Dr. Wile E. Coyote and I lived nine hours apart when we started dating. Keep in mind, that I had one semester of school left. I was student teaching. We recognized the importance of dates, but how could we go on an actual date when we were so far away? So, Dr. Coyote planned out this Skype date date. It was kind of lame, when I think about it now, but it was really sweet, because we were trying so hard. We had already decided that we were in this for the long haul (and I had…hoped when he told me that he wanted to pursue me that I was going to marry him someday). We did think we were going to get married. Or did we know? Either way, the Lord made it possible. And he was central to our relationship. We could not have a conversation without talking about God, the Bible, or something that the Lord had been teaching us lately. Anyway. Our date. We had agreed that we would have a decent background, we’d dress up, and drink from fancy glasses (we always had a cup of water nearby when we Skyped, anyway). I remember that I wore a dress (even though he could only see me from the waist up) and faced the computer toward the wall, with enough room between me and the “desk” I was using (aka, two boxes stacked on top of each other). I had just moved in to my new apartment in Sioux Falls, SD. We were still nine hours apart, ‘cuz you could take the interstate to Sioux Falls, whereas you had to take slower highways and country roads to get to Cottonwood. Dr. Wile E. Coyote wore a light green or blue polo. He also had set up a curtain behind him, and on the curtain, he had taped my most recent letter, a green music note he’d cut out, and a purple heart. And we did make our conversation more special that evening (although I couldn’t remember what we talked about at all). Can I remember things or what? (But oh yeah…it was, like, a year ago.)
And then we decided to meet up in person—I was having a neurologist appointment at the Mayo Clinic at the end of the month. It just so turned out that Rochester, MN, was close to the halfway point between our homes. So Doug stayed in La Crosse the night before, and my mom and I drove up morning of. I was so excited. It was two days of appointments, and my mom paid for Dr. Wile E. Coyote to have his own separate hotel room (‘cuz otherwise he would have booked a room in a different hotel, and besides, my mother was getting Farm Bureau discounts). The anticipation was crazy! And Dr. Coyote totally beat us there. We found out where he was (because while he was lost at the Mayo, we had been there enough to know exactly where he was) and headed that way. I was walking on my mom’s arm, because I like having someone who I can hold onto as I walk so I don’t fall or something. Anyway, Dr. Coyote had no clue which direction we were coming from (as he parked in a different parking ramp than us), so I saw him first. He was looking around. And when he spotted me? Goodness. My mom dumped me off her arm and told Doug, “Here. You walk with her,” and so he did. I taught him how to “walk with me.” Dr. Coyote told me later that he felt like a prince. (Smiley face.) Because we were walking together, we could talk easier. I don’t even remember what we talked about. Both of us really had been worried that we would have nothing to talk about, but we’d realized that sometimes just being together was enough—no talking needed! Dr. Coyote came with to most of my appointments—there were a few neither came with, but they got along very well, my mother and Dr. Wile E. Coyote.
That night, we went on a date. Dr. Coyote had looked up a good restaurant in Rochester, Minnesota, with live music and a romantic atmosphere. He brought me there. It was so sweet! Our first date. There was conversation, live music, supper, and of course, looking into each other’s eyes. We came back to the hotel room and watched “The Amazing Spiderman,” because we had made a list of things we wanted to do together, and that was on our list. J We cuddled. Anyhoo, the next morning, we read the Word together and discussed it. And then it was time for day two of appointments. (I think I only had like, two this day.) We showed Doug where we’d go when we’d go to the Mayo Clinic (there is a whole subway level beneath the roads and sidewalks, connected to the Clinic). And then, Dr. Wile E. Coyote had to leave. (Sad face.) But first, we went to a Carribou Coffee—we got coffee, mom went to her own little corner and ignored us like she is so good at doing when we’re having a “moment,” and Dr. Coyote and I drank coffee and looked into each other’s eyes. We did that a lot. When we brought him to his car after, our first kiss was behind a light pole that was kind of behind the minivan. (Mom didn’t see us, but she knew. Moms do that kind of thing.) She told me on the way home that she knew that Dr. Coyote would marry me one day. I don’t know how, but moms just sort of know. It’s kind of weird.
We tried to get together in person close to once a month. We met in La Crosse one weekend, which is his college town, so he showed me his favorite spots. He stayed at the apartment with some of his friends, and I stayed at the house of some of their girlfriends. We went on a Saturday-Sunday so he could bring me to the church he loved so much while he was in college. And Fayze’s. AKA the best place to get breakfast in town. 😉
He came to Thanksgiving at my house. My mother invited BOTH SIDES of the family so that they could meet him. J My favorite moments of that weekend was slow dancing in a bedroom and then laying on the floor, holding hands, praying. It was really great. He hung out by himself with some of my family, and he remembered everyone’s names! If he would have been tested on that, he would have gotten an “A”! Christina had told me months earlier, that if I was bringing my boyfriend for Thanksgiving, I had to bring one for everybody. (Lol.) I remember one night when I was doing homework that Doug spent a few hours with my dad, helping him out with a project and just talking. Neither would relay what they talked about, but both enjoyed it. (Hmmm…?) My birthday was ON Thanksgiving that year. I don’t know about your family, but in my family, when everyone is together, we all celebrate birthdays. Birthdays are kind of a big deal. Dr. Wile E. Coyote got me a birthday present, too, and he gave me my Christmas present, because we weren’t positive when we’d get together next. One of the items, he had buried in another item—it was a ring. I knew that it was coming, because we had talked about it. Dr. Coyote had found this female ring once and tried to return it. When nobody came looking for it, he kept it. It has a purple heart on it and a gold band. He had it resized and cleaned for me. After I got it, I had to tell my family (all the extended family was like, “What!?”) that it was NOT an engagement ring. 😉
That trip was really great. Every time Dr. Coyote and I got together, we grew more and more close. We’d been talking about getting married from the start, as I said, but many lies were broken down that weekend. I don’t even remember what they were, I just knew that they were there. We also had to be more careful when we were kissing, honestly. It was getting harder! I think that the person Dr. Coyote didn’t trust the most was himself, even though all the rest of us trusted him. I think it was after this trip when Dr. Coyote first told me that he loved me. I didn’t say anything, because I wanted him to say it first. But I think I’d let myself love him from that first Rochester trip. And Doug, who’s reading this blogpost and finding this out for the first time…..I think you loved me a lot longer, too. 😉
After I spent Christmas with my mom’s side of the family, I headed up to Peshtigo, Wisconsin to spend until a few days after New Year’s with Dr. Wile E. Coyote and his family. Before Christmas, I had officially GRADUATED! With a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree, an instrumental music ed major. Anyway, I got to meet his parents and sister, to see the “sights” of Peshtigo, go to church with him, and meet his friends. One of his (now our) friends actually had her baby while I was there! I had seen her the day before in church, and she’d looked great. We went to go visit her in the hospital and see her new little baby and everything! Then the next day was New Year’s Eve. I bet you can guess what happened on that day, because I’m going to wait to tell you until Monday! 🙂
Have a great weekend!
Anna
Anna E. Meyer 