The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, my sons had their eye on a steal of a deal at the local Radio Shack for a Galaxy S-4 smart phone. In the frigid below-zero temps, we headed out at 4:30am and waited for the doors to open. I was so tired, I had gone to bed late the night before and here I was up before dawn -- but it was a hoot to see my boys so excited and up so early. After a crazy fiasco involving cell phone contracts and account holder signatures (long story), we finally ended up back home where the kids' dad was waiting to visit with them. I had breakfast plans of my own -- it was GIRLFRIEND TIME. One of my friends was in town visiting for the holiday from Cincinnati and we'd planned to get together and share the dirt -- We stay connected online and she'd been picking up on something through my Facebook and Pinterest posts and was just itching to get the whole story. And I was about to burst -- I needed some major girlfriend talk time.
Renee and I headed down to one of our favorite hometown coffee shop haunts and I began to fill her in on all the juicy details about Aidan. It was delicious conversation and it felt so good to be able to ramble on about this new love of mine. Do you want to know what kind of a connection Aidan and I have? He must've felt his ears burning because there in the middle of our coffee chat, my phone went off and it was Aidan on Skype! I was able to introduce Renee and Aidan over video chat. It was so funny. We gabbed for a few minutes and hung up, and Renee and I got back to our juicy topic.Halfway through my ramble, Renee looked at me and said, "Tell me why you haven't gotten in your car and driven straight down to Charlotte????"
The conversation came to a dead stop.
That WAS a good question. Why DIDN'T I just get in the car and drive?
I can't say it hadn't entered my mind -- I thought about it constantly, wanting to be with Aidan there, here, in the middle, on the moon ... Didn't really matter where. I think there was a part of me that was trying to follow the old dating etiquette, if there really is such a thing, boy comes to girl first, etc etc. But Renee hit the nail on the head. What Aidan and I had wasn't 'the norm' and it wasn't just an 'everyday-two-people-meet' thing. We had something very unique and very special and had already pledged our love to each other, as we locked our gaze over Skype. Why didn't I just get in the car?
She wasn't kidding when she said that I was going to go crazy if Aidan and I didn't find a way to meet soon. What if he had to jump on a plane and go home to Ireland? Then what? And what better time than the present?
Renee and I continued to chat about that, and also about her romance with her husband, who is from Holland. They'd met at work several years prior, here in States, and eventually they ended up living in Germany for a while and then back to America. They have three precious little girls now. It was so interesting to talk about the marriage of culture and the influence of other traditions and language and customs on the girls and how they choose to blend her American roots and his Dutch roots. Fascinating. I told her I hope he decides to teach them Dutch, it's a priceless thing, being able to learn two languages growing up.
By the end of our visit, I had already decided to find a way to drive down to see Aidan. But this wasn't going to be a planned thing.... It was time to devise a way to shock a certain sweet Irishman. And the clock was ticking.
I headed back home, got the kids packed up to go with their dad, and kissed them all goodbye. After they drove off, I walked kind of aimlessly around the house, digesting the realization that what we've been longing for day after day was FINALLY going to happen. This time tomorrow, Aidan and I would be TOGETHER. In the same state, in the same town, in the same house, in the same room! My emotions took over and I couldn't help it. I literally jumped around my house, whooping it up.
I called my mom, who is one of my best friends, and said, "Well, the kids are off to their dad's for the weekend...I'm packing."
"Packing ... to....go...where...??" she asked.
"To North Carolina!"
"You're WHAT?" I heard my dad in the background echoing my mom. "She's going WHERE?"
Now, I'll tell you this -- my mom and I are usually on the same wavelength. She "gets" me. If I have a gut feeling about something (or someone) and feel the urge to do something about it, she's not one to really argue it. She was worried more about my car and almost 200K miles, and the fact that I hadn't had very much sleep and was about to drive 12+ hours all alone. My dad, on the other hand, was a bit on the livid side. He is very traditional, and first off, expects all prospects to ask his daughter out on a proper first date. Secondly, he was worried about the safety of his little girl running off to meet "a complete stranger." Mom and I had been gushing about Aidan for three weeks, my dad on the other hand, had only heard bits and pieces. I was a bit frustrated with him at this point, and my mom told me "You know your dad, he'll get over it." We ended up hanging up so I could pack and get ready.
About twenty minutes later, my dad called and apologized. He told me he was still worried, but he wasn't going to be angry at me and yes, he would take care of my dog and to be careful. I was much relieved because I would've been unsettled about leaving if he was upset with me.
I zipped off to the mall and got a mani/pedi and I couldn't even feel my feet on the floor as I walked. Back at home, I headed to the shower. I swear I was dancing under the water. I could NOT contain my excitement! I felt like I was about to meet my Prince Charming. It was such an overwhelming burst of emotion. As I was getting out, I texted Renee and said, "Thanks for your big vote - I'm going to North Carolina tonight!" She was thrilled for me but couldn't believe I was about to get in the car and drive all that way after being up all day. Adrenaline!!!!! Coffee!!! Love!!!
So the plan was in motion, but how was I going to pull this off? Aidan and I always video chat at night ... I'd be driving in the car .... hmmmm. <<insert evil laugh here>> Time to plan "Operation Meet The Irishman."
All I could think of was that first moment in person ... staring into those gorgeous blue eyes and finally feeling his kiss .... I couldn't wait!
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