april 2nd

I know I'm a little late to post about April 2nd... but most unfortunately, I was incapacitated on a cruise ship. bummer. More on that later, as I would love to share highlights of my blessed sunny spring break.

For now-- a few things I learned during my time on a boat to tide you over...

- Foreigners with thick accents (of any kind) say my name in a much prettier way than I do. When you face it, my name sounds like "Tare-uh", bleh. But, Filipino, Mexican, Indian, whatever... they say my name with a short "a" and roll the "r". Lovely.

- I found 3 grammatical typos in a Ted Dekker book and 1 in a Nicholas Sparks book. I think this is odd, and kind of annoying.

- Snorkeling (after working through a tiny mental block of fear for many stupid reasons) is really quite magical.

- The most deliciously prepared black beans can be found in Mexico. End of story.

But about April 2nd. We were on the boat on April 2nd and I couldn't help but look at Ben and say "ah, it's April 2nd" he looked at me and just smiled. (We reflected on the fact that this April 2nd was also Good Friday, and let's be real, it wasn't easy to take our place in the sun while remembering the sacrifice of our Lord) Be that as it may... I smile on April 2nd, year after year, because I remember it is the day Ben took me on our first date- in 2002.

Of course, I think back fondly on this day- albeit he took me to a restaurant I kind of hate (Red Lobster... it's the baby seals... ask me later... or, don't) and a movie we both thought was an epic fail (the Rookie). Regardless, it is ingrained in my memory as this dreamy and surreal evening where I, at the ripe old age of 16, got to go on a date with him. I didn't have a driver's license yet but I did have a curfew. Ben, however, picked me up in his '89 Cherokee which was, so cool. He, no doubt, paid for our date with some sort of "income" known also as "allowance". I thought he was cuter and more popular than I was which made me thankful he didn't go to my high school- for fear he would be surprised by my "social group" or lack there of. If it weren't for my nearly 6-foot-tall stature I surely would have blended-in the crowded halls. He was in the National Honors Society and I was celebrating my C- in Algebra 2. In high school I had gone once to the all important homecoming dance with an "ex-boyfriend", once stood up completely by my date and at another dance ditched half way through. True story. Then, Ben took me to homecoming and prom and it was the best. Obviously, many other dates followed (not at Red Lobster) and we began a history together. We've had many ups and we've had downs. We've cried and consoled and we've yelled (well, I've yelled) we've plotted and planned, we've failed and succeeded, we've grown apart and together, and we've loved in spite of and because of each other.

But I am mostly thankful on April 2nd because 8 years later he still chooses me.