Wicker Picnic Basket: Unique, Vintage, Double Lid

Sometimes these days I'm simply amazed. I talk to friends and other people that are having marital or relationship problems and what not and it really does truly amaze me that the bottom line was they never spent any time together really finding out about one another before thinking about beginning their journey together. Yeah they know their little nuances and stuff but really didn't "know" the person. They never took the time to talk, spend time. They went to movies, hmm, no talking there. They went to clubs, fun, but more dancing and drinking than fact finding and soul searching. Their whole basis is screwed up. It's even more prevelant than that, society as a whole seems to be falling apart at times and all the talk is about the latest celebrity breakup or divorce, the senator's getting a divorce or marraige simply just stinks and all the horror stories you get plastered with in the tabloids.

I'm here to tell you that it's not all doom-n-gloom, in fact, it's pretty darn special and wonderful and releasing and spectacular and...well, you get the point. I'm not really one to toot-my-own-horn so to speak, but for some reason they like to turn to me and ask why it looks like we have it so together, why is our marraige so great. The only thing I can do is say it's all because of a wicker picnic basket.

It all started when I decided to make a change for the better and move to a new city. Typical, found a job, started work and started making a fresh start for myself. I worked with this young lady (actually sat back to back in opposing cubicles) and there was just something about her voice and hearing her on the phone all day talking to customers that just intrigued me. Her boisterous laugh, and genuine care for each and every person she spoke to, really had me interested. As days moved by, I got up the nerve and asked her out. In typical fashion we did the standard dinner and a movie thing but never really chanced upon actually talking with one another other than your standard dinner conversation. Of course at the movies we were watching the flicks.

Time moved on and the phone conversations and dates became more frequent, dinner and dancing, dinner and movie, but it all seemed so standard. I really needed a way to connect, find out more about her, true honest conversation. I phoned home and was talking with my mom (yes, I'm a momma's boy, always have been, always will be) and we began talking about this girl. About my problem really trying to get to know her, and leave it up to mom to come up with the perfect solution. She told me of a time that my dad had actually taken her on a picnic and they did nothing but talk, face to face, no distractions, no interruptions and suggested that I do the same if I was that interested.

The very next day I set out to make this a reality. I knew the place where we'd go, a quite little spot down by the river. I was actually really early to work that day as I was very eager to ask her. After she arrived, I asked and she agreed.

I had to start planning and prepping and was getting a little overwhelmed with it all, probably because I was making it more into a production than it should've been because I wanted it to be just perfect. I had to cut back. So I decided to just cut back to the essentials.

When the day finally came, I was ready. I had picked up a little wicker picnic basket and packed it with just the necessities. A couple of sandwiches, a bag of chips, some paper plates and napkins, and some bottled water (couple of them were frozen). I went and picked her up and we headed to my secret spot.

Once there I set it all up and it was all coming together. But before we started, I told her, flat out, I wanted to get to know her better. It wasn't an interview or anything like that. I told her I just wanted to have some open and honest communication with her and set out some ground rules:

1. No strings attached
2. Asked questions deserve open and honest answers
3. Either of us can ask any questions we'd like

I have to say that this was one of the most refreshing days of my life. We sat, we talked, we asked and we truly fell in love. That little planned hour or so picnic turned into an all day affair. We ended up spending close to 7 hours just sitting and talking, throwing rocks into the stream, holding hands and learning more about each other than I think we'd ever had. Our dreams, our desires, what we want most out of life, we're our most favorite places in the world are, what scares us the most in life, kids, where we'd want to be in 20 years, our childhood, our friends, our lives.

I know it's little corny or what not, but at the end of that day, I knew and without any hesitation whatsoever, I took a little ring off my finger and asked her to marry me, right there. A little shocked by it all, she still said yes and by that weekend she had a proper engagement ring on her quaint little hand.

But it all started with a little wicker picnic basket.

The moral I guess of it all is step out of the norm. There was a time when this was considered very romantic. We get so caught up with everything in this day and age that we forget that a little romance and honest conversation is still very much needed and desired no matter what the gender is. To feel loved, wanted, desired and appreciated. To really know someone.

What's become traditional is somewhat depressing, to see the rut that people get stuck in when courting or dating. Step out, be original, do something different. Take them on a picnic (something that doesn't happen all that often these days), or an all day fishing trip, or wherever you could actually spend time talking to one another. The key is spending time, nurturing each other, growing together, and making it into something special.