Shannon here: Amy R. Anguish shares insight into her real life romance, plus a chance to win her Contemporary Romance, Faith and Hope. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing. Deadline: August 3rd, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Amy:
Our Spontaneous Date
A first date should be simple, right? One person asks the other out, a time and place is set, and the date commences to see if you like each other enough to have another.
Our first date was nothing like that. It was December. He had just broken up with my friend and was sitting in my dorm lobby commiserating with another friend. She and he jokingly suggested that they set up a spontaneous date for the next semester … three months from that day. I wasn’t seeing anyone at the time, so I volunteered to be his spontaneous date two months from that day. The date was set.
Fast forward to the next semester. Before, we’d only known each other through my friend. But as the weeks carried us toward February, we began to hang out more. His car was having trouble so he joined a group of us who rode to church services together. We’d bump into each other in the middle of campus and sit and talk. But we always told people “we’re just friends.”
The week of our date arrived. One of his high school teachers who he had been very close to passed away and he decided to drive to Georgia for the funeral. Unfortunately, his car had other plans and didn’t even get him out of town. Now, we didn’t have to cancel our date because of him being gone, but we had no transportation and were going to college in this tiny little Tennessee town where our main options were Subway and Pizza Hut.
It was also Bible Lectureship week at school. And that meant my dad was in town to attend the lectures. But the weather was gorgeous, despite it being February, and the spring-like feeling in the air seemed to do something to our hearts as well. Before our scheduled date arrived, we already knew we wanted to pursue more than just a friendship. We kept it a secret for then, though, especially from my dad.
Friday. The day we were supposed to go out. I was more determined than ever to make something work. I coerced two girlfriends into getting a group together to go eat pizza and watch a movie. Begrudgingly they and two other guy friends agreed. We all piled into my roommate’s station wagon, my guy in the very back instead of next to me. We ate our pizza, trying to not be awkward about keeping our secret.
Then, we got to the movie theater. We had all agreed to go see a certain chick flick, even though the guys weren’t particularly thrilled about it. One problem. Three of us got tickets, but by the time we got to the counter, they were sold out. So, my guy and I and one of my girlfriends headed to a different chick flick while the others went to see the original choice. Nothing like having a chaperone on your first date.
Was it everything we had originally hoped it would be? No. Was it romantic? Not particularly. But we still pulled it off. And over eighteen years later, we’re still together.
Question for Readers: I want to hear from you now. What was one of the worst dates you’ve ever been on? Did you like the other person enough to go out with them again?
About Amy: Amy R Anguish grew up a preacher’s kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a bossy cat or two. Amy has an English degree from Freed-Hardeman University that she intends to use to glorify God, and she wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good. Learn more and connect:
About the book – Faith and Hope:
Two sisters. One summer. Multiple problems.
Younger sister Hope has lost her job, her car, and her boyfriend all in one day. Her well-laid plans for life have gone sideways, as has her hope in God.
Older sister Faith is finally getting her dream-come-true after years of struggles and prayers. But when her mom talks her into letting Hope move in for the summer, will the stress turn her dream into a nightmare? Is her faith in God strong enough to handle everything?
For two sisters who haven’t gotten along in years, this summer together could be a disaster … or it could lead them to a closer relationship with each other and God.
Come back July 26th for Part 2 with Amy!
Thanks for letting me tell my story, Shannon. It was fun remembering how crazy it all was.
One of my worst dates was a blind date that a friend set up for me. The guy looked like a time warp circa 1975 complete with the walrus mustache, square wire-rim glasses, and plaid shirt. No, we didn’t go out again. Another date that didn’t go to well is one with my husband after we’d been married several years and already had four children. It was so boring–not much conversation, dull restaurant–I said to him, “If this was our first date, I’m not sure we’d have a second.” We rallied, though, and will celebrate 31 years next month!
31 years is awesome! Isn’t it funny how dates with even the best person don’t always go well? Thanks for stopping by!
A really cute guy asked me to go to a college basketball game with him. My Mom insisted on meeting my dates (of course). When he came to pick me up, Mom had just come home with groceries, and she recruited him to help her carry them in. The ball game was fun, we went to the Sonic afterwards (showing me off?) But our first date was our last. It couldn’t have been anything about me, right? I always blamed Mom for making him carry groceries, LOL.
That’s too funny. If he had been a keeper, carrying groceries shouldn’t have scared him off. 😉
Thanks for stopping by.
I only dated one guy. Four years after we met, I married him and have never regretted it.
That’s amazing Shannon! I only dated three, and two of those only once.
worst date was when we had to babysit his nephews at the drive-in movies. By the end of the movie, I was soaked with drink,pickle juice and sticky candy & popcorn. We didn’t see each other anymore after that. he went on to marry my cousin in law
Oh no!
no bad ones
Wow! That’s nice!