Awkward. . .

I went on a date on Tuesday night.  Yes, that's right; I voluntarily went on a date that wasn't a set-up.  Go ahead- Take a moment to let it sink in.  I know it's been. . . well, a long time, so some of you might take a while to recover from the shock.  At least, that seems to have been the case with the relatively small number of people I have told prior to now.  But news travels fast in my family, so I thought I might as well address the rumors that have been circulating.

It was a nice, simple, casual date.  Hot chocolate and good conversation at the Village Inn.  Just what a first date should be.  Especially a first date with a perfect stranger.  Keep that small detail in mind as I continue here. 

The end of the date comes.  Numbers are exchanged, hot chocolate is paid for, and the two parties walk out into the freezing cold night.  Then comes what I would consider to be the most awkward dating moment. . . the first hug.

People frequently talk about how incredibly awkward the first kiss can be.  Can I be honest?  I find the first hug to be a million times more awkward than the first kiss moment, and here I explain why.  The first kiss (at least in the Mormon dating world which is the only dating world I have ever known), usually takes places after at least a period of courtship.  Thus, two people have gotten to know each other, have learned at least a little bit how to read each other, and usually have some semblance of an idea of how the other feels about them.  But, contrast that with the situation above- two hours previously, the two parties were perfect strangers.  They have not learned to read the other person's body language, they are likely both at least slightly uncertain as to how the other person felt the date went, and neither knows exactly what is supposed to take place next.  Additionally, it seems like there are roughly three and a half billion different ways people can hug.  No hug? Side hug? One arm?  Two arm?  Blah blah blah. . . And there is absolutely no way to communicate which method one is about to initiate, so one must simply guess and hope for the best.

Perhaps my awkwardness with first hugs is simply indicative of my deep seeded introversion.  I think the last time prior to this date that I had faced a first hug situation, was this last summer when, in a crowd of people, Sir Teres very unexpectedly hugged me and I squealed like a pig in distress.   Fortunately, it is usually only the unexpected hug that can elicit that kind of a response from me.

So it was, I went in for the one arm, he went for the two arm.  the awkward half-second ended, and we parted ways.  I drove home pondering the awkwardness of first dates, first hugs and dating in general and cursing the cold weather for freezing me clear through in the minute and a half I was outside.