Taboo Topics on a First Date

[This post was created on 1/17, nearly immediately after the date referenced in the post. Upon rereading it on 3/13, I thought it harmless to actually post. Enjoy.]

This weekend was one of the most unexpected weekends I can remember. The whole thing was surreal. There's a ton of back matter to this story which I've probably already told you anyway. So I'll just try to stick to the facts.

Briefly, a co-worker, and a brave soul indeed, set me up with her brother on a blind date. She also invited me over for dinner with her and her husband and her brother before we had even met. It could have all been potentially very awkward, but as it turns out, it wasn't so much. Pat and I met for coffee downtown Saturday morning and almost instantly fell into a comfortable conversational rhythm. It wasn't long before we were telling our way through life stories and funny memories and laughing and having a great time. Coffee went by, then lunch, then dinner. We just really enjoyed each others' company.

After dinner with the sister and husband, and after a healthy does of men versus women in the game Password, it was just Pat and I talking again. And for whatever reason, we launched into a super serious conversation about beliefs, values, the future, our ex's...all of which, I'm quite sure qualify as pretty strictly taboo topics when it comes to first dates. Not knowing where the other stood as far as religion and spirituality, we talked at great length about that. I can't say, prior to this weekend, that I've ever really presented the Gospel on a first date. This was not ordinary first date.

After a few hours of talking, we were both exhausted and went our separate ways with plans to get together the next day. Although the mood was much lighter and much less serious than the night before, we still managed to stumble into taboo territory including more Gospel talk (including me fumbling through explaining the sermon I had heard that morning), family talk (as in, "do you want kids?"), and more ex-talk.

The idea that dating gets easier as we get older is such a myth. Dating is hard to navigate, exhausting, and frankly, there's more at stake the older we get.