It was April 3, 2010, when good friends Mick and Gretchen asked me to meet them in New York City at a bar called The Long Room for a night of laughter and merriment and such. Since I wasn't getting out a whole lot at that time, and I hadn't seen them for a few weeks (or whatever it had been), it seemed like a good idea.
Then Mick hit me with the truth. The gathering was for a "cousin" (his words; actually it was a friend with the same last name). It was her 40th birthday party. I nearly backed out of the evening right there - as he told me while I drove on New York Route 6N (along beautiful Lake Mahopac). Yet I decided that, since it was a "Sean-free" weekend, I would go in - take the trip into the city, have a drink - TWO TOPS - and head right back out. That way, all was well.
Oh what to wear? Most of my clothes had been moved out of the house, so I grabbed the shirt you see in the picture above (after all, it had been a warm day in the 'Pac), jeans, and sneakers (not my normal look, but I went with it). By the way, I froze that night, as the temps in Manhattan were decidedly chillier.
You can probably guess where the rest of this is going. I wrote about that night, although rather vaguely, in this post. That was the first time that I mentioned this wonderful person named Carrie. This person whose appearance made me sit up in my chair as she walked into The Long Room that night. The one who completely caught my eye. The one who I who I met for a first date 11 days later. The one who bowled me over with kindness, sweetness, looks, honesty, and sincerity. The one who blew me away because she really seemed to like me.
The one who inspired me to write this, among many other words.
Sometimes words are all that we have. Sometimes it's the best gift I can offer, and I know to her that little things mean a lot. We've seen so much already - road trips, ballgames, hockey games, the Lady Antebellum show (at six in the morning, no less), San Diego, Los Angeles, Maryland and, this weekend, Philadelphia. She's shown me New York in a whole new way. She's become a huge part of my family, and I'd like to think that I'm doing OK with hers as well.
Without listing the many things that I love her (smile, eyes, her ability to catch me off guard and make me laugh out loud...LOL! and so on), let me say that she has inspired me. I believe good things when I'm around her, and the bad moments fade quickly. I'm always amazed by her unfailing belief in me.
She's embraced - and brought out in me - a spirit of adventure. Try new things!
The future holds so much promise, if we can just get a few things squared away (you know, that job thing being first and foremost).
Oh there's so many things - just too many.
To write more would be to keep me from getting to her. It's Friday - Fun Fun Fun Fun - as I write this, and I need to head into Brooklyn to get our weekend started.
It's been a year. I'm looking forward to more.
No comments:
Post a Comment