Amber & Andrew: Our First Date

My first date with Amber was on Wednesday, July 6, 2011, a little over a week before our Wild West Junior Camp. She arrived via Mega Bus in downtown Chicago around lunchtime, and I remember getting a big hug from her when we found each other on the crowded street.

This was Amber's first time visiting the Windy City, so I was excited to do my thing and act as amateur tour guide for the day. For our first stop we visited the Art Institute of Chicago. Our favorite piece was A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte. We were really surprised by how large and yet intricate the painting was; we also thought that one of the people in the painting, whose back is turned to the viewer near the left, looked like a carrot on a rock. In one area of the museum, we found a statue of a deity with six arms and riding a peacock; I was a fan, but Amber was not. To this day I tease her that my goal in life is to have six arms and ride around on a peacock.

Next was Millennium Park and especially Buckingham Fountain. It was a good place for us to sit, watch the water, and just talk to each other in person (this was also the first time we had even been together in months, and we really enjoyed having the time face-to-face to build upon the friendship that had begun to grow already).

I knew the date was going well when we stopped at Panda Express for a meal and Amber voluntarily ate some carrots - something she normally would not do but was willing to try in the name of making a good impression. I texted her best friend Alex about this later that evening, and Alex confirmed that getting Amber to eat carrots on the date was indeed an impressive feat. The carrots incident seems minor but it demonstrates the true fact about Amber that she is always willing to try different or hard things with me. I am flattered on a regular basis by this show of trust and affection.

The evening ended with a Broadway show: Beauty and the Beast. On the way back to the parking garage, we enjoyed the beautiful summer night and the lights of the city; there was even a news program being recorded nearby at one point. Amber decided she liked the city; I decided I liked taking Amber on dates. It set a marvelous tone for the many many dates we have had ever since! Yay!

I last left off with Andrew and I parting ways at the end of the camp season in 2010. We did see each other that Thanksgiving and had a nice time catching up, and that fall we occasionally chatted on facebook and had one conversation on the phone. However, it wasn't until February of 2011 that we started talking on a regular basis, after I received a phone call from him that I will never forget-- the day Andrew told me he had had a crush on me and was interested in getting to know me better. So we spent the rest of that winter and spring doing just that: getting to know one another and becoming closer friends. It was fantastic :) We learned SO MUCH about each other, and the more we learned, the clearer it became that we could have something really incredible between us. But we both wanted to take our relationship in stride, with great consideration and a lot of prayer, because we were very happy with where things seemed to be headed and we didn't want to enter into a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship before we knew for certain that God was giving us the go-ahead.

Andrew always reminded me we were "letting God write our love story." As the author of romance and the one who knows what lies ahead for us, God is the only one we could fully rely on to guide us in the best direction. Andrew helped me so much to grow in patience and peacefulness just by, together with me, handing our futures over to our Maker. It made everything that would have otherwise been so difficult (being hundreds of miles apart, not knowing where either of us were going to be in the upcoming year, dealing with wounds from the past, etc.) instead feel so right and calming; I just knew that we were exactly where we should be in the process of whatever God's plan was for us. Andrew always made me feel so cared for. He always remained open to me and willing to talk about anything and everything that either of us wanted or needed to discuss together. I remember I liked to think of this time with Andrew as a non-hurried, peaceful summer afternoon walk down a long and winding path through a beautiful park. Everything was right. It didn't matter where we were going. There was no hurry. I was happy. And Andrew, a boy that I loved to talk to and laugh with and share with, was by my side. It was perfect. :) I will always look back on the beginning of our story with much thankfulness in my heart.

So! Eventually it was summer and time for camp again! And I had been planning on being on Andrew's junior camp staff again. So we made plans for the day that we were going to get to hang out together in person again, at last. It was very exciting! We decided that I was going to go out to Illinois to stay with the Carrs and help them get ready for camp the Wednesday prior to junior camp week. And as a seasoned Mega Bus traveler (Mega Bus rocks), I needed a ride from the bus stop in Chicago to Andrew's home in Afolkey. So Andrew and I made arrangements to meet in Chicago. And we decided to make a Chicago Adventure First Date out of it! And Andrew was wonderful. He made all these spectacular plans for us, based on our common interests and things I told him I would like to see while he educated me on what the Windy City has to offer.

When I arrived, I called Andrew and he found me there by the bus. I remember seeing him coming toward me through the thinning crowds of people on the sidewalk. I was too happy and excited to let my nerves get the best of me. He greeted me with a big smile and a hug. We first took my luggage to his car in a parking garage. Then we headed over to the Art Institute- one Wednesday a month is free admission, and it just happened to be that day- woot! We had so much fun being together and looking at all the art exhibits, some beautiful and interesting and others not quite our style :) But all fun nonetheless. When we were finished there, we walked to Millennium Park and saw the Buckingham Fountain, the largest fountain in the country! It was so pretty and exciting! After walking around the fountain for a little while and taking pictures, we sat at a nearby bench to rest.

When it was time to get dinner, we walked through more of Millennium Park and searched for a place to eat. We ended up choosing Panda Express, which was great because I had never had Panda Express before and now it is one of my very favorite restaurants! I ordered a bowl of fried rice and orange chicken. It was delicious but I didn't have much of an appetite, and had to confess to Andrew that when I'm with a boy that I like, my stomach just doesn't feel like eating because I'm too giddy/nervous/distracted! It was funny but I felt bad that I couldn't finish the dinner he bought for me. He understood and I think he was flattered, but was concerned that I would never be able to eat around him. I laughed and assured him it was something that I would get used to pretty quickly and it would no longer be a problem :)

From there we went to see Beauty and the Beast on Broadway!!!! It was my first time seeing a Broadway show, something I had been wanting to do for SO long, and Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite stories. It was the most perfect thing :) The show was awesome, but what I really enjoyed most about it was sitting next to Andrew and thinking about how handsome he looked and how amazing of a day we were having together.

When the show was over, it was time to hit the road. Andrew drove us to his house in Afolkey, three hours away, and when we got there the house was dark and everyone else was asleep. He showed me to the room I was going to be sleeping in, thanked me for coming out early to spend time with him, gave me a goodnight-hug, and I went to bed with a big smile and a happy heart. I had just spent an entire, incredible day in an amazing place with Andrew David Carr. Nothing in the world could have been better than that :)