Promises

What a great Night

Today Shell and I had no kids, a bunch of errands, and a bunch of housework to accomplish. We did good. Though we didn't get as far as we wanted we are happy with what we did accomplish.

This evening we had tickets to see the musical, Wicked.  To get there we had to get cleaned up, get a meal and get downtown in 1 hr and 5 minutes. Than Thao is one of our favourite restaurants and lays between us and the Keller Auditorium. I called Khan, the owner, and asked if he could have a plate of pad thai and house chow mein without mushrooms ready for us if we arrived in twenty minutes. He said it was easy to do and told us to come on over. We arrived and our food had just hit the table and we were immediately seated to eat. It is fantastic to have such a great relationship with one of the best restaurants in town.

If you have never been to Than Thao than you are missing out. They have food for everyone -- it even became a favourite of our vegan kids. It is not simply that the food is delicious, though it is that, nor that the prices are some of the best in Portland, though they are, it is that the restaurant is casually excellent. Servers are friendly and helpful, facilities are kept clean. Service is fast. Drinks are good (they offer a full bar). And they are more than willing to take special requests and make them happen. I know no other restaurant anywhere that I can as wholeheartedly recomend like I recomend Than Thao. So stop in sometime and check it out. Anyway, while not feeling rushed, we were out of the restaurant and on our way in under thrirty minutes.

We made the show and it blew my gaskets. "Wow," is about the best descriptor I can give it. I knew nothing of the story going in. All I knew was it told the story of the Wicked Witch of the West from her point of view. Though it isn't quite accurate, I understand why it was given. I laughed hard and often, I was wowed by the voices, and the staging was great. Sometimes the sound mixing should have been better but that is a minor complaint.

This is the second show we saw in the Broadway Across America series. We saw The Color Purple earlier this year and it also was a wonderful night, but this night was one for the ages. Nights like this happen once every decade or so. I think I'll add it to my gratitude list for the day.

I love you enough to not sleep with you...

A line that Michelle and I occasionally use with one another to remind ourselves that as corny as it sounds, "True love waits..."

And when you have been married before and find the other overwhelmingly attractive is a bitch to live out... hence the reminder... We get it. We want it to work. So we are working to honour each other our God, and our children.

It is not so much honourable as it is realizing that it is in our own enlightened self interest to wait... We're keepin our clothes on, Baby...

The Missing Link

So we are sitting at dinner last night and Michelle says to me, "You're my missing link..."

I guess it is time to get my back waxed....

Divorce and Remarriage

I have spent some time talking about and looking at the issue of divorce and re-marriage... I talked to Bob & David, my pastors. I've talked to Michelle. I've talked to Starla & Brian, and spent some time in the Scriptures. So this is where I'm at right now...

So I met a woman...

    She has rocked my world in so many different ways. I sent her a text that read, “I love the way you love Jesus.” And her response was, “He is my everything.”
    It is hard to describe Michelle. I can't figure out how to put her picture up here (it is evidently in a wrong format) and my verbal description won't do her justice. She is a 36 year old, tall brunette with striking green eyes and a smile that melts me. She has a 17 year old daughter and a 10 year old son. But all those words say so very little... 
    We were talking on the phone the other night and she said something that I think is right. She said, “I think that place that you go to in your head and the place that I go to in my head would be great friends.” She is right, me thinks. We seem to think alike. It is uncanny and cool.
    On top of that, she is a lil rocker, would happily ride a motorcycle and loves roller coasters. What more could I hope for?
   A long time ago when I worked for Progressive as a claims rep, my boss told me that when he interviewed someone he always asked himself if he could see them walking into a body shop and negotiating with the owner. The reason I tell this vignette is that as I did this whole eHarmony thing I knew that I planned on spending some of my future years traipsing across the 2/3 world and I asked myself could I see the person I am getting to know traipsing across the 2/3 world with me? Could I see them partnering with me for the sake of the gospel? Could I see them loving the unlovable and touching the untouchable?
    Michelle would thrive anywhere God put her. She can’t help but love people and she is always going to care for and reach out to the untouchable.  She hasn’t done it but I can see her preaching and teaching. She has more to give than she realizes. To her, she is “just me.” but this “just me,” is rapidly capturing my heart.   
    A friend asked me today if I was scared that I’d get hurt. I told her that as long as we kept praying together and purposely trying to honour the other we can’t go too far wrong. I’m not scared. We are simply taking it one day at a time, one date at a time, and enjoying the journey. There is a lot to like about this trip, and we’re both content to walk together and not try to arrive before our time.  The romance is found on the journey and it is a lot of fun.

Content

    I was talking to a friend and he said, "You seem to be in a good place right now." He is right. Life is good right now...

A Dating Story

So yesterday I had a fourth date... We went to a matinée. It was a horrible movie. I don't suggest you see "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry". It has to be one of Adam Sandler's worst efforts to date. I normally love the guy...

Anyway...ever since I've known this woman she has had some apparent heart issues going on. Yesterday they got bad enough that I cold see the pain in her face and glassy covered eyes as well.

I was scared to leave her alone and she suggested that she just tag along with me as I ran an errand. When I came back out to my Jeep, she was talking to her brother and he too suggested that she go to the hospital. Finally, she agreed. So I took her up Pill Hill. I sat and played solitaire on my phone, watched Sports Center, the NFL Today, and read through Portland Monthly. (BTW, did you know Toad the Wet Sprocket is touring again and coming to Portland August 13 at the Crystal Ball Room?) Finally, I went to check on her. She said that soon they would get around to checking her out.

I went out and grabbed a bite to eat at La Costito on Terwilliger and Barbour (good food and a great beer), and my friend met me so we could talk. After running to the store to get her flowers and a book, I trekked back up the hill to discover that they were going to keep her overnight.

I can honestly say that I have never dated the ER before...