Best and Worst Date
Since I hate to not finish things I start, I'm going to try to catch up on the blogging challenge. Better late than never, I suppose. I'm only writing about one topic today because it's a long one.
Day 20: Write about the best or worst date you've ever been on (bonus points for both!)
They are actually both with the same person. Can you guess who? Ha! I don't really have a ton of dating stories since Rick and I met when I was just 17. And we didn't really "date" so much as we just hung out with mutual friends. I've made him make up for that though since being married ;)
But the worst date that comes to mind involves a night out to Sun Valley Ranch, a dance hall with live music. I remember Rick calling me to see if I wanted to go (we had just met a week or two before and I was suuuuuper excited but trying really hard to play it cool). I got all dolled up and thought it would be a good chance for us to have some one-on-one time, you know, like a real date, but he apparently didn't have the same idea. He picked me up wearing a ratty t-shirt and ball cap, denim shorts (hands off, ladies!), and deck shoes (before they were back in style). And then when we got there he had "accidentally" left his money at home so I had to pay our way in. Then, he pretty much ditched me and hung out with his friends all night. I was very annoyed and tried to ignore the fact that I'm pretty sure the only reason he invited me was so I could pay his cover...but since I was crushing hard for that boy I let it go and had a good time anyway. As if it couldn't get any worse, one of his friends had too much to drink and so we ended up having to take him home. Being the gentleman that Rick was being that night, he made me climb in the backseat of his mustang so his drunk friend could ride shotgun...and then got pissed at me and made some snarky comment about me being a backseat driver when I pointed out that he was about to run a red light. I was so angry when he dropped me off that I didn't even tell him goodnight. Man, it's a good thing I was blinded by puppy love! And also a good thing that that night is not in line with his true character. He actually is quite the kind gentleman despite this story. :)
Fast forward 5 years (he was on the 5-year plan to almost the day) and the best date of my life without question was when we got engaged. What a great example of how love (and the gentle grooming of a woman, of course) can transform a guy. He had this elaborate plan of a hot air balloon ride but when it was too windy and they canceled the flight I could tell he was starting to freak out because he didn't have a plan B. I knew he was planning to propose that day but I didn't let him know I knew, and it was so much fun seeing the wheels turning in his head as he scrambled to figure out what to do instead. After driving around in circles followed by an unusually long brunch at IHOP, we ended up heading to Austin and stayed at a beautiful resort on Lake Travis. The spontaneity of it was perfect. We had a nice Italian dinner and sipped on a glass or two of wine. Or in Rick's case, bottles. He isn't usually a wine drinker but his nerves were reeeeally getting to him. It was unbelievably cute. I could tell he was looking for the right moment to pop the question and did I mention that watching him was so much fun for me? ;) We ended up taking a walk under the moonlight and sat down on a grassy hill overlooking the lake and he finally got up the courage to say to me: you've been my girlfriend for 1,809 days and I can't go a day longer knowing you won't be mine forever. I want you to be my wife. And then because he's a jokester he added, don't be mad, but I don't have a ring yet. I told him that I didn't need one and that it was okay and of course I'd marry him, and then he pulled a beautiful ring out of his pocket and said, just kidding. That was a test and you passed. We got a few chuckles in and I'm pretty sure I breathed a sigh of relief. ;) Then he got down on one knee and his hands were shaking and he was so nervous that he put it on my middle finger by mistake. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and asked, Kelsey Rene' Pursell, will you marry me?
And the rest is history. That night is one of my favorite memories because Rick doesn't get emotional very often but that night he was incredibly raw and genuine and did I mention completely adorable?! I am so thankful to have such an incredible husband.
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