Gun Shopping and Football Movies

It was exactly three years ago today that AJ and I had our first date. We had been working together for just over a month, and I had a huge crush on him. I was secretly trying to figure out how to spend time with him outside of work, and then one night he called me.

We drove to Utica for dinner and a movie, but we got there early so decided to check out the new Gander Mountain store. That was my first exposure to the wonderful world of hunting! Little did I know then that my not-so-distant future would include trips to the taxidermist, Cabela's credit cards, a freezer full of venison, and recorded episodes of North American Hunter. Life is full of little surprises.

(In fairness, AJ may not have anticipated evenings at the Nutcracker or watching Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Team either. And yes, I really do like that show.)

Anyway, I remember that we looked at guns, but I can't tell you if they were shotguns or rifles, because I didn't learn the difference until many months later. Thankfully AJ avoided the scent section, because I think the bottles of "Mrs. Doe Pee" may have been too much, even for a first date. As it was, I enjoyed every minute in Gander Mountain, because I was so happy to be with him. Isn't it funny how anything can be fun and romantic when you first start dating? Now I make poor AJ drop me off at Kohl's before he goes to Gander Mountain.

Later that evening we went to dinner and saw the movie Friday Night Lights. That was when I first learned that AJ gets choked up at sports movies, and that's when I knew that he had my heart. We got engaged ten months later, and the rest is history.