First Date

I am sitting in one of my favorite little Italian restaurants in Chicago when I notice them walk in.  

She has long blonde hair, curled in beach waves, frayed jean shorts, flip flops and a white tank.   He has a Cubs hat on, plaid long sleeve shirt and army green cargo shorts.   They are in their 20's, actually mid 20's, I would say.    

They must be on a date.    

Awww, he just pulled out her chair for her.   

Okay, they are definitely on a date.  

No phones .. might be a first date actually.

They are LOCKED IN. 

Both leaning towards the centre of the table talking.   Laughing.   She is constantly running her fingers through her hair.   Her foot is tapping the ground.   He seriously looks like he's going to jump over the table and I bet they have absolutely no idea how ridiculously obvious their body language is.  He gets up and walks around the table to her.   He has his hand on the back of her neck and slowly leans down to kiss her.

Every other person in the restaurant is now looking the other way.   

Aww, come on ... really????   

Dude, lesson #1.   

Wait.  Until.  You.  Leave.  The.  Restaurant. 

They are locked in.   

Their own world.

Young Love.
A First Date.

Oh, if I only knew at that age what I know now.  I wonder how many pages I would go back and rewrite and what I would keep the same.   Completely in love with the idea of being in love, driven solely by my heart and emotions, with a permanent struggle to control my mind or apply one ounce of intelligence or logic.  I was fearless about starting over with a sheer determination that my soulmate was around the corner. In my mind, it was all a matter of time before he would miraculously appear, like a scene in the movie Serendipity was about to unfold, with some fortunate accident of being in the same place at the same time and it all fell into place.  I believed in destiny to such an extreme that I left a wake of destruction and broken hearts, including many times my own, in this quest for my utopian fairytale, without ever considering there could be some effort involved in making things work or bumps in the road.   

As I've said before, it's a good time up here in my mind.  I actually think it's quite remarkable progress to finally start making sense of some of my lessons.

I so clearly remember how giddy that first date feels, when the chemistry exceeds any maturity or wisdom of the grind to survive the years ahead.  The electricity and buzzing energy all searching for release, geared up for the adventure and attraction to someone new.  Adrenaline cranked as selective bits and pieces of information are unraveled in conversation while the rest of the world fades to black for that one moment in time.

I smiled tonight watching this couple suffer through one drink, trying to starve off their infatuation. 

And I thought of all they have to learn ahead.

Tomorrow will be an endless, painful waiting game for the next form of contact and the rush from the notification sound of a new message.   The dance of being too available or not available enough in today's dating world of instant messaging and unrealistic expectations.  Mistakes of saying the wrong thing at the right time or the right thing at the wrong time.  And slowly starting to shed insecurities, test the waters, and ride out the emotional instability of a new beginning.

Soon, if they make it, they will then fall into the routines of day to day existence.   

I wonder if they will have the depth to enjoy simple pleasures of morning coffee and Saturday dinners or if they will struggle to make ends meet.   I wonder if their friendship will be strong enough to sustain a lifetime of twists and turns or if the romance dries up and they are left with an empty shell.   Will they be able to avoid the grenades strewn across their path or fall to modern day statistics by one unexpected curve ball? Does the distance between them increase as the TV gets turned on and they get lost scrolling through phones and tablets or will they still hold hands at 90 and still remember how their story started?

They walk past me and out the door.

Into the unknown of their future.

And tomorrow, their instant message game will begin.

But tonight, their presence has left me with reflection on my own beginnings and allowed me to take a moment of gratitude to what was, what wasn't and where I am today along this truly unpredictable ride of life.