To tell you the truth, we can't really decide if it was May 2 or 3... May 2 was our first date technically, but it was Spring Formal, so we aren't sure if we can count an event that all of our friends attended with us. May 3, we went to a coffee shop "just us"... I should write all these stories down sometime.
But anyway, here's what went down on May 2, 2009. The first-ever Moody Spokane Spring Formal.
It was one of those nights that I'll never forget. My roommates and I had spent weeks preparing. We'd gone dress shopping, accessory shopping, shoe shopping, and planned our makeup and hair. I wore a blue dress that I'd first worn when I was fifteen. After hours of primping, we were ready. The other girls' dates were the guys who lived in the apartment above ours, so there wasn't much awkwardness on their part. On mine though? Oh yes.
After the dinner and interesting entertainment, we drove to a local church for an after-formal dance. Moody can't actually host dances, so some of the students get together every year to dance and hang out after the formal. Students who didn't feel like paying for the formal dress up and come to the dance. Large gatherings aren't my thing, but we went anyway. Carson was truly one of the weirdest dancers there. He tied his tie around his head and started doing what can only be described as kicking and jumping. I can picture it in my head. Something like this. Anyway, I most stood around while all that was going on and talked with my friends.
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| At the formal |
I had never been on a first date like this one. It was an event that our entire school would be attending. Moody "Bridal" Institute... and I knew that rumors would start (I didn't know that they would be more than just rumors so shortly). I knew that Carson liked me, and that I really wasn't that interested. I took extra long getting ready because I didn't know how to make an entrance. When I finally did, I'm certain that my face was beet red. Carson was sweating profusely, in his nervousness. He'd inquired about the color of my dress a few weeks prior, so he handed me a stem of blue Delphiniums, and I noticed that the stripe in his tie matched my dress perfectly. He was quiet, and very happy. Now, I can see that he was really nervous too.
We took pictures outside of our apartment. It was windy, so most of the pictures look more like outtakes. The one above still makes us cringe. You can't tell how far apart we really were in that picture. We're leaning in, but mostly we were just awkward. Making it more uncomfortable for me, I'd safety-pinned ribbons as straps to meet the dress code... and they kept coming unattached.
My roommate Amanda rode with us in the car Carson had borrowed from his roommate. Carson invited her because I was so nervous (though he didn't tell me that at the time). We drove downtown, parked in the Spokane Arena parking lot and walked to the Fox Theater. Google tells me that it's a 0.8 mile walk... which is very far in heels.
When we arrived, we gave our names at the front, and then entered to meet and greet all of our friends. The Moody student body totaled about two hundred at the time, and not all of them came to the formal, so we really knew almost everyone. It was a lovely venue, and we had a great time seeing people we normally saw in sweatshirts and jeans wearing ballgowns. There was time to talk before dinner, so Carson and I chatted a little. He told me a little of his history and how he came to Moody. I remember him saying that his mom had prayed that he would go, and that God finally led him to our school.
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| this actually quite accurately depicts our feelings for one another prior to May 2... but I think we were just posing. |
Dinner was steak, potatoes and salad. As we ate, we listened to the world's worst comedian. He was so bad that he was hilarious, and our table was in the back of the room so we quietly laughed. The comedian finished with a warbling rendition of "Mary Did You Know?" which has been alluded to at Spring Formals in years since. It was memorable.
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| Our dinner. |
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| no tie on his head yet, but the one with his hand up high and the serious face? that's Carson. |
At some point in the night, Carson asked if I would like to get a breath of fresh air. It was hot and stuffy in the building from all the people moving, so we walked around outside for a bit. I don't remember what he said exactly, but for some reason, all of the reasons I'd had in my head for not liking him started to fade away...
Oh boy.
