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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Skating Through December

Welcome to my Countdown to Christmas Series. To start at the beginning, click here.  I sent my deployed fiance a box with a paper, pin-up Christmas tree and 24 small packages, one for each day until Christmas. Daily (or nearly daily) I will be blogging about the day's surprise!

 A few posts ago, I alluded to John's and my first, failed date, and I promised to elaborate later.

Later is now!

When I was a sophomore, John asked me on a date. We had been friends for about a year and had been spending more and more time together. At the time-- because I was stupid and clueless-- I didn't realize that he had actually asked me on a date... until John picked me up at my dorm room and we walked to the university skating rink together. (Don't ask me what I thought was going on.  I have no idea where my brain was at.) When we got to the rink, it was closed-- John had read the schedule wrong.

We ended up taking a walk around campus, reading historical markers, and being generally more awkward around each other than we had ever been. I was flustered and my dim brain was starting to figure out what was actually happening. The date really hit the skids when we stopped to read one of the plaques--and ended up reading about Penn State's massive strides in barnyard animal artificial insemination. 

And if that didn't kill our fledgling, struggling date, at the end of our walk, John asked me to grab some ice cream at the Creamery with him, but I had to write a paper for class. Of course, the minute I told him,  I realized how thin and flimsy my reason sounded (even though it was absolutely true). But it was too late. The date was completely, without a shadow of a doubt, ruined. Good job, Jo.

Last year, over winter break, we finally went ice skating. It was a lot of fun and righted our first first date. I found out that John had asked me to go to the rink because he knew how much I love skate, not because he was comfortable on them. I wish I had known that seven years ago.

It would be nice to tell Past Me to chill out and go get ice cream with John, but that wasn't who I was at the time (and if I'm completely honest, I'm still just as uptight). But, we do have long, interesting love story, and since we ultimately ended up together, I'm a-okay with that.

I just wish I could remember what grade I earned on that all-important paper.


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14 comments:

  1. What a sweet story! I bet he liked you even more because you were studious! :)

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    1. Now, I think he does. :-) Back then, he definitely thought that I was blowing him off with the worst excuse ever.

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  2. an fun love story!! and what fun ornaments!! very cool!!
    I am your newest follower from the hop..pls follow back if you can.
    pls also thank your husband to be for his service...
    and Merry Christmas!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, and I will let him know. Merry Christmas!

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  3. Hi! I found you on the blog hop and am your newest follower! I was kinda sorta hopin' that you'd pop on by and follow me back!

    xoxo-
    Sarah
    www.enjoyingtheepipany.com

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Sarah! I will be hopping back to you later today!

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  4. Write down all of these feelings and share them someday with your children. They will love them and your grandchildren will love them even more. I found you on the Aloha Blog Hop and I am following you back. I hope that you have a Simply Heavenly Christmas!!!:):)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! We have lots of pictures, letters, and emails for documentation, and I think I'm going to print off my posts on this blog too... but I'm fear is that my kids (if we have any), will wonder why Mom was so weird and lame. Buuut...I guess that's inevitable. :-)

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  5. So cute! It's so neat that you have recorded your dating relationship in this way. :) Hubby and I had a rocky start, too. My first memories of him was of him trying to take my heade off with a volleyball and me thinking his name was Bob instead of Aaron. LOL :) And then there was the whole embarassing way we met...Think cafeteria full of guys and a friend bent on finding me a date and telling me the next guy who walks in the door is going to be said date...and that guy getting embarassed and literally running out the door and the eruption of laughter that followed. Yah...Rough memory! LOL But it all worked out, and now I have funny stories to tell. :D And, I'm finding out, that most relationships that end up in marriage have rocky starts. Go figure. ;)

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    1. Thanks, Julie! And you said it-- it worked out and you have funny stories! (And maybe you've also learned to duck when your husband has a volleyball. :-) )

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  6. Hi stopping by via the blog hop. I like your blog on the letters. Your blog looks great. If you get a minute stop over and say hi. Have a great evening. :)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Lenetta! I will be checking your blog out today!

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  7. What a fun story! My husband (15 years and three kids later) was the man who was "never getting married." That all changed when I moved in to the same Capital Hill row house and I became his roommate. It was very Three's Company except there were two boys and me. Funny how life works out sometimes!

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  8. Thank you for stopping in and sharing your crafty creation with our readers at Bowdabra's Crafty Showcase. We love seeing your projects each week. Stop in and see which blogs are featured on Friday and to link up more of your goodies on Sat-Thur.

    Happy New Year,
    Susie @Bowdabra

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Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with me! Keep in touch!

Best wishes always,
Jo