Another Budding Photographer
Mamacita’s joining the ranks of Mr. J & Mr. G. I can’t wait to see what she comes up. But I am a little worried. You see the reason why is that I’m taking this picture of her. That means she had the camera pointed toward me. I may have to start wearing make-up around the house & actually combing my hair in the morning.
The Empire Strikes Back & It Was A Date
April 1997
After the awkwardness of realizing I had been asked out many times but couldn’t figure it out, a date was set for seeing re-release of The Empire Strikes Back (yes, he likes Star Wars–as in knows EVERY.SINGLE.LINE). He arrived at my house for this date, after having been over before with an his dyed hair, tattoo showing & I believe my Dad might have had a small heart attack upon seeing that.
Which would have been funny except my Dad really does have a heart condition & so that kind of takes the funny out of heart attacks. But really why are heart attacks funny? I think that’s kind of bizarre…
Anyway back to the date
After he arrived we hung out for a bit at my house. My cat threw up all over the floor & near his feet. I think it was her way saying “Hi, I like you enough to throw up near your feet.” You know how cats are vomit is like roses & candy to them.
We left for our date in his blue Pontiac Sunbird. It had a crack in the windshield that I kept staring at because I was trying not to be the weird date who stared at him too much. I had butterflies, rainbows & I think horses running around in my stomach from the nervousness & excitement of a first date. Even though we had been eating lunch together for months, talking, walking around campus together & hanging out off campus this was a date.
A totally different ball game, I made sure to wear clean clothes for this. Not just the clothes I found in a ball on the floor or chair in my room. But clean clothes. Clothes that I had to try on in multiple different combinations just to wear the same thing I’d wear any other day but only cleaner. That’s how you know it’s a date, when you are nervous over clothes.
Our dinner was at a Coney Island. Senate Coney Island in fact. We sat across from one another with those googly eyes that once you are in a relationship long enough you can recognize across a room. The googly eyes of young, new love. The kind that says “No, you hang up first. No you.” The kind that after you are together long enough makes you laugh, smile & remember the horses running wild in your stomach with excitement.
We went to the movie & held hands. He was funny, sweet & offered to pay for the date. He kissed me at the end of the movie. To which a little boy (who was in the theater having his own sweet date with his Mom & who had earlier shouted out “EWW!! Luke just kissed his sista! Groooooossss!!!”) said “EWW!! Now he kissed her. Groooooossss!!!” And then totally deadpan looked at his mother and asked “Are they brother & sister too? EWW!!”
With that we had our first date. Made a child grossed out & may have been mistaken for brother & sister. It was wonderful. Then the relationship really picked up steam…
[this is part of my “how I met your father” series]
Coffee Head
I am not sure why but when looking over our pictures of the elder children I noted that Mr. G had a total love for putting a coffee container on his head. Maybe he is like me & thought he wouldn’t be able to function without coffee. But if that’s the case then something was lost in the translation, since putting the container on your head isn’t the same as drinking it. Or so I would think. Then again maybe he should wait until he is at least in his teens before figuring that part out.



