Just the other day, I realized that THIS WEEK, 22 years ago, a smiling boy put a ring on my finger. With that realization, I decided it was high time I dusted off the half-completed Summer Camp Love Story, and actually finished it. So, let's see if I can climb back through the 22-year-old cobwebs to remember that blue-eyed boy standing near the edge of the cliff, and grinning at me beneath my umbrella...
(If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please click here to find out how I first met my husband, and began to fall in love at summer camp.)
I realize it has been an ENTIRE YEAR since I left y'all hanging on the edge of your seats right in the middle of my summer camp romance with Dave. I mean--the last time we chatted about this, Dave and I--and don't forget ole' Otis--were busy falling in love while hunting skunks. (Well, we should leave Otis out of the falling in love part.)
Through the years as I've told our love story, I've always answered the question, "How did you know?" with the answer--"I just KNEW. I just knew deep down that Dave was the kind of man I wanted to marry."
And I knew early-on that I wanted to marry him. Shockingly early. I mean, you don't skunk hunt with a man unless you're ready to marry him. In fact, a lot of the talking we did during those moonlit nights sitting in the truck waiting on a skunk sighting, was about our future. We'd talk and talk and talk about everything. We told our life stories to each other, we shared our dreams, and we even shared the scary secrets that we didn't tell anybody.
Did I mention that besides all that talking, we might have snuggled a little on those moonlit nights? Oh yes, we did. Because when you're sitting beside the man you want to marry in an old beat up truck, with only the sound of the lake lapping along the shoreline, and the moon and stars above only encouraging you on, you can't help but snuggle in close. Don't worry, though--ole' Otis was never far away, keeping watch over us lovebirds.
It's a shame ole' Otis wasn't watching over us the night Dave met my parents. Oh boy, not a good way to start things off with the parents of the girl you want to marry...
To be continued... (and I promise it won't be another year this time!!)
