This Christmas has been really one of the best, I think. I feel like I might say that every year, but I really mean it this year... Everything that has happened has just been really wonderful and meaningful. Very happy and significant.
I really feel so blessed this Christmas by knowing Dan. We've been dating for almost 5 months and the time has flown by. This relationship has far surpassed any of my past experiences. It just blows my mind--it really feels like I've known Dan for a really long time, and yet I was only introduced to him this past July. Even just the topics we've talked about have surpassed any previous conversations either of us have covered before. We definitely agree that we both fit into each other's short, medium and long-term/lifetime plans. Now that I've met him, I can't imagine my life without Dan in it.
Having met and fallen in love with Dan I feel like I have used up all the luck that I was ever to acquire for the rest of my life. Any "luck" that was going to cause me to win door prizes, raffles, BINGO games and the lottery have all been dumped into one "pot" and cashed in to bring Dan into my life. Absolutely no complaints here. :-)
Did I ever post what Dan got me for my birthday? *looks through archives* No? Oh, my gosh!
Okay.
So, at the beginning of September I went up to Minneapolis to visit Rachel V. and we went to the Renaissance Festival. While there Rachel and I found this awesome costume/haberdashery shop. Rachel found this awesome green tricorn hat and I found this brilliant top hat with a teal hatband and peacock feathers. We both looked AMAZING in those hats and on a whim I sent a picture to Dan, who agreed that it looked really good on me. Rachel was able to get her hat, but since I had just needed to purchase 2 new tires for my car, I knew it wouldn't be a smart buy.
Almost 4 weeks later, I am at Dan's parents house and he has my birthday gift and can hardly sit still in anticipation of me opening it. It was this beautiful round box and I jokingly commented that it was a hat box! I opened it and stared in disbelief.... There was The Hat. The hat that I tried on at the Fair and could not afford. This hat! I asked Dan how in the WOLRD he found this hat and he said he Facebook-messaged Rachel V. who in turn put him in contact with the owner of the shop.
But it gets better. (I think so, at least.) Dan said when he called the owner of the shop, and described the hat he wanted to purchase, the owner knew exactly which one he was talking about. Unfortunately, they has already SOLD the one I had tried on. BUT they offered to MAKE ANOTHER ONE just for him! So, not only did I get this AWESOME, AWESOME "Mad Hatter" top hat, that somehow looks FABULOUS on me, but Dan had it CUSTOM MADE.
Needless to say, I wore that hat the rest of the night, and still wear it as often as possible. I love it! (I wore it to school on Halloween and one of my kindergarteners came up to me a said "Ms. S. come here and give me a hug! You look BEAUTIFUL in that hat!")
So, with Christmas coming about Dan and I were talking, and we both commented on how we were trying to "find something" to top The Hat. (No pun intended.) Even though we both understood that we didn't need to try and get something to surpass the awesomeness of The Hat, but we both felt that we had to... I don't know how to describe it. We both were like "this was such an awesome gift! How are we ever going to be able to top that?"
Well, Dan certainly did...
This year for Christmas, he bought me a piano. A 76 key, electric CASIO piano. It has 570 different sounds, it has MIDI recording capabilities, 180 rhythms, reverb and chorus digital effects. I can also plug in a microphone or my iPod and it has multiple recording capabilities.
I unwrapped half of the box and then swore -- saying something along the lines of "Are you kidding me?!" and Dan just smiled and said, "Merry Christmas, it's your's." I stood there in absolute shock for a couple more seconds as Dan proceeded to explain all the super-awesome-nifty things the keyboard did. And then I kissed him. A couple times in a row. To the point where I had to tell him to shut up and properly kiss me back because HE GOT ME A FREAKING-PIANO FOR CHRISTMAS!
Carol (Dan's mom.) told me that he was playing the keyboard at BestBuy while they were out shopping and commented on how it had a really good sound and excellent overall music capabilities. (He should know, he has perfect pitch and 2 different keyboards at home that he uses to compose music.) and said that "He just had to get it for me." Then Dan added that he "Just wanted to get me something that would help me with my music teaching and something that I could play and enjoy and make music as much as I wanted."
Then I just proceeded to stammer and flail around and kiss Dan as I tried to process the fact that my super-amazing boyfriend just gave me a piano!!!!!
But, really the awesomeness doesn't end there. Prior to the piano, I also opened a very touching, meaningful gift... Dan drew me a super awesome picture of a cartoon representations of us. A giant lion next to a red-headed pirate on a white background, with the promise to draw and add to the picture as the years went on and we continued to pass significant milestones. Dan is a great artist and I have never experienced such a personal and meaningful gift. It's matted and framed and everything. I love it and can't wait to hang it up in my house.
For Christmas I got Dan a picture frame that I covered in quotes about being in love and being with people who are important and being happy and fulfilling life-dreams. I also got him a Redwall Cookbook by Brian Jacques (Redwall is Dan's favorite book series.) and a coffee mug of Henry the VIII and his Wives---who disappear when you pour in hot water. I got the mug as a joke, because I know Dan would enjoy it and he was asking for the TV series The Tudors for Christmas and that is all about Henry the VIIIth.
I feel so lucky and blessed to have Dan in my life. He spoils me. Spoils me. I know the gifts he gave to me were made and selected with great care and affection, as were mine. We also both knew that there was no need to buy each other gifts... But we still wanted to... I feel so spoiled. I am so in love!
I still feel like Dan is the best Christmas present I could have received this year.
Every night, I thank God for my wonderful Family, and my fantastic Boyfriend. I also pray for God's blessing and guidance in all of our lives.
Merry Christmas everyone!
