TODAY, ladies and gentlemen, marks the third anniversary of my first date with Mr. Jaunty.
You may applaud.
If anyone’s interested, I can tell you the story of how I worshiped Mr. Jaunty from afar—- he was called “Ian” back then— how I almost blew our first date, how we ended up together, why our first kiss was such a let-down, what completely mundane thing he said on our third date that touched my heartstrings, how we shacked up… all that mushy, mushy goodness.
But first, I promised you a hankie giveaway. Can we all agree that three years calls for three handkerchiefs?
Three vintage hankies: peach with SERIOUS crocheted trim, pinky-lavender with white trim (and a few mysterious freckles), and white with an embroidered bouquet of pink… daisies?
The photo is dark because while I took the picture, it started raining and the kerchiefs blew away. As I chased them across the lawn, I decided this was a good day to skip perfectionism.
What will you do with three handkerchiefs? You’ll [attempt to] pick up strangers, naturally! Skip to 4:30 to see it done:
To enter the drawing, leave a comment containing 1) your email address and 2) your best piece of relationship advice before midnight EST on Wednesday the 20th. Random will choose a winner, I’ll announce the results sometime Thursday.
One entry per person, international entries welcome. And please, tell a friend. I have a whole stack of hankies that need homes, and I’d rather not send them ALL to people I know personally. That could get embarrassing fast.
So! Tell me about relationships!
Alright, I expect to hear all those stories about you and the Mr.!
And I really want to win those hankies. With a capital H and that rhymes with…erm…uhh..hmm. Nevermind.
My best relationship advice (and this applies to romances and friendships) is to never associate yourself with someone you have to apologize for. None of that whole, “Love is never having to say you’re sorry” nonsense, but rather, “Love/friendship is never having to say you’re sorry to your parents/coworkers/other friends/etc. about the completely embarrassing/stupid/insensitive/racist/cruel thing that person you brought with you did.” Oh, and if you can find a sweetie who’ll make you homemade cheese, all the better.
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I don’t want any hankies…I just want your relationship story! Sounds intriguing.
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I want to hear the stories, too!
At the moment, I don’t feel I am in a good position to impart any relationship advice of my own, so I will instead pass along some wisdom from Khalil Gibran in The Prophet. A Google search for the text produced this link:
http://www.robinsweb.com/inspiration/prophet.html
Congratulations on your anniversary, and on finding someone to share your adventures with.
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I’m always good at giving advice, but usually it’s not asked for! I don’t think I have a “best” relationship advice. Something I’ve been thinking about is how I want to marry someone partly with a deep desire to serve him. I want him to be someone who touches my heart with his attitude of selflessness and service. Someone who loves through the mundane things, not the high-flying romantic things.
So it’s been three years with Ian! I still remember how I thought you guys were such a cute couple when I first found out. Hasn’t changed!
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I, like many of the ladies on here, believe that I am not terribly good at relationship advice… So I too will give quotes! :-)
“The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.” – Rumi
“But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.” – Khalil Gibran
I am so happy for both you and Ian… I remember well the days you “worshiped Mr. Jaunty from afar”…. ;-) Congratulations you two…
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I think the best relationships work when you both accept and cherish each other for who they are, not who you want them to be. It seems glaringly obvious, but sometimes it’s so obvious it gets lost.
I too am all ears (eyes?) about the things you listed, partially because I nearly blew A. and I’s first date too, and it’s nice to have company in the hilariously awkward lady camp :)
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Six comments, one of whom doesn’t need hankies. Well, I get an F- for community-building, but these hankies are guaranteed to go to an awesome home!
Katie – WORD. With my past boyfriend, I sometimes caught myself saying “I’m sorry about Shortcake, he’s a jerk.” I didn’t have any VALID excuse for the obnoxious things he said publicly, so I had to lump them all into “he’s a jerk.” And yet I stayed with him. Sheesh.
WendyB – You got it, lady!
Angela – Uh oh. You doin’ alright? I’d never read anything from The Prophet, but this is both beautiful and 100% sound advice. I especially liked the bits about lute strings and a “moving sea.” Thank you!
Phoebe – Isn’t it nice to have our advice solicited now and then? =) I love your partial list of qualifications for a good mate— if you’re going to spend your whole life with someone, it’s important to know what you want! I have an “Ideal Man” checklist of traits and virtues from 2002 or 2003, and Ian’s a nearly perfect match for me… PERFECT if you leave off the three Mormon-specific items and ‘tidiness.’ =D
Hannah – Hannah, I think I still have our old Facebook messages from when I first started ‘researching’ Ian, and I remember the conversation in which we speculated about his age. So we were six years off, big deal. ;) Such pretty quotes! I don’t know a thing about Rumi.
Millie – Lady, it IS obvious and it DOES get lost— every three minutes, some days. I’ll tell my stories if you’ll tell yours. Good deal?
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Thanks for the hankies, Jaunty Dame! They are lovely and I only wish I knew what to do with them besides admire them.
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Phoebe – You’re most welcome, Ms. Phoebe! I have no idea what to do with the hankies, honestly… mine are sitting in a desk drawer, waiting for the right idea to come along. Let me know if you think of something.
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