Derek & Diane...the early years...Part 2

Did you miss Part 1? Click here or just scroll down...

Ok, so the first date:

I gave Derek my phone number that day by our lockers. Later that night after football practice, he called me. I remember it was a great conversation. I don't remember exactly what we talked about, but I do remember he was very easy to talk to. We decided that we would go out to dinner that Saturday night and see a movie afterwards.

When Saturday finally rolled around, I was incredibly nervous! I remember my Mom and Step-Dad were on a camping trip so only my brother and I were home. I spent most of the day trying to figure out what to wear and how to do my hair. Ha ha!

I also remember he was late picking me up. We lived on an island and the roads meandered along with no rhyme or reason. It was very difficult to navigate addresses. So Derek got sort of lost (even though he denies that part. Ha!) Anyway, so he picked me up in his old red pick-up. I remember the inside of the truck had a wonderful vanilla/coconut scent. It must have been an air freshener of some sort. But to this day, I LOVE that smell! (Another thing I remember about that pick-up? When he stopped to gas it up, he also had to add a quart of oil. Every time!)

So our first stop was the restaurant. It was a pretty nice restaurant called The Harvester. (Side note: we went back to that restaurant on our 3rd wedding anniversary. It was very romantic!) Anyway, I remember I ordered salmon (you can take the girl out of Alaska...) and Derek had the prime rib. The one event that stands out was what happened during dinner...the guy at the table next to us had a heart attack! It was so scary. One minute he was laughing and talking to his wife, the next moment he was clutching his chest writhing on the floor right next to us. He ended up being taken out in an ambulance. I often think about this poor man and wonder what happened to him. Anyway, so with all that going on, Derek and I didn't have a chance to talk much.

So after dinner we went to see "Aliens." Ha ha! Quite the date movie, right? I don't have ANY recollection of the movie. In fact, 5 minutes after the movie, I couldn't tell you what it was about. I was so busy thinking about sitting next to Derek and whether he was going to hold my hand or not (he did.) Instead of watch the movie, I just sat there thinking, here I am sitting next to this huge 6'2" extremely good looking football player and he's holding my hand. What am I doing here? How did I get here? What is the name of this movie again? Ha.

After the movie we went to Dairy Queen. Derek bought me an ice cream cone. Awwww, very sweet. The thing I remember about that was Derek's step-dad. We were in Dairy Queen eating our cones, and we saw his step-dad go through the drive-though with his cat. IN THE CAR. The step-dad spotted us through the window, so he held up the cat and waved his paw at us. While he was driving. Derek was pretty embarrassed. But I thought it was hilarious. :)

Ok, so after ice cream, it was time to go home. We got in the truck, drove for a little ways, and... RAN OUT OF GAS! Ha ha! Can you believe it? Luckily we were near a gas station, so we walked there and called my brother. My brother came and got me and took me home. He also brought Derek a gas can of gas so he could gas up his truck. (Derek was so embarrassed! But my brother and I thought it was pretty funny.) So that was that! Our first date.

After that, Derek and I were pretty much inseparable. We went out almost every weekend. We went to prom together. At our graduation from high school, we walked arm and arm to receive our diplomas. We fell in love. :)

Little did I know what the future held...

To Be Continued...Part 3 Coming Soon..."College, the 3-year separation & Desert Storm"

Derek & Diane...the early years...Part 1

I decided to follow Mary's lead and write a series of posts about my husband and I. Today is about how we met. Derek and I were high school sweethearts. But before I delve into that, I need to explain my situation back then...

I was born and raised in Alaska. From 1st grade through 11th grade, I went to school in the same small school district. My last year - my SENIOR year, my mom decided to move to Washington. This was devastating to me. I mean seriously distressing to my 17-year old self. I'm 39 now, and still this move was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I went from a small high school in a VERY small town where everyone knew each other to a very rich clique-y snobby high school where students drove expensive cars and had drinking and drug problems. It was SUCH a culture shock. To make matters worse, I was (am) an extremely shy person. Back then I was not one to approach strangers and make friends.

So needless to say, my first day at this new high school, so long ago...in September of 1986, was miserable. Hideous. I didn't know where to go or what I was supposed to do. I didn't know where to go to sign up for classes, or where any of these classes were. I remember the morning on that first day, we were supposed to go to the gym for a back-to-school assembly. Once I FOUND the gym, I figured out we were supposed to sit with our class. Only I didn't know who or what my my 'class' was. I figured the seniors would be on one side of the gym or the other. I ended up picking the wrong side and sat with a bunch of freshmen. :( It was humiliating. I nearly cried.

Apparently, at this assembly was where Derek spotted me. The lonely pathetic senior who wandered around with tears in her eyes and didn't know what the heck she was doing. Derek was a football player. Coincidently, the football coach was responsible for assigning lockers. So Derek decided he would pull some strings and weasel into the locker next to me (not that I even knew where my own locker was for a long time...) So suddenly, he showed up. He had the poor sap that originally had that locker next to me moved out, and Derek moved in. :)

So every day between classes at our lockers, Derek found some way to say something to me. Every day. He would say, "You look nice today." Or "Do you need help finding your next class?" Or "Aren't you the girl that moved here from Alaska?" I don't even remember what I would say to back to him. But I do remember thinking how TALL Derek was (he's 6'2") and how handsome he was! (*swoon*) But the thing I'll never forget was how nice he was to me. He was the only person that took the time to offer a kind word to me... the shy new girl from Alaska.

My mom thought I was being dramatic, but it was true. Literally, Derek was the ONLY person in that school that talked to me. He was my only friend there for a long time. I cried myself to sleep almost every single night. That sounds ridiculous and pathetic now. But it really was a very lonely traumatic time.

Finally, around mid-October or so, Derek found the nerve to ask me out on a date. I'll never forget that day. We were at our lockers. And, he was acting all nervous. Finally he said, "Ummm...so...do you have a boyfriend?" And I said, "No." (Duh! No one even TALKS to me! I don't know a SOUL here! How could I have a boyfriend?) And he said, "Ok, so do you wanna catch a burger and a movie this weekend?" "Uh, ok!" I said, "I'd love to!" "Great. I'll pick you up at 6:00." And he walked away.

"Hey!" I called after him. "Don't you want my phone number?! Or want to know where I live?? Which night are we going out??"

To Be Continued...Part 2 Coming Soon... "The First Date"