Monday Memory: My Last First Date

Did I ever tell you about my last first date? Well, it was exactly 7 years ago today. Of course, what I mean by last first date, is it was my first date with Dan, and once I went out with Dan, I didn't ever go out with anyone else. Because Dan was awesome, so why would I ever have wanted to go out with anyone else?

Dan and I had been virtually introduced by friend/now sister-in-law, Angela, and we'd been corresponding via email and phone for about 6 weeks. I figured Dan would propose an "in person" meeting soon, and when he did he certainly did not disappoint in his date idea. He asked me to meet him in Seattle for a Mariners Baseball game. (Please note, this was early on in the season and the M's didn't quite stink yet, so we were optimistic at the possibility of seeing a good game.)

Seattle was about a five hour drive for me and about a 2 hour drive for Dan. It wasn't quite in the middle, but close enough for me. I agreed to this date and figured even if we didn't connect, we'd still be friends and have fun at the baseball game. (Another side note: I told exactly one person about this date; my little brother Kasey. He was a student at the University of Idaho at that time and a part-time lackey in my lab. I figured he'd keep my info for safety reasons and not ask me too many questions, but in the event my body ended up cut into tiny pieces and scattered along I-5, he'd know where to have the police start the investigation. That's a good safety tip for you ladies - always make sure someone who loves you knows where you are and where you're going.)

Dan and I officially "met" for the first time at the Transit Station off I-5 where we caught a SafeCo shuttle to the game. I'll always remember he was wearing a yellow sweatshirt. There was no awkward handshake greeting because he just pulled me into a hug and appeared quite happy to see me. We started talking at the shuttle stop and didn't stop throughout the entire date.

 

Dan and I spent the previous 6 weeks getting to know each other slowly and gradually, so there weren't any strange or uncomfortable lapses in conversation because we already knew we'd have lots to talk about, and the quiet pauses were comfortable, like the quiet between two good friends, not like the typical awkward quiet of a first date. Dan scored us some great seats and the Mariners actually won the game. We ate BBQ pork sandwiches and garlic fries.

At the end of the evening, Dan gave me flowers. But these weren't your typical roses or daisies, nope, this man gave me a fuscia hanging basket that he'd put together himself, and elegant and beautiful orchids. He told me they were flowers to enjoy now and later. Our evening ended with a hug and promise to get together again. I was sad the date was ending, and when we hugged, I remember thinking, Am I hugging my husband right now? Of course I was, but I had no way of knowing that right then. 

Here is our first self-portrait from our first date. Yeah, we were horrible at self-portraits then too.

 

The old guys photo bombing us are pretty cool though. I wonder if they knew they were witnessing history?