Before I go into what's been up in my courtship, I want to mention that no two courtships will be alike. Aside from differing standards/concepts, there will always be differences arising from the personalities of those involved, the length of time the couple have known each other, and how like-minded they already are. To put it briefly, nobody's courtship will be--or should be--just like mine! :)
Anyway, on to the fun stuff...
Tyler is working full time (plus sweet overtime when he can get it), but still manages to call me nearly every day. We usually talk for a bit during his lunch break, and oftentimes again after he's off work. As they live 45 miles away (drive is about 50 mins - 1 hour) and gasoline is $$$!!!, visiting usually consists of Tyler driving up here one day out of his weekend. The K's attend our church, so we get to see one another on Sunday. We enjoy sitting together in church, and sometimes, like this Sunday, we get to play music. Many times, we have invited all the K's home for lunch since they drive so far.
I would say, generally, that Tyler and I don't talk about the typical courtship topics these days. We covered most of them in the first couple weeks of the courtship. This is where our like-mindedness and having already known each other for 7 years come into play. These days, we learn the more subtle things about one another as we discuss what goes on in our daily lives. We are best friends, and our talks go deeper than trivial goings-on into the blessings and struggles. Most often it's terrific; sometimes it's hard. All that to say: being best friends, we talk about everything! (Or nearly, anyway.) ;) We have so much fun doing it too! We have discussed "daffodilology" (the theology of daffodils), ended up naming our hypothetical dogs, talked history and politics and music (I know, terribly surprising), theorized and theorized some more about impacting the culture, and recounted God's blessings. One of our favorite things to do is to 'remember when...' because we have 7 years of memories about which to remind one another. We also write letters, although they are more often hand delivered than mailed these days. We each save them, knowing that, if we get married, we will really treasure these letters that last as phone calls and emails cannot.
I'll share a few recent examples of activities we have enjoyed together. We have played whole-family games of Skip-Bo and Apples to Apples Bible Edition (very hilarious, let me tell you!), and taken a walk around our neighborhood with two super-goony chaperones. Paul and the two of us walked up a logging road and shot Paul's BB gun and Dad's pellet rifle. It was great, and my fabulous brother got the only bull's-eye! We attended "The Biblical Apprentice" put on by The Nehemiah Project. It was an all-day conference for students 11-18 yrs. to learn the principles of Christian business and entrepreneurship, formulate business plans, and compete for cash prizes. Very good day. Even though Tyler and I were too old to compete, we enjoyed the teaching and the opportunity to work together on a project. Teamwork!! (Oh, yes, and I was the guest speaker during the lunch period.) Saturday was fun! Astoria, OR was founded as a fur trading post 200 years ago this month. The city is having a celebration, and Saturday, we went up there, bringing Tyler, Zane, and "adopted grandma" Deedee. We all toured a tall ship, watched a US Coast Guard water rescue demonstration, wandered around the booths, and ate some dinner. Astoria is probably 50 miles from our place, so Tyler and I had plenty of time to talk and listen to music while riding in the van. Once we got home, I read him the first chapter of "Animal Farm," and then everyone ate ice cream and played a game of Apples to Apples, which Tyler won. (Yes, it's a favorite right now.) :)
Today, Tyler has been courting me for 9 months, exactly. This time has been a huge blessing; it is giving us the opportunity to learn about one another in the reality of our lives and spend time becoming best friends. God has really been growing us these past months: teaching us about ourselves, one another, Himself and His Word, etc. It is such a blessing to be growing TOGETHER!
P.S.- Tyler has written a couple posts called "Courtship Encouragement" here: IrishRagamuffin.
