First date

Last night was the best first date I've ever been on. I wasn't 100% sure going into it that it was a date but about half an hour into it, I realized it was, not only because he insisted on paying for dinner as soon as we sat down but because he actually called it a date. *insert girly squeal here!*

I went over to my friend Amy's after work to change clothes and get ready which was so fun in itself. It's been so long since I've gotten ready for a night out with one of my girl friends. We had Pandora cranked up on my blackberry and we were trading make up back and forth and talking about my date. I jokingly told Amy at one point that I didn't know who was more excited, me or her! She held me hostage after I had gotten ready because she told me I needed to be "fashionably late." She finally let me leave and even though I was still early, Jeremy was already waiting for me.

We sat down to dinner and as soon as we sat down he told me to order whatever I wanted, that it was on him. I looked at him and told him that he didn't have to pay for dinner but he told me that he knew that, but because he had asked me out he was paying. As soon as we ordered (after a huge fiasco with our waiter who was a jerk for the rest of the night) we just started talking. Once we started, it was non-stop for the rest of the time we were together. We talked about everything from politics to religion to education and even his kids. He had me laughing so much and at times so hard that people at the table next to us kept looking over at us!

At one point, Amy and our other co-worker Missy "crashed" my date! They knew that Jeremy was taking me to O'Charley's for dinner and they came in and looked for me. Once they got to our table, they acted like they didn't know I was going to be there and then made it a point not only to introduce themselves to Jeremy, but to point out the fact that I had straightened my hair and put make up on. *cue blushing* I was mortified! Luckily Jeremy took it all in stride and was so polite to them. I was ten shades of red when they walked away but Jeremy took us right back into conversation and all of my morification just melted away at how quickly he made me comfortable again.

Eventually we moved our date from O'Charley's to Dairy Queen where we sat and talked for another two hours. We got comfortable with each other to the point that we were actually teasing each other and poking fun at each other, especially at our ages. I can't help but wonder if maybe part of him is concerned about the fact that we're ten years apart because he joked about it a lot while we were on our date. Whenever he would bring it up I'd tease right back and then we'd slip right back into conversation.

Not once during the night was there an awkward pause or a loss of conversation. You just couldn't shut the two of us up. The only reason we ended our date when we did was because the girl at Dairy Queen was sweeping the floor and we thought they were closing. We ended up lingering in the parking lot for about 15 more minutes just talking and at one point you could tell we were awkwardly trying to figure out how to say goodnight, whether we should hug or just leave so we just left. haha! If you couldn't tell we were on a first date before then, you definitely could after!

I think the best part of the entire evening was when we were talking about the things we do outside of work and our churches came up. It was such a sigh of relief for me to find out that we believe the same things spiritually! The only difference in our church going beliefs is that he prefers a more traditional service and I prefer the contemporary service at my church. I actually have a worship mix on my Itunes that I'm going to burn and give to him the next time we hang out because he told me he's willing to try anything once so I figured I'd share with him why I like what I do.

I know it was only a first date, but I really like this one. I'm hoping he stays around for awhile. I know the timing is going to be slower than your typical dating relationship, especially because there are kids involved, but I am not opposed to seeing where this goes, especially since I now know we share the same spiritual beliefs. Along with that, we even talked about raising kids and being a stay at home mom! (Not as in us of course-just in general). He told me he's not opposed to his wife going back to work once the kids are at a school age but before that, he thinks kids are better raised at home with their family and not in an all day day-care or preschool setting. (This all came up because we were talking about my job and I griped about parents like that). When he made those comments, I just wanted to swoon right there. I love that we're already on the same page about that!

The cynical side of me is already looking for reasons why this could fall apart while the emotional side of me is ready to jump in head first. I'm praying like crazy to guard my own heart so that I don't get hurt. I know there's a chance it could happen but he's the first guy I've met in awhile that I'm willing to take that risk with. This is all happening so quickly that I'm still processing. I never expected to agree to letting Andrea introduce us last week and then actually going out on a date this week.

I'm ready to take this as slow as it needs to go and I'm praying for guidance on it, for protection of my heart, and for God to show us what His plan is. That alone is the most important factor in my opinion. It's such a comfort to know we share a mutual love for the Lord. That's so important to me in a relationship.

I haven't been able to stop smiling since Friday. I was alone in the car tonight and just kept thinking of Friday night and I could feel the grin just slide across my face. I have butterflies whenever I think of him and I'm excited for the next time we get to spend time together.

Now that it's taken over an hour to write this entry (I've been distracted several times!) I'm going to bed to pray this out and then get some sleep.

Sweet dreams. I know mine will be. :-)