I couldn't sleep last night.
No nausea, no pain...just woke up at about 3:30 wide awake! Unfortunately, the ONE day this week I have something to do in the morning and I can't sleep. Figures.
So, I started going through my normal routine of mentally singing songs, reenacting important days, anything to help me ease back into sleep. I replayed the day I knew Stephen was 'the one' and, while it DIDN'T help me to sleep, I felt like sharing the details of that day and what it meant to me.
A little over 5 years ago (hard to believe it's been that long!), I was headed to Denver to visit Stephen and see my brother in a play. It worked out perfectly. I had taken a personal day on Friday and Stephen had booked me a ticket using one of his per diem tickets (under the guise that I was his sister, I think...otherwise, they wouldn't have let him use it). I was a bit nervous. Our last meeting had been wonderful! But it had also been the first time we had ever met face to face. This would only be the second time, really.
Now, something you should know if you don't already. Because we lived in different cities, when we DID see each other, we saw each other for concentrated amounts of time, not just a date a few times a week. So...while it was the second time I had seen him, the first time I had seen him for 4 days straight and that was AFTER we had talked on the phone and AIM chatted for hours on end.
No, I was mostly nervous because I would be seeing him in HIS space...also because....da da da DUM...he would be meeting my parents.
My youngest brother was in a play in high school and so we were all going to go see the play...which meant Stephen AND my parents would be going...so he had to meet them.
Meeting the parents is always a daunting thing. I love my parents and I'm very close to them, but it still was nerve-wracking to have to introduce him to them. Especially someone they didn't know existed until a few weeks before.
So, back to the day. Stephen had taken the day off from work and had a plan for what we were going to do. Which was fine with me since I barely knew Denver and the idea of us sitting around playing the 'what do you want to do' game (a process we go through regularly now) did not sound...comfortable. After getting up at a leisurely pace, we set out on our adventure.
Remember, I didn't know Denver yet so I didn't know what part of the city we were in, where we might be going, nothing! All I knew is the mountains were to the West...actually, I'm ashamed to say but I'm not even sure I recognized that yet at that point.
We arrived first to an older building with lots of charm, but nothing telling about it. We followed the signs to the entrance (of what I didn't know) and as I walked through a charming back garden with color and whimsy displayed in various garden-esque items, I could hear...children?
We walked in and that boy had brought me to a puppet house...we were going to see a puppet show! So yes, 2 adults in their early 20's amongst a sea of kindergartners...at a puppet show.
Now, I know probably 85% of women would have immediately been looking for the nearest exit...probably more. But I was enchanted! The decor was perfect (it felt like you were inside a castle where you could make your own puppets and put on your own show from behind the turrets), the show was warming, and watching the kids enjoy themselves in a way that did NOT require electronics was wonderful. I think I sat through the whole show thinking what a perfect idea this had been...it wasn't until later when I was talking about it to some girl friends that I realized how...'unique' of me to find a puppet show the perfect date.
But the day wasn't over yet! After perusing the puppet shop (and playing a little, I must admit), we were off to our next destination.
After a somewhat lengthy, but scenic, drive we ended up at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. Anyone who has been there already knows how beautiful it is. The rocks take on a reddish...almost honeyed color and are in formations that have been cut away by thousands of years of wind and rain (mostly wind...this IS Colorado, you know). We enjoyed ourselves walking through the park, taking pictures, enjoying nature. We stayed until sunset, but unfortunately the clouds took some of that away from us. It was beautiful anyway.
After the sun went down, Stephen looked at his watch and announced that we needed to get moving if we wanted to make it to our reservation. Now, I looked down at myself and thought…if it’s a place that takes reservations, then I am DEFINITELY not dressed for the occasion. Stephen reassured me that I would be just fine. So, we loaded up and headed out to find the restaurant (I still didn’t know where we were going, though and I was STILL worried about how I was dressed…jeans and a t-shirt don’t usually comply with ‘reservation’).
As we were getting close, Stephen decided to let me in on where we would be dining. He was, after all, driving and having me be on the lookout was much easier, not to mention safer. About a minute before he told me, I had actually been thinking to myself, I wonder if it’s The Melting Pot…that would be one place that needs reservations but wouldn’t necessarily NEED for you to be dressed up. Which would be AWESOME because that was my favorite restaurant! So, the big unveiling and…yes! We are going to the Melting Pot! As soon as he said it, I laughed and was like, that’s my favorite place! I don’t think Stephen believed me at first. He had actually never been, but had heard from a friend that it’s a great date place because it’s fun and the food is fantastic. And of course, it was fun and the food was fantastic:-)
The night was drawing to a close and it was time to head back up to Denver. We had one last stop to make: the Parent Meeting. We had decided that we would stop by my parents house on our way home so that I could introduce Stephen to them so they had at least MET him once before we all went out to see Jon’s play the following night. Also, my grandparents were in town and they would be leaving the following morning so it gave us the perfect opportunity to let them meet him as well.
I was nervous. For SURE. But, I was already pretty smitten with Stephen so I knew they would be, too…hoped they would be, too!
I don’t really remember much about the meeting. What I DO remember is later that week when I had make it back to Wichita, my mom and I were talking on the phone and I was chomping at the bit to ask her what she thought of Stephen.
‘Oh, he seems nice’ was all I got.
Excuse me? Nice?! This is the guy I’m falling for and all you have to say is that he seems nice?? I was more than a little put off by the reception and decided not to let it get to me. She didn’t say anything negative, just didn’t sound overly excited.
A year later when my mom and I were out to lunch a few months before my wedding, she was saying how great a guy I was getting. I, of course, agreed. But I had to ask why she was so passé about him when she first met him.
‘Honey, I knew in about 5 minutes when he first walked in our door that this was going to be it. You’re my first born and my only daughter and it just took me awhile to come to terms with that.’
He had passed the test all along, Mom was just having a…well, ‘Mom Moment’.
The day was perfect. Maybe not for anyone else. But it was perfect for me. And so was he.
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