There is always a nervous anticipation when going out with someone for the first time. That was certainly the case when coming up to the door tonight.

Isaac and I were able to go out on our own for the first time tonight. I’d texted his mom earlier in the day just to confirm that he and I were still on and that I was looking forward to it. Her reply “Him too.”

Nothing too Earth shattering. We had made plans to go out somewhere to find a calendar for him to write down our outings on. So we headed to the mall. We had a good time just chatting and getting to know each other. He opened up very quickly and it made it easy to talk to him. More accurately, listen to him. He had quite a bit to say!

He talked quite a bit about his family, specifically his dad. I got the feeling that his relationship with his dad was strained but that he still looked up to him and looked forward to seeing him every other weekend. He belongs to a “very blended family” (for lack of a better term) and it seemed like it might be easy for him to become lost in the shuffle. I hope that’s not the case. Just an observation.

After a quick bite to eat at Subway it was off to Barnes & Noble to find a calendar. Since it was so late in the year, the choices of calendars were slim. But we were able to find one he liked with an “Old West” theme. And it was on clearance for $2!

Off to Steak & Shake. BBBSCI included a $5 gift card in our welcome packet so we immediately put that to good use. Kit Kat for him and Chocolate Reese’s for me. We continued our ongoing conversation. I told him about my being in the Navy and we discussed 3D printing which he has an interest in. He seems to be drawn to STEM subjects. I’ll certainly encourage him to nurture that interest.

Al in all our first outing went better than I expected it would. I’m certainly looking forward to going out again.