Friend: Jenny (Lemmerman) Reeser
Activity: Cheese and hockey
Location: Jenny's house
Total $ Spent: $0
My final date of my social experiment was with another member of the "pretty girls" from the botanical gardens. If you have been reading this blog, you would have seen me refer to the "pretty girls" in date #1 (Emily) and date #20 (Danelle). I used to be really intimidated by Jenny because she had perfect hair, the perfect wardrobe, a charming smile, and a super cute red car. Looking back at it now, what was I thinking??? Not only is she one of the most down to earth people you can imagine, she would collapse with laughter at hearing that someone was intimidated by her. I can her saying it now, "That! Is! Heeeeeee-larious!"
She got me into Jazzercise and we used to try to go to classes together. The only problem is that we are both total goofballs and we make each other laugh when we're supposed to be "5,6,7,8 and reach, and pull" ing. It was motivating to exercise with a friend and I was selfishly disappointed when she told me she was moving. We would have long talks in the parking lot after class even though we were all sweaty and stanky. Of course Jenny's hair still looked perfect but I stopped holding that against her once I found out that she is a former Miss Nebraska. They are required to have perfect all of the time. It's in the rulebooks, I'm sure.
For our $1 date, I drove to her house in Lincoln (about 60 miles west of Omaha). She's actually lived there for a couple years but it was the first time I'd had the opportunity to visit her. The house is spacious and cozy with clean and contemporary decor. Her husband Josh finished the basement, complete with a huge flat screen that even I covetted.
It was on the tour of the basement that I discovered Jenny's deepest, darkest secret. Her stunning wedding dress is hanging - unprotected - in the middle of the storage room!! Gasp!
We lounged in the upstairs livingroom and talked for over 4 hours! Jenny served cheese and Jones Soda (can I get a YUM??) while the USA vs. Canada Olympic Hockey game was on. I had just told her that I've decided March is my month to get fit and I'm going to cut out all sugary drinks and go down to one serving of cheese per day. (yeah right, like this will actually happen) So I allowed myself to eat as much of the cheese as possible and drank a full soda. De-lish.
Her cat, Punky, doesn't usually take to strangers. I guess she hasn't even fully accepted Jenny's husband. When she first saw me, she ran away and hid under the guest bed. After a few minutes, she crept downstairs and decided I was safe enough to stare at.....from a distance.
With a few moves from my "cat whisperer" back of tricks, she slowly but surely warmed up to me. Before long, we were besties and she gave me the belly flop. Jenny was super proud of her little girl, even though she decided to have a hair ball at my feet (Punky, not Jenny). I just figured that meant she accepted me as part of her family.
In the past 2 years, Jenny has gone through some of life's biggest changes: marriage, new job, new home, new city, becoming a step-mom. She reflected on how complicated and challenging it has been but she seemed to realize (perhaps for the first time) that the transitions had actually been fairly smoothe. I admire her ability to keep her cool under so much pressure. Of course she probably thinks she's a hot mess, and whether or not that's accurate she never shows it.
Jenny now works for the President's Office at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. She still comes to Omaha every now and then for a girls night or work meeting. We actually had a chance to see grab lunch together a few months back when she had a meeting at Joslyn. We also went to a dance show together and got to see my good friend Kevin tap dance our faces off. She has a bit of a theatre background so she "gets" my crazy animated face and gestures.
We (I) kept getting distracted by the hockey game. Just as the USA was losing 2-1 at the end of the 3rd period and I was bemoaning that I jinxed the game by watching it live, USA SCORED IN THE LAST 24 SECONDS!! They tied the game! At the gold medal game of the Olympics! What???? Jenny and I both screamed and jumped and high fived each other like true sports fans. It was way exciting! I think it was the first time I stopped shoving cheese in my mouth all afternoon. I figured that Canada would win, which they did, but it was still a very exciting game.
We watched the medals ceremony and noticed that the Americans looked severely mad. Hellllllooooo.....you just won silver.......at the Olympics.......is a smile too much to ask? Maybe it's a dude thing, or an American thing, or just a team thing. They honestly looked like they didn't even want their medals. I was disappointed in them and wondered how they were representing American hockey to the rest of the world. As Jenny pointed out, they weren't seeing the silver lining. (wink wink)
I'm so thrilled that Jenny volunteered to be one of my $1 dates. We haven't hung out in so long and we are usually limited by time. I think she had been wanting to invite me to her house for a while but maybe felt a little guilty about living so far away from Omaha. I hope now she realizes that she is totally worth the drive. And I intend to make that drive even beyond my social project.
I'll be seeing you...........
No comments:
Post a Comment