D-Day Minus 135 – making connections

I headed up to Virginia a few weeks after that first dinner. My parents live there and the boys went up to visit them for a few weeks and take sailing lessons. I went up to visit and bring them home. Brad stayed with the dogs and finished up some of the house jobs that we had started. We wanted to surprise the boys by completely renovating their bedrooms, which turned out to be a bigger task than we anticipated. In fact we spent all of our time alone working on the rooms instead of doing something fun or romantic. We should have made time for us.

While up in Virginia, my parents, the boys and I drove to DC to see the sights. In the middle of this sightseeing trip I received a text from an unknown number. It was from Susan. Brad had given her my number and she wanted to say hello. This began my friendship with her. We became texting buddies – usually texting each other 3-5 times per day.

I’m a quiet person, I’m really quite shy and private. And I had just gotten a phone with a QWERTY keyboard, so texting was pretty new to me. Susan’s initial texts were a bit surprising and uncomfortable. I didn’t really know what to say. But I learned that texting meant I didn’t have to say much at all. Short, simple comments are all that are needed. I found it fun and easy and very light.

We learned about each other bit by bit. Really we didn’t have much in common; she considers herself a girly-girl who loves pink, whereas I am the exact opposite. Pink is my least favorite color and I never had much patience with girly-girl types. I work out of the house, and she is a stay-at-home mom. I love to run whereas she hates exercise. I read and watched the news daily, but she hates the news because it is too sad, scary and ugly. But we were both hockey moms and wives, and our husbands and our sons were friends. So we chatted about them. Looking back, I now realize I was a really good source of information.

While I was gone Brad had a hockey game. Mitch was playing too, and Susan came to watch and cheer them on. During the game some words were exchanged between the two benches. Apparently Brad was insulted and let his temper flare as he stormed off the ice. He headed into the locker room to change and go home. Susan followed him to see what had happened. He was furious and she managed to calm him. While they talked he was ripping his uniform off and stuffing it into his bag, not even thinking about the fact that he was stripping in front of her until the last minute. This apparently was an awkward but intriguing moment for them. It was the moment that their initial connection was made. The incident eased the tension that Brad felt from the game and he ended up going out with everyone for drinks.