If you know me, you know I’m crazy for Swayze. Always have been, always will be. Tim and I would joke that my ‘hall pass’ was a dead guy. Tim always knew where he stood next to Swayze, HA!
If you haven’t seen Dirty Dancing, (it’s my favorite movie of all time) I’m not sure we can be friends anymore lol jk If you haven’t seen it, watch it. The story line is good, the acting is great and the music it so fun! For those of you that have seen it, you know the famous watermelon scene. Baby tries to impress Johnny and tells him ‘I carried a watermelon’, when he asks what she is doing there. She then repeats it to herself like, I carried a watermelon?! As she’s mortified that that’s what came out of her mouth! It’s cute.
I’ve been reminiscing about a lot of things lately and every time I think of watermelons, I not only think of Dirty Dancing but also, Tim. I’m sure you’re wondering, what does Tim have to do with watermelons. Well, let me tell you.
On a warm summer night in 2012, I was hosting a ladies night in. I had all of the snacks prepared but I forgot to get a watermelon. Tim came by before his shift at work and brought me a watermelon. This would mark the first day that I told him I loved him. He came in the house and said, ‘I brought the watermelon’. I instantly smiled, kissed him and said, ‘I freaking love you’. Then realizing what words came out of my mouth (we hadn't said this to each other yet) I froze and then walked quickly to the kitchen. I didn’t regret saying it, because I sure as hell felt it. He didn’t say it back at that moment but I was totally OK with that. At least he knew. I said my first, I love you, while carrying a watermelon 😊 Side note: He told me one week later at an A's game, that he loved me too!
Fast forward to a hotter than hades summer morning. I’m hungover, doing laundry, wearing my favorite watermelon leggings. Yes, I was a LuLaRoe girl, and yes I often wore weird and loud leggings but these were one of my favorites. I walk out of the laundry room, arms full of clothes, hair in a messy bun and Tim... down on one knee, asking if I’d marry him. As I stood there in my freaking watermelon leggings! LOL Now, most girls have a dream proposal right? They have this vision of what they’d want their marriage proposal to look like. In all honesty, I never thought that Tim would pop the question because he never wanted to get married. Until he met me. His proposal, on a hot summer day, with my messy hair, arms full of laundry (that were now fallen on to the floor), in my watermelon leggings was perfect to me. We often joked after that about the whole Dirty Dancing and watermelon similarities.
In true fashion, to keep with our watermelon milestones, I got my bridal party all matching watermelon leggings. It was a must.
Yesterday, I pulled out my watermelon leggings. I’ve been missing Tim a lot lately. I mean, I miss him every day but I’ve been REALLY missing him. I went to my dresser and I pulled out my watermelon leggings. I haven’t worn them since Tim passed, it had just been too hard. BUT to my surprise, when I put on my watermelon leggings, they made me smile. They warmed my soul. They gave me comfort. They helped me get through the day. To some, they are just leggings. To others, this all may sound silly. To me, it’s everything.
I have found in the last 14 months that some of the most bizarre things bring me comfort. Things that I wouldn’t think would. I’ve felt so many emotions and it’s really, finally setting in that he will never be coming back. I’m sure you’re thinking, it’s been 14 months and you still are stuck on that? The answer is simple, yes. I think I will forever expect him to walk through the front door but my brain is finally realizing that it’s not happening. So anything I can do to remind me of him, relive some memories, smile at the silliness, I want all of it. I want to keep doing all the things that remind me of him.
If Dirty Dancing didn’t prove that true love stories can begin with, ‘I carried a watermelon’... well, our story proved it too.
PS) I'm taking a girls trip to Kellerman's in Virginia next year for the full Dirty Dancing experience and yes, I will be taking my watermelon leggings!
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