Bellbottom Blog

Finding Love

So, there he was. Let’s call him John.

34 years old, single. Almost ready to give up on the idea of finding someone who he will spend the rest of his life with.

Hell, almost ready to give up on dating.

But then, he started talking to someone he worked with. (I know! Never date someone you work with. It can be very awkward if it doesn’t go well.) But they were just talking. After a few conversations, they decided to go to a car show together.

So, that is not really a date. I mean she was bringing her 6 year old daughter with her.

He picked her up at the house she had just bought a year earlier. A charming cape cod on a corner lot.

It was January 27, 1991.  Cold as most northern Indiana winter days are.

The car show went pretty well. They managed to keep the little girl entertained while finding a comfort level with each other that seemed very natural.After a couple of hours, all the cars has been seen. It was time to take them back to their home. On the way out there was an advertisement for an upcoming circus. They bought three tickets.

At the side door, she asked him what he was going to do with the rest of the day. He said that the Super Bowl was coming on in a little while so he would probably tune in.

She said, “Why don’t you watch it here?”

He was a little surprised by the offer but said alright.

The daughter was very shocked by this turn of events. She said,”We don’t watch sports!”  Her mom said today they were. The game was Giants vs. Bills. Whitney Houston sang the National Anthem. Scott Norwood missed a field goal as time ran out.

It was a fun day. Over the next few weeks, they started to spend a lot of time together. Including going to the circus.  Not a day went by without them spending some time together outside of work. And then, just a few short weeks after that car show, they made a decision . He would move into that cape cod.

The date is March 10.

The move wasn’t very hard. He had the usual bachelor collection of unmatched stuff. One interesting element of the move was while the last pieces were being brought in,her mom showed up to visit.  Mom was unaware of the move.  Her displeasure was about to increase, because on March 14……

He proposed.  She accepted.  A few hours later, they had picked out an engagement ring and set a date. June 1st, 1991.

According to the calendar and her mom, this was going very fast, but to them it seemed like such a natural progression.

They weren’t two young kids.  Well, at least, he wasn’t.  She was 7 years younger than him. They had both experienced enough over the course of their lives to have sorted through all the different emotions that come with any relationship. They just knew that this was heading in the right direction.

The wedding would be at the Baptist church.

Here was the next problem.  Oklahoma Baptists don’t have wedding receptions. They have the ceremony and that is it.  But his dream was to have a nice wedding reception with food, drink and music. Invite friends and family.

Once again, the Bride-to-be”s mom had to be talked into it.

One end of the conversation went like this:

“They have a party. ”

“Right after the wedding.”

“How long?”

“From 7 til midnight”

“Yeah, there will be some beer.”

“Tell the preacher we are having a Baptist wedding and a Catholic reception.”

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Let’s leave them right there for now.

Next week we will pick up where we left off.

Peace.