All fall down

Saturday was the first beautiful, summery day that I've really gotten to enjoy this year. It was hot enough that I wore only a skirt and a halter top when we went grocery shopping in the afternoon, and yet when we had hauled all the groceries inside, I was sweating and had to sit on the floor in front of the fan for a few minutes to recover. But even though I felt hot and sticky and gross, it was simultaneously enjoyable, because the breeze was so nice and the whole thing felt so summery.

And then on Saturday night we went out for dinner, and afterward decided to take a walk to enjoy the nice weather, which was great until it started pouring. We waited out the worst of it under an awning, but our best efforts to avoid damage were thwarted when I slipped in a giant mud puddle on our way to the Metro and fell--hard--on the sidewalk. I was fine in terms of all bones being intact and whatnot, but my entire left leg was covered with mud, and definitely smarting. At first I chalked it up to the initial shock of falling, but discovered that I had scraped myself up when I glanced down to see a charming mix of mud and blood all over my calf.

The Metro ride home was so awkward, and painful--all the dirt in my cuts was seriously burning, and lots of people were staring at me, which I didn't really appreciate since most of the stares didn't feel like the sympathetic, friendly type that I'd expect. They were more just stares of surprise and pure curiosity. I suppose it can be disconcerting to see someone covered with blood and dirt on the Metro on a Saturday night, but still. Come on.

Anyway, by the time we got home the dirt had all dried and wouldn't come off easily. But Torsten was so sweet and careful and helped me scrub the dirt off without actually screaming in pain, and then he very carefully applied Neosporin to the entire affected area.

Speaking of the affected area, I seriously considered posting a photo of it, but I decided that it really wouldn't be fair of me to gross you out like that, so I'll just tell you that it's a huge red patch (about the size of my hand, and I have big hands) on the left side of my calf, criss-crossed with bloody scratches that are each two or three inches long. And my knee is also red and has a big fat scrape on it too. It looks generally quite horrifying.

Anyway, last night Torsten and I switched sides of the bed so that I could sleep under the blankets with only my left leg sticking out, and can I tell you that it felt weird? I don't know how we each wound up with a side of the bed, but we definitely have them, and this was the first time in the course of our whole relationship that we had switched. Torsten didn't complain, though, and this morning he helped me disinfect everything again, and then arranged me on the couch and made breakfast for me, and then later gave me an extended back rub. Because he is a total sweetheart, and I would be a lot grumpier about this whole thing if it weren't for him.

Speaking of Torsten, you all had a few questions about him. First, Lara and Cady both want to know, How did you and Torsten meet?
We met on Craigslist. He posted an ad, I spent a few days deciding whether or not I wanted to answer it, decided that I did, and sent him an email. He spent a few days deciding whether or not he wanted to respond to me, decided he did, and wrote me back. The rest is history.

In a similar vein, Princess Pointful says, I wanna know about you and Torsten's first date!
About a week and a half after I sent that first email, Torsten and I met up for lunch on a Saturday at an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet. I was half an hour late and I am lucky that he waited for me. I underestimated how long the Metro would take. By the time we actually sat down at our table, it was nearly two o'clock. We didn't leave until after five. We also didn't eat that much. It wasn't until we went back to that restaurant on our six-month anniversary that we noticed that it actually wasn't very good.

Kat asks, What is the one thing about Torsten that drives you the nuttiest?
He has a tendency to overreact to small problems and panics easily. He learned this from his mother, who is an incredibly nervous person. For example, if there's turbulence on a flight, he thinks the plane is about to crash. Or if he has a toothache, he's already freaking out about having the tooth pulled and an implant put in. It scares me because sometimes when he panics, it's a legitimate problem, but it's hard for me to know when to take it seriously. He knows this is a problem, and he's gotten a lot better about it since I met him.

And finally, L Sass and Nicole Antoinette both want to know, When did you know that Torsten was "The One"? How?
There was a moment when I knew that I was in love with Torsten, but I'm less clear on whether there was a moment when I knew that I wanted to marry him. To be honest, both of us felt it even before we met, through our emails, but both of us dismissed it as being crazy, and maybe it was. I do remember that about a year ago, my mom asked me if I thought I was going to marry him, and I said yes without hesitation. And I was right!

So, anyway, back to the whole falling down and scraping up my leg thing... I do have photos, even though I haven't posted them. Do you want to see them?