La Don and I went parking...
Do you remember “parking” as a teen or young adult? I do...fondly.
Recently La Don and I were traveling back home from a retreat at the beach with our church staff. We were taking our time because we would be passing our son’s school on the way and wanted to surprise him by picking him up from school in lieu of riding the bus. To that end we ran out of things to do on the way and ended up at his school an hour and a half early.
A few days at the beach relaxing with good people and reconnecting to each other made us realize once again why we like each other so much. The day coming home had been filled with rich conversation and periods of comfortable silence just holding each other’s hand. We shared things in common like good seafood and antiques shops; her for the furniture and dishes and me for the old books. Many smiles were exchanged and tender touches. Funny as it sounds, we were feeling more like boyfriend and girlfriend than husband and wife. This made the hour and half alone in the car with nothing to do but follow the natural course of the day all the more opportunistic.
Adjacent to my son’s school is a secluded county park. Although it was mid-afternoon, we found what appeared to be a dark and empty corner of the lot shaded thoroughly by large trees, and rolled up to the perfect spot. We cracked the windows for a light breeze, smiled childishly at each other and giddy, reclined our seats. As two people feeling the passion of love and the opportunity, we both looked lovingly into each others’ eyes and proceeded to do what couples do who have been married for 25 years this July – we slept for an hour and a half!
We were both jarred awake by our son, who recognized our car through the trees from the bus line, banging on the window, demanding to know what we were doing and if he had to ride the bus.
Nap-drunk La Don and I struggled up and out of our parking slumber and proceeded on home.
Yeah, as I vaguely recall, parking seems a bit different after 25 years of marriage. However nothing will change the fact that I’m still with my girl.
