Frank Sinatra – Fly Me to the Moon (B. Howard) ~ Erwin Lazaro 064

Ahhhh ... new love ...
Remember the butterflies.  Remember the anticipation.  Remember the wardrobe changes.  Remember the EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA care in the vanity department!  Remember the first date.

I remember the first date with my wife, almost like it was yesterday. Well, at least, I do right now. Unfortunately, my memory skills are waning.  Last year (2010), during a conversation, my sister-in-law brought up this particular event and I had an out-of-body experience.  "Do you remember where you went for your first date?" Actually, it was more like an out-of-mind experience.  Confident in my answer, I proudly spoke the name.  Unfortunately, I blindsided my wife and named the WRONG place.  A blaring, obnoxious whistle sounded in my head, and I got the look from my wife.  FOUL!  NO, FLAGRANT FOUL!  That's two shots and loss of possession!  I'm STILL reeling from that memory failure.  I have no problems remembering NOW!  Except that the memory is now served with some humble pie.  Obviously, THAT was NOT one of my better moments.  I take great pride in remembering every detail of our growing relationship; especially for remembering details from years past.  During that particular conversation, the moment came for me to proudly raise my glimmering memory trophy and make my wife proud for continuing to remember the small details of "us"!  I held up the wrong trophy ... (sigh) But, I swear that every other time I have no issues!  Really!  =)

Now, where was I?  Oh yeah, my first date with my wife, I remember our first date like it was yesterday. I arrived promptly at Cat's doorstep.  I had suggested dinner, but Cat insisted on desserts only.  We slowly made our way to the local dessert shop.  I remember concentrating on my speed and made sure that I drove no slower, or faster, than the posted speed limits.  Don't ask me why?  For some reason, I felt like prudent driving was going to earn me brownie points!  In fact, later on, Cat told me that she couldn't believe that I was driving like that; to put it nicely.

We shared warm conversations during the drive and walk to the popular local dessert shop.  I still have an image of the small table where we sat.  Our table was right in the middle.  The décor was simple.  The first item that Cat ordered was a cup of hot water and I couldn't believe what she had ordered because I thought I was the only one who ordered hot water.  I ordered a second cup of hot water for myself and our mutual smiles grew even bigger.  The conversation was lopsided and from my blogs, it should be easy to tell who dominated the conversation.  We complement each other very well.  Cat's the type to ask the questions and I'm the type who enjoys answering questions.  She asked me questions about music, work, Sundays, my family ... I turned the same questions back to her.  Three hours later, the shop was closing and the friendly reminder from the staff about the time was our cue to leave the premises.  On the way home, I drove at the posted speed limits.  I do have to admit that the slower I drove I was able to share more time with Cat.  =)

It was a Brilliant evening and not because of the weather.  We had so much in common and one conversation opened doors to new conversations.  The evening just didn't have enough time for us to share with one another.  So, we just planned for ... forever.  I remember walking Cat to her door at home and ... no kiss ... but, it didn't matter.  We already knew.  There was no rush.

I remember driving home ... no, flying home.  I wasn't aware of the speed anymore.  In fact, I'm not sure if my wife knows this part (she'll know soon), I didn't drive straight home.  I drove and drove, recounting the details of my Wonderful evening, and then I eventually got home ... some time.  My mind, my heart, my soul, was elsewhere, as I drove.  The smile that came across my face when Cat's door opened to greet me that evening never dimmed and, going on 13 years now, my smile is growing even wider, if that's possible.  Well, it's a figure of speech, anyway.  "Fly Me to the Moon" is the perfect song to allow me to "play among the stars ..." as I, once again, recount those Wonderful memories of my first date with my wife.

From Wikipedia:
"Fly Me to the Moon" is a popular standard song written by Bart Howard in 1954.  It was titled originally "In Other Words", and was introduced by Felicia Sanders in cabarets.  The song became known popularly as "Fly Me to the Moon" from its first line, and after a few years the publishers changed the title to that officially.