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Humor and woodsy wisdom by Laura Lollar

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romance

Oct 05 2020

A Big Beautiful Birthday Surprise

I was beginning to learn that Doug had a great sense of humor and was also good at springing surprises on me when I least expected. My birthday was no exception.

As the date approached, I coyly I let him know I didn’t have any plans for that night. Being the gentleman he was, he said, “Well, of course we’re going to have to celebrate! How about supper out that night?” And I said yes with a smile.

He arrived at the house to pick me up with a long narrow box wrapped in birthday paper and urged me to open it before we went out. What could it be? What could it be? I imagined all kinds of exciting things. I tore open the wrappings and pulled back the tissue paper to find…

…a grill brush!

“You said the wildfire burned your barbecue grill, so I thought I’d get you a brush for when you get a new grill,” he explained. I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t at all what I’d expected. Visions of a vacuum cleaner, skillet and stepladder for Christmas danced through my head.

But my momma taught me to be polite. No. Matter. What. So I recovered from my surprise and thanked him profusely. “It’s perfect,” I said. “Just what I’ll be needing!”

Then out we went, down the steps and towards his truck. He opened the door for me as he always did, but stopped me in mid-step.

“Wait just a minute, let me get that out of your way,” he said, referring to a big propane gas bottle on the floorboard in front of my seat. “Let me put it in the back of the truck — along with the REST of your gift.”

He led me around to the bed of the truck where he opened the cab topper to reveal a HUGE box. And inside the box was — you guessed it — a grill! A big, bright, shiny brand new grill!

I couldn’t contain myself! I was so floored by his generosity that I jumped right up and gave him a big old kiss. I almost knocked him over and think I surprised him as much as he had surprised me! My gosh, I would never have expected that kind of a gift. We’d only been dating a month or so.

I was just glowing as we went in for dinner. It was a wonderful evening. We talked, laughed, held hands — the typical lovely dovey stuff you do when you’re dating. (I wasn’t even tempted to nudge his glass away from the edge of the table or urge him to eat his veggies, like I do with my kids!)

Then he looked deep into my eyes and said, “Laurie (my family calls me Laurie), do you think it’s possible for two people to know it’s right so soon in the relationship?” I sucked in my breath and thought “Wow! Did I just hear what I thought I heard?”

But he was sincere. There was no joking around with that question. “Yes,” I said. “I’ve heard of people who have only known each other a few weeks who felt it was the real thing. And they’ve lasted. I do think it’s possible.” Goosebumps came over me and I thought maybe this IS the real thing!

The moon was out by the time we got back to my place. We sat on the front porch under its light and talked for hours. I decided to share some of my “backstory” so I wouldn’t be wasting my time (or his) should he learn something later that would change his mind. I was nervous as I told him more of my background, health issues and responsibilities, but he pulled my feet up onto his lap, learned forward and said, “Is that all ya got?”

My gosh, this man was a saint. Not that I’m an ax murderer or anything, but we’ve all got baggage. I had decided not to hide anything so if he stuck around, it was because he really loved me, warts and all.

I was getting the sense he really did!

But that wasn’t all. There were more surprises to come!

Written by Cabin Mama · Categorized: Laura's Life · Tagged: romance

Sep 28 2020

How I Met the Man of My Dreams

I wasn’t looking. And despite my sister’s encouragement, I wasn’t eager to meet the guy she kept saying was a very nice man. She’d worked with him for decades and had even showed me his Facebook Page. Nice smile. Good looking guy. But I’d gotten used to being on my own lo’ those many years and frankly didn’t want the drama.

Then she invited me to a Military Appreciation Day concert. Mom, Dad and my sister were planning to go. She added, “Oh and Doug’s coming too.”

Great. Pressure. I said, “Okay, but just don’t make me sit next to him.” I didn’t want a setup. I’d been in the new house just a few years after the wildfire burned my old one down and was happy to have some peace in my life. But just in case, I brought my best friend along too – for protection ya know.

We all met for a bite to eat before the concert and I noticed how nice he was to my Mom. He was great fun to talk with, we had some things in common and I liked the stories he told.

The concert was wonderful. I sat way at the end of the row and he sat way at the other end next to my sister. After it was over, he gave me his business card and I gave him mine.

My sister told me that as they walked out to the car, Doug mentioned he liked our family a lot. “Your Mom and Dad are great. Your sister was nice.” Then he said, “But I REALLY liked your sister Laura.”

The next day, we exchanged a polite, “Nice to meet you” email and then, well, then there was nothing. A month passed, so I went about my business until out of the blue, I got a text. “Would you like to have supper with me sometime?” I said yes and within a minute he extended the invite. “How about this coming Monday?” he asked. The guy didn’t waste much time firming things up.

So we had dinner — once, twice, three times. He came to my house and I went to his. Before we knew it, we were a couple. It was gradual but it was clear there was something there of substance. We got along well. He made me laugh. I shared all my baggage early on, thinking it was best to get it out there so there weren’t any surprises. He did the same. He asked me questions about my likes, dislikes, my life and my driving record. (He’s an engineer, after all.)

There were regular emails with links to romantic songs on YouTube and texts of “sweet nothings” that gave me goosebumps. I loved being pursued and I swear there were days I couldn’t concentrate on work. At. All.

It was wonderful to finally meet someone who seemed to be as enthralled with me as I was with him. Truly, the sun shone brighter and the sky seemed bluer. Life was good!

Then my birthday came around. Wait till you hear what happened next!

Written by Cabin Mama · Categorized: Laura's Life · Tagged: dating, romance

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