The other day my friend asked me "What would be your idea of a perfect date?"
Now, we don't really go out very much, not just the two of us, we pretty much always have the kids with us, or friends. So that got me thinking about what is my idea of a perfect date. My first response was I like to go out to eat, because we don't really do that very often, especially alone. And I love to go to the movies, but Mr. Wonderful doesn't really like the movies unless there is a lot of guns and action, and maybe a little brief nudity. What man doesn't like that? But honestly, I couldn't really think of anything that was a show stopper as far as dates go.
Then I thought back over my dating years and I have to say there were a few that stuck out in my mind, but I must say my most memorable date was when a guy I was dating took me to the Golf course after they closed, and we walked around the golf course. Sounds cheesy, I know but it did stick out in my mind. He was a sweet guy.
Another one was going to the park with a guy and swinging on the swings. And no, we weren't 7!! We went to the movies first, and I later heard that he saved something from all of his dates. In that case the movie tickets. Isn't that cute for a guy? I was pretty shocked when I heard that about him because he was a big burly guy. Just a good case of not judging a book by it's cover, hmmm?
I also have a few that stick out because they were not quite as good. Let's start with the blind date, set up by a co-worker. That should have been my first clue shouldn't it? Blind date, noooo, ladies you always need to at the very least talk to the guy on the phone. Keep in mind this was before Internet so I wasn't really worrying about wackos at that time. But when he came to pick me up, he was a perfect gentleman. Couldn't have been any nicer. I also couldn't help but notice how long he was talking to my sister when he got there. Definitely put a damper on the evening. All I could think about was he probably wishes my sister was sitting here. Then we went to a play, and out to eat. It was OK, but you know how some people are always talking about the person that you have in common, and that's all they want to talk about. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's kind of how it was.
While the guy who took me to the golf course was memorable to begin with, later on, he took me out to eat and told me I was embarrassing him because I was laughing too loud.
That was a big mistake. Things got a lot louder before they got quieter.
Now Mr. Wonderful and I had our first date at a party, that was great. It was a Halloween party and it started at my sisters house and moved to a dance club that was having a costume contest. My sister was dressed up like ET, and she couldn't see out of her mask so we had to lead her around.
During the actual contest, my brother got into a fight and was thrown out, so I had to send Mr. Wonderful back in to get my sister, who couldn't see. What a great impression, huh? But he must have liked it because he's stuck around for almost 21 years now. Never a dull moment around our house I can assure you.
Remember when you were in middle school or maybe even elementary school and you would be at a sleepover and someone said "Let's play truth or dare". I wasn't necessarily a big fan of that game myself. I didn't get out much you see and I was shy in elementary and middle school. (Weird, huh that now I put my life on the Internet.)
I cried every year on the first day of school until I was in fourth grade. I only stopped then because my cousin said, "Are you going to start crying again this year?" How dare he say that to me the big weenie, so I showed him. I DIDN'T CRY! I DIDN'T CRY! I DIDN'T CRY!!!
That's right tough guy, who you gonna pick on now!
So anyway, let's just say I was a late bloomer, you know I really didn't get interested in boys until I was in High school, so when my friends would say, Don't you think _______ is cute? I would be like NO! He is gross! (And I was usually right, they were kinda dorky.)
Looking back, I am glad that I wasn't like the other girls but then, I was really embarrassed. I wish I knew now what I didn't know then. It's OK to be yourself. Kids today have a lot of pressure on them.
Getting asked if I had ever kissed a guy was my biggest worry, now most kids are way ahead of that game. I've heard of several games that are sooo much worse than truth or dare.
I remember one particular sleepover where all the girls were talking about VD, I kept asking what is VD? The smartest girl there would say "Venereal Disease", then came the question "What is Venereal Disease?" Do you know what she would say? "VD!" So let's face it, if that was the best explanation she could give me, she didn't know either.
That leads me to believe that kids are kind of the same now as they were when I was a kid. I know of some kids now who think they know everything, but ask them what VD is if you really want to know what they know.
I have been thinking a lot lately about Easter. I remember when I was growing up what a big deal Easter was at our house. We always went to sunrise service at our church, and we always, always, always had Easter baskets with chocolate bunnies in them. We usually all got new clothes for the special day. I was one of 4 kids so I am sure that was no easy task since my mom didn't really work when we were growing up.
I also remember dyeing eggs, we did it the old fashioned way where we made the dye ourselves with food coloring and vinegar. I recently saw the recipe for that on a blog. Man, those were the days. Your biggest worry was could I eat the bunny before breakfast. I remember my sister would always save her bunny, she might take a bite out of the ear, then she would stick it way back in the fridge so that we wouldn't be able to find it and eat it without her knowing it. But my brothers and myself, we were just the opposite, we would eat ours as fast as we could. Back in the day, we didn't get a lot of candy so when we did, we learned to enjoy it.
Some things seem traditional, like sunrise service. If we are at home for Easter (sometimes we go to the beach because of Spring break with friends) we always go to Sunrise service. We have missed several years because of the vacation/school thing, but this year we will be home and I am really looking forward to it. I am even thinking about dyeing eggs. I love to do stuff like that, my kids are too big (but they still want a basket, so they aren't that big). I kept kids for a while and I loved doing that kind of thing. They enjoy it so much. It's like seeing it with fresh eyes.
I think it's funny how some things stick with you like that.
