They Weren’t All Bad

In contrast to what I usually post (i.e., “I rock, men are stupid.), I’ve been challenged to share some happy examples from my time spent dating. This is both easier and harder than you may think. I’ve had more than my share of fun coffee or dinner dates where there was plenty of laughter and conversation. Those are difficult to write about, however, because who wants to read, “And then we shared a good laugh over office politics?”

Never one to shy away from a challenge though—and also to prove that I’m not a curmudgeon at heart—I give you three real-life, these-were-totally-awesome, dating moments.

Good Date #1

I met my date for a trail run (Calm down, Mom, it wasn’t a first date. I knew him.) with plans that we would grab a casual dinner after. Instead, at the end of the run he produced a picnic basket complete with wine, smoked salmon, strawberries and salad and we had a lovely little rock-picnic at the edge of the trail. Loved it.

Good Date #2

The date (who I’d been seeing for awhile) showed up at my front door on a Thursday night at 7 and said, “I will have you back in time for work tomorrow. You have ten minutes to go pack.”

“Wait, what?” I asked.

“Nine minutes, fifty seconds.”

“What am I supposed to pack? Where are we going?”

“Nine minutes, forty seconds. I’d hurry, if I were you.”

I threw some clothes and makeup remover in a suitcase. We drove to Charlotte and had dinner and drinks in a much-needed escape from reality. Take away? Being kidnapped is kind of fun.

Good Date #3

This wasn’t really a date so much as a moment. I was having a bad day at work. A really bad day at work. I was texting the guy I was seeing and he asked if he could do anything.

“No,” I wrote. “I just need to go eat a mound of chocolate. Ha ha.”

“Why don’t you?” he wrote back.

“Uh, hello—have you met me? I don’t let myself do that sort of thing.”

We stopped texting and I returned to work. Exactly 40 minutes later, however, a messenger showed up at my office with a HUGE tray of 6-inch round gourmet double-chocolate chunk cookies. Twenty total.

I texted: “OMG. What the hell did you do??”

His reply: “Just eat the damn chocolate.”

Which I did. And I shared the cookies with everyone in the office.

Funny, sweet and slightly evil—it remains one of the favorite things anyone has ever done for me.