.
B: Well, I mean, I guess.... I could go with you... [insert long hopeful pause]
J: (attempting to mask his sheer joy of having an afternoon alone with me) Really? Sweet. I'll pick you up in ten.

Bada bing. Bada boom. And so was the commencement of our now almost 6 year dating relationship. Because while we only actually dated 5 years and then got married... in our world, you keep dating and pursuing long after you say I do.

Saturday was no different. We strolled through the mall holding hands and blushing at each other when we came out of the dressing rooms just like it was back on August 11th, 2005. Add some taste testing at Teavana and Williams Sonoma on top of that and you've got just a darn near perfect date. All it needed from there was some Asian food (on our first date, I exposed my sheltered meat and potatoes man to the wonderful world of ethnic food via Baluu, my favorite Vietnamese restaurant). For our second first-date, we chose Pei Wei (mostly because we had coupons for a free Korean dish). And, as if it couldn't get any better... Jake actually attempted to use chop sticks. Which for a fork slingin' country boy, is quite a monumental feat--all to impress his belovedly cultural wife. Be still my heart.

Now, I must admit, there was one rather significant difference from our real first date and this re-created one. Because on our real first date back in '05... I may or may not have vomited when he decided to hold my hand. (Don't worry-- I made it to the bathroom. He didn't even know it happened until 6 months later.) But really, what's a girl to do when the man of her dreams decides to do a little palm paso? Did I mention he had never held hands with a girl before [insert unison "awww"]-- or a boy for that matter [insert quiet snickering]-- and I just felt like I was under a lot of pressure to perform?

Whew. I thank the good Lord above that my nervous stomach didn't cause any sort of early demise to our relationship. And, while now confident in my hand holding abilities... I'm also thankful that I still do feel a little flutter in my stomach whenever his hand reaches for mine. Like it's our first date all over again. It's just a good thing that I've figured out how to keep my food down.

3 comments:

  1. Anyone else experience some humorous first date jitters? Please share. :)

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  2. Brittany I love your Blog! I remember when you and your family took me to Baluu, I LOVED it! : ) hope all is well!

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  3. You are adorable, my dear! Love, love, love your blog! :)

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