I was all ready to go. I admit I was nervous. It was only our second date. The racquetball court was our destination. I had no idea what to expect since I’d neither seen nor played racquetball. Willing to try something new I anticipated a fun experience.
Bill arrived on time, exchanged pleasantries with my parents and we left. We checked in at the registration desk, signed the injury release form and grabbed the racquets. As we were walking to the courts I heard, “Ma’am”. I turned to see if she meant me. She said flatly, “Only white soled shoes are allowed on the court.” I looked down and realized I had on black soled shoes.
Ugh! Who knew?
I looked at Bill as if to say “why didn’t you tell me?” and he looked at me as if to say “didn’t you know that already?” There was no time for blaming if we were going to salvage our one hour reservation. I just needed the correct shoes.
The ride back to my house was a bit awkward as we tried to work through this misunderstanding. I ran into the house and quickly changed my shoes. Finally we arrived back at the court ready to try it again. With only 15 minutes remaining we tried to make the most of it. In hindsight 15 minutes was more than enough.
Unaccustomed to aggressive sporting activities I quickly realized I need to get tough. However, I didn’t know how to separate competitive ambition from personal anger.
In just 60 short minutes my emotions had run amuck; from excited anticipation descending to embarrassment and finally ending in anger. Needless to say things didn’t turn out the way we planned but thankfully we can laugh about it now. Let’s just say that racquetball isn’t our sport of choice.
Sometimes dates provide growing opportunities and funny memories. The key is not taking yourself too seriously. We all make mistakes or wrong assumptions but with patience and good communication we can use it to strengthen our relationship.
Do you have a dating faux pas? Share it with us. Be sure to include any hints or tips for success.
More embarrassing for my husband….He had a fabulous date planned for our 10th anniversary this past summer. The sitter is secured and we are finally on our way to some much needed time together. We just get on the freeway and…(cough, choke, sputter) he runs the vehicle out of gas. We talked about the good time we had just the other day. Imperfect events can indeed create the best memories if we respond rather than react.