Sometimes dates can sneak up on you and smack you on the behind. This week I had two red-letter days and both of them hit me at the last possible moment; ironically, they each represent similar scenarios. Well, sort of. Let me explain.

On Wednesday I had chatted it up with a ministry friend who was taking his wife out for their anniversary that evening. (No, don’t get ahead of me…it’s not what you think…well, sort of) I hung up from that conversation happy as you please and not a clue in my head. A bit later another friend called me up to tell me he had tickets to a Derek Webb concert on the other side of Atlanta for that very night. I asked him to give me thirty minutes to see if I could clear my calendar, check with Sandy, etc. (and not in that order, either) Still, no clue. I’m obviously hitting the snooze button on my mental alarms that were relentlessly going off trying to get me to remember. Think, Scott. This is vital to your relationship. It’s why you have a relationship.

*snooze*

My friend calls back to tell me that the concert, it turns out, is not in an accessible location for wheelchairs, so, no dice. Bummer. Oh, well, I didn’t think it would work out for us at the last minute anyhow. Welp, thanks for the thought, and all that. Not a clue. The mice in my head are taking a siesta ’cause it still hasn’t hit me…but wait…wasn’t there something?…hmmm…now, what is it that is trying to come up for air in my noggin?…I return to the work on my desk and rifle through a couple letters when—finally—a light bulb goes on over my head. I quickly reach for my cell phone and dial the all-too-familiar number.

“Hey, Babe.”

“Hi. What’s up?”

“Do you know what happened twenty-four years ago today?” I put it suavely as if it had been my plan all along.

Sandy brightened at once. “I was hoping you’d remember!” Continue reading »