The Moment We Went on Our First Date
After Grant and I met, it took us two months before we had our official first date.
Click here to read how we first met and why we waited.
It wasn’t for lack of interest, but rather lack of location. During our two months of texting, phone calls, and facetimes, he claimed that I was already his girlfriend. I responded with,
“No, I’m not. You haven’t even taken me on a date yet!”
So we decided to plan our first date for Sunday, July 12, 2015, the day after I returned from Alaska. Since we had waited a couple months, we decided to make our first official date grandioso! It couldn’t be a boring night date, but we needed the whole day to bask in each other’s presents.
Our day began by attending church together (but separate).
Side note: I always found the first initial months of a relationship awkward when you go to the same church. Do you sit together? Do you not sit together? Do you want people to know, or not know?
Needless to say, we did not sit together that first Sunday. I sat with my parents, and he sat in the row of chairs behind me. After church, I drove myself to his one bedroom/one bathroom triplex apartment. Awaiting me were the most beautiful hand-picked flowers sitting on his dinning room table along with my favorite snack, M&Ms. We made small-talk as we prepared our lunches and then drove off in his jeep to an undisclosed location.
Our Picnic Location
Little did I know, weeks before our date, Grant and his best friend Martin were hired to clear a path between two rows of trees to create a serene walkway on a farm. The path had a picture window overlooking a beautiful wheat field. With permission from the owners, Grant dreamed it to be the perfect venue to have our first picnic. We laughed and gabbed while enjoying God’s beautiful creation.
Our first picture together on our picnic
After our picnic, we chatted a bit with the land owners and then headed back to his apartment. With a quick clothes change, we headed off to part 2 of our day date: the city pool. While the picnic was enjoyable, it was also July, so my clothes stuck to me most of the date. The pool was a nice relief from the heat. Lounging on tubes in lazy river, we soaked up the sun’s rays.
Many hours later, we headed back to Grant’s apartment where we ended the date with pizza and a movie. The sun took it’s toll, and Grant soon realized he had gotten badly sunburned on his chest. For whatever reason, we had frozen the M&Ms that Grant had gifted me, so those provided his relief. After the movie, we had our first kiss goodnight, and I returned to my parents’ house to dream about our special day.
Five years later, we returned to our first date location this morning. Instead of a picnic lunch, we grabbed Scooters coffee and breakfast burritos. The path was no longer clear nor could we gaze through the picture window, but we still rested on our picnic blanket reminiscing and dreaming. Much has changed since we started dating five years ago, but our passion for each other has not. Our love runs deeper each day and life’s obstacles only make us stronger. I’m thankful for God’s blessings and provisions thus far, and I can’t wait to see what the next five years holds.
