Days of My Life

I am convinced that dates don’t have to be expensive to be nice, so I set out on a walk down memory lane to try and recall the nicest dates I’ve been on. Come take a walk with me. And then I’ll tell you my ideal date, but you have to promise not to tell. Shhhhh…..

The funny thing is that I know I’ve dated, but I really don’t remember that many of the dates. The only ones still in the memory bank are the ones that were pretty nice, and like my girl India, it’s pretty much the little things that make me smile.

1) Location: Union Station in undergrad at some random table for two. A friend took me there and I didn’t even realize it was a date at the time until someone pointed it out to me after the fact. We had so much fun. He was a writer and community activist with a schedule that needed a Blackberry before they were even invented. He asked for a ride to the station but asked me to stay when we got there. I don’t remember what we had to eat, but I remember that he took a couple hours out of an extremely busy day to spend time with me. We laughed, talked, left and escaped from campus life on several occasions to do it all again in different locations. Really simple because of the time we spent together but not really the nicest date, just one I remember. Ok, next. Oh yeah, I call that a “date” because we became more than friends as I recall.

2) My guy and Iwere having some issues, fussing a lot. That was a while ago because I no longer fuss, I discuss or I leave. Anyway, he came to visit me in Georgetown and before our lunch through dinner date could begin, he slipped out to F.A.O. Schwartz and bought this ridiculously expensive for a stuffed animal doggie that looked just like my dog Candy. I Lo.V.E Candy, and everyone who knows me always asks about her at some point because my obsession is just general knowledge. The gift was really sweet. He was good at gifts and surprises though, so many dates with that guy were special. Ok, I guess I can’t really tell what happened next because I don’t remember. Guess that’s not a good date story either. Hmmm….

3) I’m not too clear on who this one was with, but I remember a really simple dinner followed by a walk on the local beach that went from sunset to moonlight. Aside from the good company, the ocean and sky were so beautiful that night. The sky merged into the sea and the moon peaked out to christen the waves. Absolutely beautiful. Perfect backdrop as we ran hand in hand laughing and playing. We raced, got sandy. And I remember at some point he ended up carrying me. I don’t remember why, but it was a sweet date with lots of laughter and memorable moments (that I can’t remember. lol) I guess it’s the feeling that I remember. Moving on.

4) Ooowwww. I remember a nice one. I went on a road trip with guy. We did dinner first at this really good restaurant, and he was such a gentleman. He was a regular at the restaurant, so he took a chance and ordered my food. He made a good choice. He took my plate when it came and cut up all of my food. Then we shared each other’s meals before we hit the road. He planned every part of the day and evening so there were many surprises in between. It was a day trip, and before he took me home, we stopped by a playground and swung on the swings while we talked. Then he took me to my door where we talked some more and then danced in the moonlight to our own music. I have never forgotten that night.

5) I only have time for one more. You may not believe this, but my nicest date that wasn’t really a date was in McDonald’s with an old friend/old crush. Neither of us knew the area where we were, so we coordinated by cell to meet at a McDonald’s off the highway. He was only in town for one night, so we met the morning of the day he left. What made it so special was the fact that he had driven at least 12 hours and surprised me with his presence on a really important day filled with family and friends. On that day, he let me know he was there, but we only saw each other briefly before my family consumed my time. Even after such a long drive, he was cool with that. He didn’t try to monopolize my time or try to pull me away. We just settled on meeting the next morning somehow. I was EXHAUSTED the next morning, but I couldn’t not spend time with him. When I finally got to McD’s ( he had to wait a minute, I said I was sleepy), he met me at the door with a hug and took me to his table and pulled out my chair and proceeded to treat me like we were in a five star restaurant while we caught up. But really that was more his personality than anything. It was good to see him, and his selfless sacrifice really sweetened the visit. Some say he must really care about me. I say he was being a really good friend. Either way, it was a memorable date because of the surprise of seeing him after he tricked me and said he wouldn’t be able to come.

Okay, nothing here to really make you swoon, but hey!! These were memorable events for me. And they were really simple. I’ve had expensive, realllllllyyy nice dates that had no sentimental meaning, but these are the ones that I remember. The ones that took some thought. What’s your nicest date?