5

A friend of mine recently sent me an email with this as the content, "Hasn't anything happened in your life since Valentines? Update your blog!!!!" I replied that nothing of significance has happened since then and that is why there has been a dry spell on this page.

Until this morning, that is. I just remembered that something of great significance actually has happened. On April 1st - yes, April Fool's Day - I celebrated my 5th Anniversary in the USA. My cousin put it quite deftly, "You fooled April's fool!! Well done! You're still there and doing well.'

But, some commendation really should go to Larry; I landed at Hartsfield-Atlanta Airport on April 1st after a 20-hour flight with the flu. I was only in the country for approximately 20 days until Larry staked his claim on me. By the 23rd of April we went on our first date.

It was an incredible adventure - one that makes a great story. Hopefully I can immortalize it here.

It was a Friday night and I was still living in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Larry was working in Orange Beach, Alabama (10 minutes from Gulf Shores) but was living in Pensacola (45 minutes from Orange Beach). He drove all the way from Pensacola to pick me up and take me to a Carrabba's Italian Grill in Downtown Pensacola for dinner.

We were working at the same hotel at the time and everybody told me he was "loaded" because he had a little Mazda Miata convertible. He didn't put the top down that night because he was respectful of my hair do. We really got a chance to connect in the car. We had the same interests and liked the same bands. Trust me, you can cover a lot of ground in an hour's drive.

Dinner was fabulous and decadent and followed by a show at Seville Quarter called The Dueling Pianos. It is a comedy skit with two pianos and each guy has to outdo the other on his piano. Fabulous! Then he wanted to be a little romantic. . .

So, he drove down into the woods to show me a cove where you can see the Big Dipper and plenty of stars. It was gorgeous. Of course, then we wanted to leave, but the car was stuck in the sand.

Oh boy...

But, to my surprise, Larry was prepared. He took his cellphone and flash light and navigated us out of the woods in the dark because he knew the path so well from biking trails. He kept his cool and apologised quite a bit for making me hike out of the woods in high heels and a little black dress.

Soon after emerging from the woods, me now barefoot, we reached main road and one of Larry's friends who happened to be in the area came and scooped us up and dropped us at Larry's house. Lucky for us, Larry had a second old clunker reserved for high mileage to work. It saved him.

He thought he blew it, but actually he won. Although something unfortunate happened, Larry's attitude saved it. It turned into a great adventure for me. It let me know that no matter what happens, Larry will find a way to get through it and lead the way. I felt comfortable and safe with him. Larry's resourcefulness is what got him the prize - more than the wining and dining.

5 - I've had plenty of time to reflect over all of this. In five years I can show that I have a blossoming marriage and prospects. I finished a novel and I am three-quarters of the way to self-publishing (thanks Lulu.com!). God has tended me like a tree by the river-stream and with my roots firmly planted in the moist soil I have been nourished and now I bear fruit.

5 years?! Yes, 5 wonderful years - and counting!