365 Days Ago I Went on My Last First Date

This was us, a year ago today!
If I look scared in this picture, it's because I was.  I was terrified.  I was sober, for one thing.  Quite unlike me at the time.  I always smoked pot before a date, especially before a first date.  Not this one though.  Mr. Robinson deserved better.  I didn't smoke.  I was scared, but I just stuck it out.  I didn't know who to be.  All my life, I was great with people because I just put on a mask and be what they wanted me to be.  If I was at a bar, I knew the kind of girl I was supposed to be.  If I was with my parents, I put on a different mask.  If I was waiting tables, I changed my mask depending on the type of table I was serving.  It was all easy when I knew what I was dealing with.  But him?  I was clueless.  He was a Christian.  He was a good person.  He loved Jesus and he liked me, something I found to be pretty impossible.  With every other guy I'd ever met, I knew what he wanted.  I knew what kind of girl I needed to be.  This was not the case with this guy.  I didn't know what he wanted.  I'd never dated a Christian before.  I'd never wanted to before.  
Mr. Robinson took this picture of us before we left to go on our first date.  He took it on his cell phone.  We were standing in my apartment.  I had butterflies.  I had been trying on outfits all week.We didn't know we were about to fall head over heels in love.We had no idea that we would get engaged about a month later.We had no idea that this was our last first date.We had no idea that by the end of the year, we'd be Mr. & Mrs. Robinson.
I gave him a card that said "You make me melt."  & I added "Fa Sho" to the card.  And I drew out a hand making an "okay" sign in the bottom corner because we've always played this game where if you make the "okay" sign below your waist and get someone to look at it, you get to (gently) punch them.  It was a game all of the staff at Ruby Tuesday played.  Over time, we all got better at the game and had to find more clever ways to "get" each other.  I drew the "okay" sign in the bottom corner of the card.  When we saw it, the card was below his waist.  Winning!  I also gave him a heart-shaped box of Reese's Cups, his favorite candy.
He gave me a brown & turquoise journal.  I now use it to take notes of the messages we hear in church and as a prayer journal.  He also wrote me a poem.  I know.  I keep it on my dresser.  I read it often.  

I struggle to find the words that express what you mean to me.

But with Valentine's Day drawing near,

This one thing I desire to make clear:

There is nothing in the world more special than you, I do believe.

Whether its tunnel vision or perfect sight,

To my life you bring in the brightest light.

Everyone else seizes on day to tell a significant other, "You're the best,"

Babe, I'm here to say that I will seize it on all the rest.  

We left my apartment.  His car was parked on the curb.  We walked over to it.  He opened my door.  I was so shocked.  I didn't exactly behave like a respectable lady, and I was surprised to be treated like one for the first time in a very long time.  I got into the car.  He waited.  He even closed the door for me.  I swooned.  We went to an Indian restaurant called Chutney.  It was late, I had been held up at work, and we were the only people in the restaurant.  I tried new foods I'd never eaten before.  I was exposed to a new culture.  The owner came and talked to us.  He wouldn't shut up.  Haha.    

We were walking out the door, and on the hostess stand was a little candy-dish-looking-thing full of colored seeds.  Bright colors.  Mr. scoops some into his hand.  I probably looked at him like he was nuts.  He said, "here," like he wanted to give me some of these crazy rice beans.  I stuck my hand out and dropped some into my hand.  He opened his mouth, and threw the crazy colored things into his mouth.  I was pretty sure they were drugs, haha.  SO, naturally, I followed suit.  They were not drugs.  You chewed on them, but didn't swallow them, and they would freshen your breath.  Whatever.  It was weird.  After you gnawed on them for a while, you were supposed to spit them out.  I was pretty mortified.  Spitting on a first date?!  

We went back to my apartment.  Nothing happened.  He was a gentleman.  Then, he left.  

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I can't believe that a year ago I was on my last first date.  It seriously blows my mind to think of how much has happened in the past year.  How far I've come from the girl I was last year.  Our relationship has grown and matured in ways I could have never predicted.  I love him, he's the most important person in my life, and I'm the luckiest girl in the world.  We have our faults, we have our flaws, we have our baggage.  But we work.  We make it work.  We're great together, really.  We are so insanely similar in one handful of ways.  In the other hand, we have a handful of differences.  

In church yesterday, he had flowers put in the front of the sanctuary in celebration of Valentine's Day and of the one year anniversary of our first date.  The flowers are SO pretty!  Pink and white lilies are my all-time favorite flower.  He's so sweet.  :)  Everyone in church said "awww" in unison when the service leader announced who placed the flowers.  After church Sunday night, we brought the flowers home and they are on the small table in our kitchen.   

I was taking pictures of my flowers from all the different angles, and Zombie got jealous.  Haha!

I'm making an Indian dish for dinner tonight, one I haven't tried before!  I'm excited!  We are going out tomorrow night to celebrate Valentine's Day and our one year anniversary of our first date.  I'm very excited!  He's been planning and sneaking around for two weeks now, and he keeps telling me it's going to blow my mind.
I am just so in love with my husband.  
I hope y'all have a great Monday!