Awkward moments on early dates.

1. Drooling:
One morning Satu and I were out shopping on the weekend. As sometimes happens, when she goes into her purse for something, she sometimes pulls out a little treat to offer me. It is always WONDERFUL to get a surprise candy. On this particular day we had pulled up in front of the bookstore and when Satu was done wrestling with her purse, her hand emerged with a piece of chocolate. I'm sure my eyes bugged out with delight. Usually there is a tic tac in her hand, or sometimes a lifesaver, but chocolate!? CHOCOLATE! She asked me if I would like a piece of chocolate and when I opened my mouth to say yes please, I drooled onto my shirt. Just an unrecoverable big drip of greedy drool. We laughed for a good while and she still gave me  the chocolate.

2. Hitting myself in the face with her car:
 On one of our earliest dates, we went to the neighborhood diner for a very late night meal. I can only do one thing at a time and since our relationship was really fresh, it took all of my focus to just deal with being in love. When it was time to get in the car, I opened the passenger side door directly into my forehead. Hard. Satu saw the whole thing, but to spare me embarrassment, she pretended that she didn't know what happened. She nudged me into the seat and took me home to ice the goose egg growing above my eye. It was a year later when she confessed to seeing the whole thing and holding in her laughter.

3. Accidental crying:
I am an accidental crier. You never know when it is going to happen. Romantic comedy? Yes. Quiet dinner in a public place? Yes to both happy crying or sudden melancholia. Sappy songs? Check. Break a lamp? Lots of tears. Pretty much unstoppable.
I am not sure why I was crying that day on Satu's couch. Perhaps I was happy, perhaps I was sad or hungry or cold or the wind was blowing to the north east. I cry. I am an emotional house of cards. My dog Sassy worries about this, and as Satu and I were talking our way through whatever emotional landmine she had stepped on, Sassy (who is almost as big as Satu) climbed up on the couch and sat on her chest. This turned the conversation into instant laughing. The best way to make me stop crying is to make me laugh. What a good dog.

4. Not a good gentleman
Satu was meeting my friends Michael and Julia for the first time and we chose a breezy night and a poorly heated coffee shop. Since it was an early date, Satu did not want to ruin the allure of her pretty outfit with a coat. She spent an hour freezing and shaking and when she finally asked if I had anything warm in my truck, I said yes, but it was too ugly to put on her. It took a lot of convincing for me to offer her the uniform flight jacket that still had the smell of JP8 and Iraq all over it, but when I brought it to her, she snuggled up in it like a little kitten.

We continue to have awkward moments because I am an awkward girl, but they are opportunities to laugh with each other, not times to worry about. Satu knows that I will never be smooth or mysterious, and as good as those qualities can be, I guess she also likes happy and honest and loyal and emotional. Praise the Lord.