First dates

It seemed rather fitting that our first “date night” should fall on the fourth anniversary of our first date. And even though we’ve been parents to Garrett for only 2-1/2 months, it seemed like forever since we’ve had any alone time.

Before I go any further, I think it’s worth going back to 2004. People always ask how we met. If you ask Bob, he’ll tell you it was at Sidney’s (a local restaurant). I just cut to the chase: match.com. (Actually, I love seeing people squirm—even in this day and age, online dating makes people uncomfortable. It’s as though they want to apologize after the fact.) But the reality is, we almost didn’t meet. After exchanging multiple emails via match, we decided to “talk.” Our first call was less than stellar. I caught Bob at a low point. He was sick of online dating and ready to get off it, so his tone was angry and defensive. He kept saying ridiculous things like, “you Minnesota women only want to talk and not meet…I’m so sick of match, I’m ready to get off and just meet women on bike trails.” I kept telling him I wasn’t from Minnesota and that I WAS ready to meet him—in fact, I wanted to get the date over with. He seemed like such a jerk and his photo, which he had posted made him look like Dr. Phil. Plus, I met another guy on match around the same time who seemed more to my liking.

Well, the first date went better than expected. In person, Bob was far better looking than Dr. Phil (except now he looked like my old boss, which was creepy in other ways). He was fun, sweet and charming. At the end of the date, I agreed to see him again. After a few more bumpy dates (and duking it out with the other guy I met on match), Bob stole my heart. He proposed after three months and we married the following August.

Now back to our first date night. Aunt Rochelle was gracious enough to watch Garrett. We weren’t sure how’d he react to seeing us both leave at the same time. (This was a first.) We kept telling him, “Papa and mama are going to school. We’re reading books.” He seemed to get it on some level. So much so that when Rochelle showed up with a Ratatouille DVD and a bag of popcorn, Garrett was ready to shove us out the door. (It helps that Aunt Rochelle is far more fun than mama.) Relieved, we left and had a fabulous 3-hour date, reconnecting over wine and artichoke dip while listening to a Parisian singer accompanied by violin and accordion. It was just what the doctor ordered. (Thank you Rochelle.)

By the way, Happy Belated Father's Day to all dads and prospective dads out there. I would've posted yesterday but we haven't had any power at the house since 9:35 p.m. Saturday. Another bad storm knocked it out and we're still in the dark. I'm writing this post at work.