A White Wooden Rocking Chair
“You have to just give me a chance Rebecca!” he said.
I shrugged my shoulders, “I don’t…”
He cut me off, “You don’t date, I know. I’m well versed in the Do’s and Do Not’s in Rebecca’s World.”
“That isn’t fair!” I say.
He shrugs and says, “Okay maybe not, but let’s try something else. Who is your favorite singer?”
“Billie Holiday” I respond with a smile on my face.
“I LOVE HIM!” he exclaims.
I immediately put a finger to my lips, but a “Hmmmm….” escapes from behind it despite my efforts to keep quiet.
“What?!” he asks
I just shake my head and smile. Knowing full well he must think I meant Buddy Holly, but it isn’t my job to correct him.
He excuses himself to the bathroom.
I let out a sigh as he turned the corner to the bathroom, “I’m much too old for this!” I think to myself.
A voice behind me says, “She is a close second to Etta James.”
I turn to find a man sitting at the bar alone. “Excuse me?”
“Rebecca, right? I’m Mike” he says, “Don’t be so hard on him, he likes you.”
“Yeah. Don’t they all?” I say, as I peel the label on my bottle.
He lets out a low whistle, “You know I had heard the stories, but I would have never believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself with my own
two eyes. That Ex of yours wounded you something fierce.”
I just looked at him. The stare I was giving him could have certainly cut glass if I had tried hard enough. I exhale sharply.
“Sweetheart, one day you won’t be so angry anymore, one day those wounds will heal, and I can only imagine just how damn beautiful you will truly be when that light returns to your eyes.”
I raise an eyebrow, “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”
“No, darling, no you don’t, but I certainly know all about you. Not much happens around here without people taking notice. Enjoy your evening.” He nods towards the other side of my table as the “guy who was paying for my meal” returned.
I was left confused, with a head full of thoughts, and completely elsewhere from that point in the evening on. It was at that point in my life I decided, Rebecca Dawn Fegan DOES NOT DATE. Nope. Just Wasn’t in the Cards for Me! I couldn't do it, and I wasn't even going to TRY!
NOW – Sister Girl, that didn't stop my Bestie from trying! God Love Her! – Amanda tried to get me to join this app one time! GOODNESS! What a freaking disaster that was. Swipe Left, Swipe Right, Pfftt! I was always backwards, discarding the ones I liked and keeping the ones I didn’t want. All I kept thinking was, “Good Lord I don’t need an app on my phone to teach me how to make my dating life a disaster! I can do that well enough on my own!” So just like the goofy men using the app, the app also needed to go!
So anyway, Amanda learned that not only do I not date in REAL life, I don’t app date, messenger date, text date, double date, or date period….it was just easier for me. It worked. It worked well actually. It still works beautifully to this day! So she doesn’t push it, and I don’t bring it up. Her biggest goal in life is to make sure I end up blissfully happy, and if it were up to her she would make it her full time career to see that happen! Luckily my dating life, or lack there of rather doesn't come with some trendy salary, 401k plan, and full benefits or I would be in some serious trouble! So I choose the latter - NON-DATING.
It. Just. Works!
(******Excerpt above taken from The Journey To Day 180 - Written by Rebecca D. Fegan******)
So anyway…back to the reason for this story - The White Wooden Rocking Chair.
Ever since I was a little girl I have always wanted a White Wooden Rocking Chair for my deck. One that I could sit in as the sun went down over the trees and rock in while I watched the sun set over the horizon. Even as I type I can picture Billie Holiday playing in the background while I slowly rock and just soak in God’s grand design.
So, today was the day, I decided I was going to the store to get one, and I was going to bring it home and rock to my hearts content in it.
Much to my dismay – Every. Single. Place. Was. SOLD. OUT.
Not a store in town had a White Wooden Rocking Chair. Not a one.
So, as I was turning to leave the last store that I was in, the saleswoman says, “We do have this chair though, I mean it doesn’t rock, but it is on sale.”
As I turned around to look at it I let out a loud sigh. I couldn’t believe it. (See the picture below)
“Oh, you don’t like it!” she said
“No, quite the opposite actually, it is perfect. I will take it.” I said
“I think we have two, let me scan it and check.” She says
She turns to me after she scans it and says, “Actually we only have that lone chair, do you still want it?”
“Of course.” I said with a smile on my face
Now for those of you that get the reference, kudos to you for following Nicholas Sparks so closely. For those of you that don’t get the reference, you need to watch “The Choice” to completely understand the “Lone Chair” reference.
So, I have yet to find my White Wooden Rocking Chair, I think God just intended for me to find my “Lone Chair” first. I smiled as I drove away with it in the bed of my truck, chuckled as I assembled it, and said a silent prayer as I traced my fingers around the arms when I sat in it for the very first time.
Yes, it might be my “Lone Chair”, but that is because I choose for it to be. I am perfectly content wrapped in a blanket, writing, reading, or enjoying a beer or a glass of wine as I listen to Billie Holiday or Etta James as I put a close on my day. Even today as Miranda Lambert's "Tin Man" was playing on the radio as I sat in it and watched the rain storm, I smiled at just HOW much I LOVED my OWN COMPANY.
I single-handedly built my own “Oasis” on my tiny little corner of the world, and it is going to take someone insanely special to be invited into that.
Yeah. For now, and probably for quite a while, I can be found many a night in this “Lone Chair” and that is perfectly fine with me.
As for the White Wooden Rocking Chair….well that is to be continued. I have a feeling I will stumble upon it when I am supposed to, and chances are it will happen around the same time that my pergola appears in my back yard with my farmhouse table that seats 16! Hey, a girl dream, right?
Until next time Loves.
*The Blanket that can be seen in the photos comes from a Michigan Based Business out of Sparta called The Bitten Mitten! I HIGHLY encourage you to check out the website and to also like and follow the page on Facebook! I shared some of her goodies a few months back on some of my Thirty-One Pages & on my Personal Facebook Page! I am SUPER excited to bring her newest release "The Michigan Quilt" to my blog. She sells out quickly, but also restocks just as quickly as she sells out! Check out her website Ladies & Gents! I promise that you will not be disappointed!
http://www.thebittenmitten.com
https://www.facebook.com/thebittenmittenteether/?ref=br_rs