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Dating again? Pass! I’ve already told John if he goes first (and he’s assured me he will, because he doesn’t want to date again, ever), then I will remain single until I cross over to the afterlife. It’s just too hard. But what about approving who your friend or family member is dating? Oh, goodness! That’s even harder.
John’s mother passed away several years ago, with her best friend and her husband by her side at various times. I’m sure I’ll get this story wrong, since I wasn’t part of the family at the time. Yes, the best thing would be to have John review my article, make the changes, and have him review it again. But deadlines talk and people walk, so I’m going to wing it.
Sue Lynn’s best friend Ottie Mercer lived just next door in Pineville. Miss Ottie would bring over her coffee pot at the appointed time, and the two best friends would sip and talk and sip some more, until the coffee was gone. The Mercers moved to Shreveport, but the ladies remained fast friends. Then Sue Lynn and Billy Franklin moved to Grand Cane and things got, well, grander. Isn’t everything in Grand Cane grander? (Cue my plug for small towns and my adopted one in particular.)
Sue Lynn became sick and eventually ended up in the hospital. Before she came home to Grand Cane to live out her remaining days, she asked Billy to marry Ottie after she was gone. Of course marriage was the farthest thing from his mind, but his wife was pretty darn smart. I wish I’d known her! John and Cole did their best to keep their father company after Sue Lynn passed, but they had their own families and jobs to manage. So they asked Ottie to please stop by and check on their father. And the rest is history. As my father-in-law told me early on in our relationship, “God blessed me with not one but two amazing women to love and be loved by. His blessings overflow.” Amen.
Thank goodness the family and friends approved of the union—that would have been such a mess if they hadn’t. Again, I wasn’t there—when I joined the family, Billy and Miss O had been married for over ten years. But now John and I have been asked to approve of our adopted sister-in-law’s dating choices. Have mercy!
My dating history is only rivaled by the Titanic, with the lone exception of John. Nobody wants me approving or disapproving of their life choices. And that’s what I tell my children—you choose who you want to love, and I’ll fall in love with her too. (Having only boys, my choice of pronouns was relatively simple.)
But Charli married the love of her life…or so she thought. Thirteen years and two kids later she discovered she’d been traded in for a younger, flatter model. Her entire world shattered.
Flash forward five years later, and my sis-in-law has decided she’s ready to date. She has a senior and a freshman in high school, each with at least one foot out the door, possibly all of them. It’s time to put herself first. Only she’s scared, terrified really. She totally, in her mind, screwed up the first time. What’s to keep her from making another mistake? Enter John and Jann Franklin, dating consultants to the stars.
“I want you to meet this guy I’m dating. Well, we haven’t been out yet, actually. He’s been asking for two years, and I’m ready to say yes. But I want you two there with me. You know, to make sure he’s a good guy.” How did that go? Tune in next time!