One Of The Many Reasons I Married Mike

One of the many reasons I married Mike is his ability to remain calm in a stressful situation.  I'll give you an example from today of this very thing.

I was going to meet a friend of mine for lunch at
11:00 at a nearby mall.  As I pulled into the busy mall parking lot, I spotted an open parking space just a few spots back from a main entrance.  The spot was a bit tight as it was flanked on either side by large pick-up trucks.  But I thought I could fit, so I went for it.  Shortly after I turned the wheel and started moving forward I heard a horrible scraping/metal-crunching sound coming from the passenger side door of my mini-van.  Not good.  I panicked and immediately backed out.  Instantly my palms started to sweat and my heart rate sped up considerably.  I quickly looked at the bumper of the white Ford F250 I had hit.  It appeared to be fine, but my fight or flight instinct kicked in and flight won out.  I immediately drove to the other side of the mall, parked, and assessed the damage of my own vehicle.  Unfortunately, our van didn't fare as well as the truck, which had some sort of metal bumper thing sticking out the back of it.  I had decent sized scrape down my passenger side door.  A noticeable scratch.  Ugh.

I found my friend and told her I needed to go home and show Mike.  She had some shopping to do, so she stayed at the mall and I drove home crying all the way.  Why did I think I could fit into that parking space!?!
I was beating myself up the whole way there.  When I got home all I wanted to do was go crawl under my covers for awhile, but instead I showed Mike the damage and told him the story.

This is why I love him-- he didn't yell at me or make me feel bad.  He was calm.  He hugged me.  He told me that it would be okay.  Then he turned his concern to the other truck involved.  I told him I couldn't say with 100% certainty that it hadn't received any damage.  I had quickly looked at it and sped away in shame.  I think that is why I felt so bad about the situation.  I was having a bit of guilt about "fleeing the scene of the crime."  So my sweet husband drove back to the mall, found the truck still there, examined it thoroughly, and determined that in fact no damage had occurred.  It made me feel so much better.

Thankfully, I was able to still meet my friend for lunch-- just a little later than planned.  And yes, it stinks that we will have to pay to have the dent fixed some day, but overall I can walk away thankful for a husband who stays calm in a crisis, and who isn't afraid to do the right thing.

September 22, 1996

Mike and me in South Dakota

July 2011

Fifteen years ago today, back in 1996, Mike and I had our very first date.  Mike and I had met on Labor Day of that year and had been getting to know each other in the context of a big group of friends.  We'd sit with that group at dinner in our University's cafeteria each evening, but then always eventually find ourselves alone on a park bench underneath the large trees on the beautiful campus grounds, just talking and talking and talking.  That's one thing I remember about our relationship-- having a conversation was just very natural and easy.  After several weeks of hanging out like this, Mike finally worked up the nerve to ask me out on an official date, and of course, I said yes.

September 22, 1996 was a Sunday.  The plan was for Mike to pick me up that afternoon at my parents' house in Oklahoma City.  We were going to go to Lake Hefner to fly a kite, then go to Chili's for dinner.  On the way to the lake, we stopped by Wal-Mart to buy a kite, but couldn't find a single one in the store.  So we had to go with  Plan B-- just go to the lake and talk.  It was there, sitting on the shore of the lake as the late afternoon sun hovered low on the horizon, that we began to share our hearts.  We talked about our families, our hopes for the future, our careers, our passions.  We talked about bands we liked or didn't like, concerts we'd been to or hoped to go to.  We talked about our hobbies, interests, and our personality quirks.  I just remember that when it was time to go to dinner, I felt like a already really knew this person, but yet there was a whole lot more I wanted to know. 

Before we headed to the restaurant, Mike asked if I would like to stop by his Granny's house to meet her.  At the time, Mike's grandmother also lived in Oklahoma City, and I thought it would be fun to swing by.  I remember walking into the living room of her beautiful home and she greeted me like I was already part of the family.  She had a precious smile, and I loved her instantly.  We sat and chatted with her for a bit, then I noticed an old framed family photograph hanging on her wall.  Mike walked with me over to it and watched me gaze at the picture of Mike's parents, his brother and cute little baby Mike (Mike's sister wasn't born yet in this particular pic!).  It was the first time I saw that Mike was adopted.  He casually mentioned, "You can see that I look a little different."  My reply was simply, "Yep."  And that was it.  I think he was relieved to get that out in the open, and that it wasn't a big deal at all. 

Dinner that night proceeded just like our day at the lake-- easy, free-flowing conversation.  It really was a wonderful evening.  Later, we followed each other back to our small college town about 45 minutes away from the big city.  And from this point on, we were a couple.  Fifteen years later, I still enjoy going out on dates with Mike, and I don't think that will ever change.