First Dates…

Eight years ago Tuesday I said yes to the love of my life and in front of family, friends, and the Lord we committed to spend the rest of our lives together. These eight years have been a complete whirlwind with moments that seemed to creep by and others were gone in a blink of an eye. As I sit back and look at where we’ve come from since that day I stand amazed. Many moves, many kids, many tears, and many laughs. But who wants to hear all about that mushy stuff when I can tell you the story of how “Sattany” (Sam + Brittany…yes, we do it like the celebs here folks, ha!) began.
First dates. They are terrifying and terrific all at the same time. First dates are what relationships are made of. The fear, anxiety, butterflies, and heart racing moments that melt into those childish grins as you catch the eyes of your date. Will it last? Does he think I’m cute? Don’t scarf down your food, it’s not attractive. Your mind writes in monologues as you try to stay present and enjoy the moments with your crush. If all goes well, a second date happens and before you know it, you’re in love. The rest is history. First dates, sigh. So much potential. So much pressure. But what if your first date wasn’t so beautiful. What if there were no silver lining moments mixed with all of the “newness anxiety“? Yes, that was my first date with Sam.
It was our Junior year in high school, he was on the football team AND in choir. He was like a warm, gooey, sensitive center coated in muscles. Y’all I tell ya, those biceps were the death of me. I am drooling now just thinking about them. Ooh, my crush on him ran deep, but I just knew he didn’t like me. Honestly, there wasn’t much, if any interest in prospective gentlemen callers, so what were the odds that THIS guy liked me?! I was loud, outgoing, the class clown, and oh so fashionably awkward…and not in a good way. But to my surprise, it was me, he chose me to like. To want to date. I just knew our first date would be perfection, sealed with a kiss, and I could begin scribbling “Mrs. Estes” on all free, writable surfaces.

Then our date happened.

Sam picked me up from my house for a movie date. There was no opening the door for me or asking which movie I’d like to see. No, rather it was an awkward shuffle to the car where he darted to the driver’s side like we were racing to see how fast he could start the car. Then he proceeded to tell me we were going to see the movie “Johnny English“, a Mr. Bean movie. Lord help me I was not excited. Surely he wasn’t serious?! But I took a deep breath, gazed at his adorable face, and giggle like a school girl at the site of his dimples. He was so handsome, and I did love talking with him. I just knew our date would end amazingly…would we kiss?!

Once we arrived at the theater, Sam made his way to the ticket booth and I saw a friend. We chatted for a second while Sam took care of business. When he was finished I met up with him, but never was I prepared for what I was about to hear. “I’ve got my ticket, you going to go get yours?” What?!?!? He didn’t buy my ticket? As I stood there stunned it took me a second to snap back into reality and go purchase my own ticket. To a movie I didn’t want to see. On a first date with the man who didn’t open the car door for me. Who I thought would be the love of my life. Somehow all of this was not playing out like I thought it would. “Do you want any snacks?“, he said as we walked into the theater. I quickly responded, “no“. I was probably going to have to pay for those too, and let’s face it, I was not in the mood to foot the bill for something else.
The movie proved to be every bit as stupid as I anticipated, but it didn’t matter because my mind was lightyears away. Where did I go wrong? Why was this date so bad? Did he really like me? I totally should have brought my own car so he didn’t have to drive me home. And that my friends would have SO been handy because the trip home was unbearably awkward. As we parked in the driveway of my house, I expected to just get out while he stayed behind. Nope, Sam got out of the car and walked me back up to the house. Why did he seem a little chivalrous now? Oh wait, homeboy thought he might be getting a kiss. Are you kidding me, not over my dead body, ha! I thanked him, said we’d talk later, and headed inside.
Lord help me, I was so disappointed. Y’all it was like Will Smith in “Hitch” bad. My dreams of doodling my future monogram were crushed by a Mr. Bean loving cheapskate. The only future I saw with him was those precious, sculpted arms walking away from me…forever. But the lore of those beautiful brown eyes, dimples, and muscles were too great, because for some reason I agreed to a second date. Which lead to a third, then fourth, and soon we were inseperable.

Let me just tell you. The dude was smart. I think he planned for us to have such a bad date, then the expectations would be low, and every date after that would look better than the first. And if we dated long enough I’d fall for him. Well played Sam, well played.

 

So, how were your first dates? Everything you expected?