One year ago + two days, Walker kissed me on a couch and we've been happily dating ever since.
We celebrated with a trip to the pumpkin patch where we first held hands, carving them over a bottle of wine (I went with a classic Jack-O-Lantern design, Walker went intricate with the Phantom of the Opera) and last night's six hour total drive for dinner in Fort Smith, Arkansas at the best restaurant ever, ever, ever. Yum! I could gush forever, it is that good. Exchanging letters on a perfectly crisp autumn night in a park by the Arkansas River and being totally surprised by the best present ever, ever, ever: a bracelet I'd been hardcore coveting from Frieda and Nellie!
It's funny, because I do remember pouring through Seventeen magazine for advice on boys and dating. None of it ever proved helpful. My own, underdeveloped advice...
1. Don't seriously date anyone before the age of 22 so you can be totally and completely in love with yourself beforehand.
2. If it takes you forevvvvvver to pick out what to wear, you probably really, really like him. Give in.
3. Yes, this is Oklahoma. But if he orders several sides of ranch dressing at dinner and could never ever see even the tiniest bit of merit in a movie like Brokeback Mountain, he's definitely not for you.
(This observance is courtesy of Kelly Sheline and her wise conclusion after a date that we were not "ranch dressing people" people).
4. Don't make someone a priority if you're only an option.
5. Major points for originality, humor, listening skills, comfort level and smelling good.
One of my favorite parts about road trips is scanning through a foreign field of radio stations until you land on one of those pitch perfect songs you only get to hear over the radio every couple of years. A few examples from last night:
Rolling Stones, Start Me Up.
John Michael Montgomery, Sold.
The Cars, Shake It Up.
Stealers Wheel, Stuck in the Middle.
Yup, I'm totally in love.
