The Dave Stage

If our story had chapters, the first one would be called the Dave stage.

Because of this guy here, Dave Matthews.

You see, when we first started dating it was over ten years ago.

And I am still a kid now, so I will let you do the math. We were young.

The puppy love stage when you are young goes on for quite some time.

Long enough to convince M to go to a Dave Matthews concert with me even though he didn't know who Dave was and it certainly wasn't his kind of jam. 

(Back when pictures had actual sun spots and not Instagrammed ones, 

this one is from the Dave concert)

Nowadays? There is really no way I could get him to do that with me.

Seeing Dave Matthews in December made me remember fondly the Dave stage - all the intense butterflies, eager words, sweet gestures, and overly wrought conversations about the future.  

All of which take on a very different form these days. And I am happy to be here, a few stages later - how well we know each other and how much we can communicate in just one wink across a table filled with friends. 

I look at that picture and smile at how much fun we had. And all the fun that was (and is!) in store. 

And -bonus- quite happy I have good girlfriends to go see Dave with instead. 

(Pretty sure M wouldn't look nearly as good making these rock and roll faces.)