MarytheKaytheBlog

A Perfect Moment, Just Perfect.

(Are you caught up on my Summer Camp Love Story?  Yesterday, I posted TWO installments!  To catch up on the action, click here.)

 

All of my frustration and feelings of abandonment vanished the moment I saw John's white truck, wrecked on the side of the road.  My heart leaped into my throat, but quickly calmed as I saw Dave smiling a sheepish grin, waving cars past them on the road.  

As I slowly drove up next to them, Dave reassured me through the the window.  He confirmed what I'd expected--John had been driving too fast around the wet curve, that notorious curve just feet away from our Kanakuk Kamp destination.  Thankfully, he wasn't driving that fast, and his truck was only scratched up a little.

It didn't take them long to get the truck pushed back onto the road, and Dave dropped off by my car, across the street from Kanakuk's gates.  I pulled my enormous golf umbrella out of my car, and walked beneath it with Dave down the hill.

I told him I was a little hurt that he had left me to drive alone, and in the rain.  Dave put his arm around my shoulders and flashed his irresistible boyish grin that always melted my heart and said, "Well, I'm just glad we're together NOW.  And I have you ALL weekend long!"

How's a lovesick girl to reply to that???

Plus, we'd reached the Kanakuk offices by now, and we were excited to see some of our full-time staff friends and bosses.

We saw Kay Holliday right off the bat, and her hugs and genuine welcome erased any negative feelings I'd been harboring that day.  I loved these people we'd come to visit.  And I felt like we were visiting home.  (How's that for some foreshadowing?)

We started making the rounds, office to office, hugging and chatting excitedly.  At one point, I noticed that Dave slipped out while I was visiting with some of the office ladies.  I kept right on visiting and catching up, knowing Dave would soon return.

After I'd finished visiting with everyone in the office, I walked out into Kamp, looking for Dave, and just enjoying seeing Kamp in the off-season.  The rain had lightened, and was only sprinkling on my umbrella by then.

I met up with Dave as I was walking through the quiet and abandoned girls' Kamp.  He said he'd been looking for me, but must have just missed me leaving the office.  He said, "Hey, let's go check out the zipline!"  I grinned at him, both of us remembering several late-night talks sitting on the deck of the zipline, looking to the grounds 100 feet below, and looking up for falling stars.  And holding hands.  Always holding hands, if we could.  It seemed surreal that those memories were only 4 months before.  It seemed like our relationship had been blossoming for years, and not months.

As we walked down the steps to the zipline platform, I noticed something way down on the ground, below the zipline cliff.  As we got closer to the edge, I could see that there were signs of some sort down there.  It took a moment for my brain to register, and a quick look at Dave's face, to confirm that those signs were meant for ME.

In nervousness, I giggled, "What does it say?  Is that for me?"

Dave paused for a moment.  Maybe to give me time to read it, or maybe to calm his own nerves.  

Then, with the biggest smile ever, Dave read the huge signs below--one by one.

"It says, 'Will. You. Marry. Me.  Mary Kay?'"

And then, as he turned to look into my eyes, he pulled a ring box out of his pocket.  I was so nervous and excited and smiley that I barely even looked at the ring as I squeaked out, "YES!" 

Dave held the umbrella, wrapped his other arm around my waist, and pulled me into a long hug.  I breathed in Dave's warm scent, and fingered the new diamond on my finger.  I was completely content, cherished, and thankful, and happy in that moment.  All the happy feelings a girl should feel in that big moment--I felt them all.

It was a perfect moment.  A perfect engagement.

 

There you have it!  FINALLY, we're engaged!  I do have more of the story to tell.  One of our biggest-ever disagreements nearly caused us to break up--just months before the wedding.  To be honest, I'm pretty nervous to tell that part of the story...but, I'm going to brave up and just be real about it.  I'll take a little break so we can celebrate CHRISTMAS on the ole' blog.  But, stay tuned after the holidays for more of the story...

A Rainy Day Pity Party

(I'm spending a few more days this week continuing the Summer Camp Love Story I began telling...uh, way too long ago.  If you need to catch up on the action, click here.)

With outfit chosen and on a hanger waiting, all that was left was picking up my guy at the airport.  I picked him up just before noon.  We grabbed a quick lunch before heading back to my apartment to pack the car for our journey.  While we gathered up my bags  and hanging clothes for the weekend, Dave used my apartment phone (no cell phones back then!) to call a Kamp friend of his who went to my school.  I knew he hadn't seen his friend since summer, and I wondered what kind of plans they seemed to be making on the phone.

When Dave got off the phone, he told me, "That's funny--John is heading home to Branson today, too!  I told him we should caravan, and follow each other there."

I didn't think much about it.  I knew John lived in Branson, but I didn't think it was really necessary to follow each other, since I knew how to get there.  But, that was just how Dave was--always calling up friends wherever he was visiting, and always game for spontaneous meet-ups.  

 We had to wait an extra 20 minutes or so for John to us meet at my apartment.  I stayed silent about it, even though those extra minutes tugged on my already anxious attitude.  Dave and John and I exchanged some small talk before we started to load up in our 2 cars.  As I settled into the passenger seat of my Honda, Dave walked over from John's car, and leaned in the window, instead of getting in the driver's seat.  In an upbeat voice, he said, "Hey--John has something he really needs to talk about.  Would you mind driving for just a little while, and I'll ride with him?"

Dave's question really threw me off.  I stuttered a little as I said, "Oh.  You want me to drive?  Oh.  Okay."

Dave reassured me that he'd much rather ride with me, but that John really needed to talk.  Plus, they would lead the way, and watch as I followed behind.

I tried to hide my irritation as I got out and climbed into the driver's seat.  I wanted to be flexible, but I really didn't understand why Dave would ride with someone else--especially on a day as important as today.

I mean, not that Dave had ever said it was "the day."  I was just making that huge assumption based on the swanky restraurant we had reservations for that evening.

I followed John and Dave in his little white truck.  I always loved the drive to Branson, through the curves and hills of the Ozark mountains.  At first, I thought it was great that John was driving so fast around those curves. The quicker he drove, the faster Dave could get back in my car and we could start our day together.  But, after a while, it started raining, and John didn't slow down.  I was a little more cautious than he, and fell behind on one of the big hills.  And after awhile, I realized they had left me behind, completely.

I was utterly floored that they had left me.  And in the pouring rain, driving all by myself.  I kept thinking, "SURELY Dave will ask John to stop, so they can check on me.  Make sure I'm okay.  Make sure I'm not broken down on some lonely road all by myself.  Make sure I haven't DIED in a CAR WRECK.  In. The. RAIN."

All of my formerly nervous thoughts suddenly became a pity party of "poor abandoned and forgotten me" thoughts.

And any evening proposal thoughts vanished completely from my mind.  All I was focused on at that point was trying to see the road through the pounding water on my windshield, and feeling abandoned and un-cared for.

Little did I know in those long 2 hours in the rain, was that Dave and John's goal was to lose me.  They couldn't believe I had kept up as long as I did.

To be continued...

Holiday Plans, a Hunch, and 23 Different Outfits Later...

 

(I'm spending a few more days this week continuing the Summer Camp Love Story I began telling...uh, way too long ago.  If you need to catch up on the action, click here.)

 

Dave and I had flown back and forth between Texas and Arkansas all Fall, and running up enormous long distance phone bills in-between.  As we inched our way to the end of our long distance separation, we were faced with 2 new decisions:  Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

In other words, how would we spend the holidays, and could we spend them together?

We decided that Dave would fly to see me at Thanksgiving, and we would both drive to his family's farm in South Dakota for several days before Christmas.

Dave's plan Thanksgiving week was to fly to my college town in Fayetteville, AR, early in the day on Wednesday, and then drive with me to my family's home in South Arkansas.  He suggested that we drive the 2 hours to Branson that Wednesday afternoon, to visit our staff friends at Kanakuk Kamp.  He added that we should plan to eat somewhere really fun for dinner in Little Rock, as we drove through to my family's that evening.  He mentioned  Ashley's, inside the historic Capital Hotel, remembering the story of my special 16th birthday there.  I warned him we'd have to dress up to eat there, and that it was pretty expensive.  He said he wanted to take me somewhere special before we spent the weekend at my family's.

Now, I have to be honest.  When Dave mentioned taking me to Ashley's, I wondered (hoped!) if he had a proposal planned.  I had visions of him hiding a ring in a fancy dessert, or somehow involving the waiters in an elaborate surprise.  You see--Dave was BIG on surprises, and Ashley's was exactly the kind of special occasion restraurant for romantic moments.

 With this hunch about a fancy restaurant proposal, I was faced with the biggest decision of my life so far:  What in the world to wear?

Hey, I'm a girl.  And girls dream about moments like these their entire lives.  I needed to wear the perfect getting-engaged outfit, but I also couldn't appear like I was wearing the perfect getting-engaged outift.  Like I said--Dave was big on surprises.  He would never propose on a day I suspected it.  And, well, I was a little eager to get engaged to that guy already.

As that Wednesday got close, my roommate sat on my bed, and suffered through about 23 different getting-engaged outfits, with me second- and third-guessing which ones seemed too obvious, or not special enough, or too uncomfortable, or too unflattering...  My mind was swirling with too many decisions and what-ifs, that I could not make a decision.  It was my sweet roomie who brought some calm clarity to the moment, and helped me choose the perfect combination of special occasion, but not-too-obvious outfit.  I know I'm a sentimental sap, but it felt right that my roommate, who I'd shared everything with for the past 2 1/2 years, was there helping me as I prepared to step into the next phase of my life.

At least I hoped that's what was happening...

To be continued... (Sorry my story is taking forever!  How about picking up the pace a little?  I'll post another installment tomorrow afternoon!)

Long Distance: Frequent Flier Miles and High Phone Bills

 (I'm spending a few days this week continuing the Summer Camp Love Story I began telling...uh, way too long ago.  If you need to catch up on the action, click here.)

(GRAMMAR NERD Update:  I am cringing and clawing out my eyeballs over my misspelling of the word "flyer" in the title.  Please, please, please Mrs. Lusk, Mrs. Williams, and Mrs. Post forgive me!!!  I'm afraid to change it in the title now--for fear of messing up its permalink, and other garbledy-gook techno meanings like that.)

That Fall semester was a blur of airport hellos and quick before-the-airplane-door-closes goodbyes, his and her football weekends overflowing with people to meet and special places to see, always wearing the appropriate Razorback red or Aggie maroon, and long distance bills that still shock me, even all these years later. 

We settled into a long distance rhythm.  The ebb and flow of happy weekends jam-packed with events and people and sleepy, lonely airplane rides home, and long stretches of days and weeks between, where we lived out separate lives-- describing the mundane details of our days to each other on the phone every single night.

It's odd, having a relationship across 600 miles.  Walking through our days completely separate, and yet not separate because we shared every detail of those days over the phone at the end of the day.  I'd lie across the bed in my apartment in Fayetteville, twirling my finger in and out of the phone cord, telling him all about my day and my classes, while Dave usually paced around his loft bedroom in New Braunfels, and told me all about the students he was teaching.  (The phone bills confirmed just how many details we were telling daily!)

Dave flew to see me a lot more than I did, since I was still a student at the University of Arkansas, and he was newly salaried as a 4th grade reading teacher.  I visited twice in those 5 months, compared to his 4 visits.

Oh my goodness, I still remember trying on about 15 different outfits for my very first solo plane flight.  I settled on the most sophisticated outfit I could create out of my closet--a knee-length fitted black skirt, a mossy green flowy tunic, and my very favorite black high heels.  And don't forget the pantyhose.  That was 1990, when ladies in skirts never went bare-legged.  

I still giggle about that outfit.  I guess I was trying to look like a snazzy business lady traveling to San Antonio.  By the end of the flight, I was hating those beloved black heels.  I couldn't wait to change into my usual blue jeans.  

I can only imagine what Dave thought when he saw the snazzy business lady heading towards him with a shy grin, followed by a shy hug.

Those first arrival moments all Fall were awkward and shy.  That always surprised me, since we'd spent hours and hours talking about everything on the phone the whole week before.  However, by the time we pulled out of the airport parking lot, we were always back to our normal selves--chatting happily and holding hands across the front seat.

Those whirlwind travel weekends were everything new love should be--new adventures, romantic locations, and meeting new friends.  I especially remember my visits to Texas, soon to become my own residence.  Oh, how I loved the colorful character and flavors of the Riverwalk in San Antonio, and the quaint shops and slow pace of Gruene.  Everywhere I visited in and around the town of New Braunfels made me more and more excited to move there.  When I visited, I stayed at the Behlings house--family friends of Dave's who accepted and loved me like I had known them my whole life.

I was excited to make New Braunfels, Texas, my new home.  But, mostly, I was just excited to start my life with Dave.  Little did I know then, that some of my darkest moments would be in that quaint town that I loved so much, and in that home that still has a little piece of my heart.  And right beside the man that I couldn't wait to marry.

Young girls in love can get pretty caught up in the misty-eyed romance and the new and exciting.   Sometimes, it takes a few months for the misty-eyes to clear.  Once all young couples can see each other clearly--with faults and flaws--how they deal with reality tells a lot about their marriage ahead.

Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself!  First, I need to tell you about my favorite time Dave flew to see me.  Right before Thanksgiving weekend--the weekend forever embedded in my heart.

 

Downtown New Braunfels, Texas

To be continued...

The Beginning of a Long-Distance Relationship

(I'm spending a few days this week continuing the Summer Camp Love Story I began telling...uh, way too long ago.  If you need to catch up on the action, click here.)

My parents greeted us at the motel door at that past midnight hour.  They didn't have harsh words for Dave, but they did express frustration at our thoughtlessness.  We'd said we were going out for a quick frozen yogurt, and didn't return for hours.  They had no way of knowing we were just out in the parking lot the whole time, planning our future.  (Eeeek!)

I didn't even hug Dave goodbye at that point.  I just slipped into the room, getting ready for bed quickly, and quietly.  I didn't like leaving Dave on such a negative note, but my mind was swirling from our talk that evening of future plans.  I fell asleep that night in a strange motel room, and dreamed of myself at a different college, and living in a town in Texas I'd never even visited.  

I pointed my packed-full Honda Accord south towards Arkansas, heading home.  But, not to stay.  My life was now heading in a brand new direction.

My entire life had been changed in two short months at summer camp.  That should have scared me a whole lot more than it did.  Mostly, I was just excited, and counting the days until I could see my handsome blond haired, blue eyed guy.

I'd been home only a couple of days when I got a small brown envelope in the mail.  My heart jumped when I saw Dave's loopy cursive.  As I ran a thumb over my name, I felt like I could feel and see his love--just in the way he wrote my name.  The very same way in all the notes he'd sent me at Kamp. 

I took the package up to my bedroom to open.  I could hear a familiar rattle inside, and knew I wanted to be alone to open it.  Sitting cross-legged on my bed, I pulled a cassette tape out of the envelope, and read the small white note accompanying it.  Again--the tidy cursive reminding me of the new 4th-grade students he'd soon meet.  These thoughts made me smile, breathless.  But the actual words he wrote?  They made my hands shake and my heart pound as I slipped the clear gray cassette into my stereo.

I knew Dave wasn't the type to send casual mix-tapes.  I knew that this song he'd sent had a message for me.  Words, and their precise meanings, were important to Dave.  I could be sure that whatever song was on the tape was meant especially for me. Every single word.

I closed my eyes and pressed "play." 

As the song began, and the words sang out, I found tears dragging down my cheeks.  Even though I was unsure of so many details in our long-distance future, Dave's cassette tape song for me was his promise.  

No matter how the details worked themselves out--Dave was promising me they would.  And he would be there, beside me.  

I sat on my bed listening to the song over and over again, unable to move and thinking, "This is it.  This.  This is really, really going to happen."  

I was both a little terrified of the unknowns, and also very sure I wanted to walk beside this man. 

(If the video isn't visible below, click here to hear the song he sent me.)

 

...To be continued...

Two Firsts: Meeting the Parents, and Making them Mad

(I'm telling my Summer Camp Love Story this week.  Click here to catch up on the action.)

Okay, I have to be honest.  My parents would want you to know right-off that they were not mad at Dave.  But, I do believe they would use the word "frustrated."  And I'm also pretty sure that their frustration was more than half directed at me.

I've always had a close relationship with my parents, so they knew Dave and I were dating, and they knew it was getting serious.  They planned a weekend vacation in Branson to coincide with the completion of my working terms at Kamp that summer, and I'd follow them back home in my car afterwards.  Looking back, I wonder now if they planned that little vacation so they could meet the boy that I was gushing about over the phone.

They first met Dave standing in the Girls' Circle at Kanakuk, on the side of Kamp where Dave worked.  They exchanged all the regular pleasantries when you first meet someone, and I'm sure they noticed right away Dave's quiet demeanor, as well as the way he smiled when he looked at me.  We didn't visit long, but made plans for Dave to join us that evening for dinner in town.  Dave helped them load up all my stuff into the trunk of my Honda, and my parents and I headed into town. 

K-1 Girls' Circle Driveway, 1990

Just ignore the silly bird...I think he was making moves on the Indian princess

 What I remember most about that afternoon with my family was not the shopping and and running around we did.  I remember sitting in the backseat of my parents' car, telling them about some of the dates Dave had taken me on, and some of the sweet notes he'd sent me.  I even remember my mom asking me, "Do you think you love him?"  And answering her in a quiet, but sure voice, "Yeah, I do."  I was glad to be in the backseat, where they couldn't see my pink cheeks.

That night my family and Dave gathered around a big round table at a Chinese restaurant.  I don't remember a lot about the conversations around the table, because what happened later that night overshadows everything else in my memory.

Like most couples new in love, we wanted to spend every moment we could with each other.  Especially knowing we were heading into a long-distance relationship when I left the next morning, Dave and I split apart from my family after dinner to spend a little more time together.  We knew we didn't have long that night, so we decided to go get some frozen yogurt.  We drove back to the motel where my family was staying, eating small bites of yogurt, and talking. Prolonging the inevitable--the leaving part--as long as we could.  Dave pulled his Jeep into the motel parking lot, and neither of us made a move to leave.

We just sat and talked and talked, as the stars twinkled above us, and as the city quieted around us.

Our talking that night centered around the future, our future, and all of the unknowns ahead.  My dad had mentioned at dinner that if we were serious, he wanted us to live in the same town for at least a semester before we were married.  Since Dave had just gotten a teaching job in Texas, we began talking about which college I could transfer to in the Spring semester.  I couldn't believe we were talking about such big, life-changing decisions already...but I was also grinning and thrilled to be talking that way, too.  My heart was racing inside my chest, and I'm sure my face was flushed with excitement.  

And strangely, even though we'd only been together a month-and-a-half at that point, I felt perfectly at peace with the future we were beginning to plan.

I don't know what happened to the time.  I guess when you're re-arranging your entire future life, you don't pay much attention to your watch.  Before we knew it, my watch said it was past midnight.  Whoa.  I knew my parents were probably waiting on me--especially since we said we'd be back soon.  I also didn't have a room key.  And remember--this was before cell phones.  There was no calling my sister to have her quietly open the door for me.  Nope, it was going to have to be an old-fashioned knocking of the door to get inside.

We knocked very quietly on my sister's room.  It was only a couple of seconds before the door opened, and there stood my parents.  Both of them, and wide awake.  And looking at Dave for answers.

image credit

To be continued...

The Summer Camp Love Story CONTINUES!!!

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!!)

Some Skunks, a Gun, and a Flashlight

With our 20th wedding anniversary coming up, I decided to write about our love story. Please join me in the upcoming days as I tell  A Summer Camp Love Story.

Need to catch up?  Part 1--Our Love Story Starts with: A List; Part 2--A Girl on the Boys' Side, and a Boy on the Girls' Side; Part 3--A Dance...with a Promise; Part 4--Questions, Goodies, and Boat Rides; Part 5--One Fateful Boat Ride; Part 6--Waiting on our First Date to Happen; Part 7--Who's Sammy Lane?; Part 8--Okay, I'm Sure Now; Part 9--There was a lot of smiling, and honesty, and heart pounding...

..........

 

I bet you read the title and thought, "Huh?  I thought this was a love story."

And this is where I would answer you, "Oh honey.  Stick around.  This is the redneck part of our love story!"

I like to tell my Ozark friends, in my best hillbilly voice, "Dave and I fell in love SKUNK HUNTIN'"  And that's "huntin'" without the "g" at the end!

You see, that particular summer, there was a skunk problem around camp.  Staff and campers kept seeing skunks.  And smelling them occasionally.

A respectable summer camp just cannot have skunks wandering around.  Don't skunks carry rabies?  Or leprosy?  Or maybe they just carry STINK.

Our camp director found out (the hard way) that you cannot trap a skunk.  Well, I mean you can...but then what do you do with it?  Nope, the game warden told us the most humane thing to do in a summer camp situation is to shoot the skunk.

Shoot a bunch of skunks?  Yes, preferably at night.  When no one's around.  And each one with the first shot.  You know--so campers don't start writing letters home about the gunshots they're hearing at night. 

Gunshots are probably not good for publicity.

Neither are skunks.

So, the camp director pulled Dave into his office and asked Dave, master hunter and gun-toting man that he was, to help "take care" of the skunks.  And with a matchmaking gleam in his eye, Brawner told Dave he probably needed someone to help...hold the flashlight, perhaps.  He told Dave to take me along, in a camp truck (aka, old beat-up hundred-year-old truck with doors that didn't always close the first time), and drive around the bottom area of camp by the lake, to see if we couldn't find some skunks.  He told us to wait until after Taps--lights out bedtime--to start.

With the director's blessing, Dave loaded up his gun, and handed me the biggest flashlight I'd ever seen: The foot-long Mag Light. 

This is also where I introduce another main character into our love story.  Reader, I'd like for you to meet Otis.  Otis was the night watchman at our camp for years and years.  He's still living, and has only retired from camp in the last couple of years.  Oh, but for 20 or 30 years, Otis was a nighttime fixture at our camp--many times arriving a couple of hours early for duty, just so he could talk to many of the staff and campers during the evening activity.  Otis loved camp, and he loved the staff and campers.  And I bet if you asked any of the people from those 20 or 30 years at K-1 Kanakuk about Otis, you'd see that the feeling was mutual. 

One of my favorite things about Otis is his stories.  He's lived a long and interesting life, and is happy to tell about it, if you ask.  Even sometimes, when you don't ask.  The stories are even better--because he always tells them in the 3rd person.  Seems like he always starts one of his old stories like this, "Ole Otis, well...he helped build that Table Rock Dam, he sure did.  Back then, 'hit was nothing but farmland..."

Oh, but back to the story.  If ever you meet Otis, you ask him, and I'm sure he'll tell you..."Oh, I was there 'at summer when dat Dave and MurKay was huntin' skunks, I sure was.  Whoo, you'uhnses wouldn't believe how many skunks there was.  But, ole Otis, he was thar when they got to courtin'..."

And he was there.  Dave and I always knew when we'd see headlights slowly bumping across the football field through the dark--we knew Otis was coming to check on us...or to let us know of a skunk sighting.  Or, most likely, he was lonesome for company, and wanted to chat for a spell. 

Often, Dave would drive us to where Otis had last spotted a skunk, and sure enough, we'd see that fluffy black tail.  I would point the flashlight through the driver window, and Dave would jump out of the truck, aim, and shoot.

And doggone it, Dave hit the skunk every single time.  Always between the eyes--so it wouldn't spray when shot, he explained.  Well, usually it didn't spray...

Dave and I kept a tally of all the skunks we killed over a couple of weeks.  We called that tally sheet:  "Team Dave and Mary Kay."  I think we got to 14 or 15 skunk kills.

Can we pause for a moment, and ponder the fact that I just wrote "14 or 15 skunk kills" in my LOVE STORY.  Like I said--this is the redneck portion of my story.

What I have not told you about yet, is how every night for about 2 weeks, I rarely got more than about 5 hours of sleep.  But, a girl sure can survive on love in times like that. 

Dave and I might have been heading toward love with those first dates, the roses, and the kiss.  But, truly, we fell in love while skunk hunting.  Like any kind of hunting, most of our time was spent doing the hunting part--in our case driving around, or sitting in the truck, waiting.  During those long hours, Dave and I just talked and talked.  I told Dave everything.  It seemed I couldn't keep any secrets or thoughts--embarrassing or not--from him. 

We talked about our childhoods, our friendships.  We talked about what we wanted in life, what was important.  And it wasn't long before we were talking about marriage.

Yes, I know.  It was a whirlwind romance.  Remember, I only worked 2 months that summer.  But, in those 2 months we knew.  We knew we had found "the one." 

And like young couples in love, we almost always held hands in that old truck.  Or, I'd scoot next to Dave and put my head on his shoulder.  But, don't you worry.  Ole' Otis was never far away, with his latest skunk sighting, or latest story to tell in those lonely night hours. 

Come to think of it...I wonder if our camp director asked Otis to keep an eye out for the skunk huntin' couple?  Because, sure enough, ole' Otis, he was never far away...

To be continued...

(Am I running anybody off yet with my crazy 10-part love story?  And I'm barely to the end of our 2 months at camp.  I hope to take a couple of days' break from the story, and pick it back up again soon.  Thanks for your encouraging comments so far!  This story has been SO FUN for me to tell.  I apologize that I cannot seem to tell a quick story to save my life...)

 Oh, there we were, the romantic Skunk Huntin' Couple!  Complete with our 1990s long denim shorts and white t-shirts, sleeves cuffed.

 And...the limousine to love...Ole Red, loyal camp truck and skunk huntin' bloodhound.
 
 

There was a lot of smiling, and honesty, and heart pounding...

With our 20th wedding anniversary coming up, I decided to write about our love story. Please join me in the upcoming days as I tell  A Summer Camp Love Story.

Need to catch up?  Part 1--Our Love Story Starts with: A List; Part 2--A Girl on the Boys' Side, and a Boy on the Girls' Side; Part 3--A Dance...with a Promise; Part 4--Questions, Goodies, and Boat Rides; Part 5--One Fateful Boat Ride; Part 6--Waiting on our First Date to Happen; Part 7--Who's Sammy Lane?; Part 8--Okay, I'm Sure Now

..........

 

(Disclaimer:  This is the part of the story where I am hiding under my covers, hoping no one sees me while reading this...AAAHHHHHH.)

After being given my first-ever dozen long-stemmed roses on the trip to the airport, I could only imagine what our drive back from the airport would be like.  I was nervous, but excited to see Dave.

My heart did flip flops when I saw him standing at the airport curb.  As he got in the car, he was smiling at me with his blue eyes, and with a grin from ear to ear.  Of course, I was smiling back...and with what was becoming my style of communication with Dave, before thinking, I blurted out exactly what I was thinking,

"I missed you while you were gone!"

And in Dave's cute boyish way, with a shy grin, "You did?  Good.  'Cause I really missed you, too."

We talked about our weekends away from each other, and Dave told me all about the wedding.  I felt like I was getting to know all of his friends that were a part of the wedding, just from his stories.  Little did I know, I would get to know them later on--and really well!

After a while, Dave got serious, and said he wanted to talk to me about something.  He pulled the car off the road, and into a shaded parking lot. 

After he parked the car, he rolled down the windows, and turned to face me, "Listen.  I just want you to know that this is not a passing thing with me.  You know--you and me.  I'd like to keep getting to know you, if that's all right."

Quietly, and with my heart beating right out of my chest, I answered, "I feel the same way."

"Well, I want you to know that I will never hurt you.  I am making that promise right now.  And I'd like to take you on another date really soon."

Beaming, I answered shyly, "I would love that."

As we sat in the quiet car, a light breeze drifted in the windows.  A couple of people walked past, and got in their car.  During this quiet pause between talking, I guess I had a look that crossed my face, because Dave asked, "What?  What are you thinking?"

I was completely mortified, because I HAD been thinking something, and had no idea my face gave it away.  Embarrassed, I said, "Why do you ask?"

"Because I can tell.  Tell me.  What were you just thinking?"

Again--I found myself blurting out exactly what I was thinking with Dave...

Timidly, and with an embarassed grin I answered, "I was wondering...if you were going to kiss me?"

Without missing a beat, he said, "Well, I'd be crazy not to!!"

AND THEN--THEN, that boy went on to TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE.  I have no idea WHAT he was talking about, because the whole time I kept thinking, "What just happened?  Didn't he just say he'd be crazy not to kiss me?  What did he mean...because now he changed the subject and is talking???

And then.  Then, he reached across and gently lifted my chin, and he leaned down to kiss my lips.  It was the sweetest, gentlest kiss I could ever imagine.  It was perfect.  A perfect, magical first kiss.

He pulled back, looked into my eyes, and smiled.

I smiled back, totally lost in the moment.

And he leaned down to kiss me again.  This time longer, with his hand resting on my cheek.

I remember after, looking up into his eyes, and smiling.  Happy and content--and yet, with my heart pounding, pounding.

He grinned at me, turned the ignition back on and said, "Wow.  We had better get on back to camp now!" 

Breathless, and flushed, and heart racing, "Yeah.  I know."

We pulled into the camp parking lot, got out, and walked down the hill to camp.  Dave reached over and took my hand, smiling at me again.  Our hands finally slipped apart at the blue entrance gates, and we turned to go our separate ways.  Dave walked a few steps before turning back to call out--with a twinkle in his eye--"I'll come see you later, okay?"

I smiled back at him.  I didn't need to respond.  I knew my eyes said everything my words could have.

To be continued...

 There's that handsome fella--just 24 hours before...well, you know!

 Some of Dave's friends from the wedding he traveled to that weekend.  Boy, am I glad Todd and Shana got married that weekend, and needed Dave to fly there...

Okay, I'm Sure Now

With our 20th wedding anniversary coming up, I decided to write about our love story. Please join me in the upcoming days as I tell  A Summer Camp Love Story.

Need to catch up?  Part 1--Our Love Story Starts with: A List; Part 2--A Girl on the Boys' Side, and a Boy on the Girls' Side; Part 3--A Dance...with a Promise; Part 4--Questions, Goodies, and Boat Rides; Part 5--One Fateful Boat Ride; Part 6--Waiting on our First Date to Happen; Part 7--Who's Sammy Lane?

..........

 

One of my favorite parts of this story, is that I can pinpoint the exact moment when I knew Dave felt the same about me as I felt about him.

And it was a moment when no words were even exchanged...

Dave needed to leave camp for a few days to be a groomsman for one of his closest friends.  He needed someone to drive him the hour to and from the airport--and guess who was assigned to that task?  One very lucky office girl, that's who!

Of course, on the way there, Dave drove us, old fashioned guy that he is.  Again, as we seemed to do every time we were together, we talked and talked the whole way there.  I still had so many questions I wanted to ask him.  As we got closer to the airport, Dave said he needed to make a quick detour.  He pulled into a little strip shopping center, and said he needed to run in, but that he wouldn't be long.

There were several stores there, and I have no idea why I didn't notice which one he entered.  But, I sat for what seemed like a long time.  At one point I wondered what I should do--because I had no idea what store he was in, and it felt like 10-15 minutes had passed. I was worried he would miss his flight.  And remember--no cell phones back then to check on him.

(Ha!! That paragraph right there could be a blueprint for our whole marriage!  Dave needing to make a surprise stop somewhere--the boy loves surprises.  And MK worrying about being late--because the girl does love to worry.)

Finally!  I saw someone walking toward our car.  But, oh my goodness, that someone was carrying a huge arm bouquet of the most beautiful long-stemmed pink roses I had ever seen!

Dave opened my car door, and with a big grin on his face, placed the dozen roses in my arms.  I am SURE I was speechless for a moment, and I am SURE my face turned bright red.

It was that instant, that I knew.  I knew Dave felt the same about me as I did him.  And I knew this was more than a couple of creative nights off together.  This was for real.

As Dave jumped out at the airport--with only minutes to spare--he told me that he'd like to call me while he was away...and especially since he "needed to tell me" the details about his return flight.  Since I was an office girl, and lived in an office girl cabin, lucky for me--we answered the phones at night.  So, of course, when Dave called later that night, I was right there to answer!

I remember looking across the cabin at my roses while I talked to Dave on the phone.  Surely, he could hear my big smile as we talked.  His voice sounded excited on the other end of the phone, and even though I was sure he was really busy with wedding activities, I could tell he really wanted to talk to me on the phone.  Like talking on the phone with me was his most important task of the day.

That kind of attention made me feel more special than I had felt in a really long time.  I couldn't wait to pick him up at the airport in two days!

Ah, and the ride back from the airport was even better...

To be continued...

Image credit: Flickr Satheesh k