The Man and The Mountains

I met Michael 10 years ago at a party hosted by a co-worker. We were standing at the food table and exchanged brief pleasantries as we unknowingly eyed the same bowl of dip. He and I went for the same dip at the same time, and as we pulled our respective chips out, Michael's dip dripped onto the back of my hand.

Each of us held a cold beer in one hand and a dripping chip in the other, with no napkins in sight. Michael didn't miss a beat. He calmly set his beer down, lifted my hand and licked off the dip he had dropped there.

Well. In that awkward moment we laughed. And in that moment I noticed the wedding band on his left hand. "Oh great," I thought, "I'm a single girl at a party with a bunch of married couples and someone's husband just licked my hand."

I was invited to this party under the premise of "meeting someone." My co-worker's boyfriend had a single friend and she thought we'd be perfect for each other. Ugh - I hated those situations. Though I'd been on a self-imposed dating hiatus, I succumbed to curiosity and went to the party that night. It might be different this time, I thought. And now a married man - who seemed like an innocent flirt - had licked my hand.

Looking around for a familiar face, I found a group of co-workers and proceeded to do what work friends do on a Saturday night when they find themselves at a party: we talked about work.

The evening wore on and I was enjoying being inconspicuous with my work friends when my co-worker, the hostess, grabbed me and said, "Come on, Deb. He's here..."

We stepped out to the patio and there he was.

"Deb, this is Doug," she said. "And Doug, this is Deb."

Oh you guys, he was so cute! He'd been out quad riding with a buddy that day, and his skin was freshly sun-kissed and tanned. He had an easy going way about him, and I was instantly drawn to his genuine personality and sweet smile. {Side note: He was wearing faded 501 jeans and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up which I thought was really hot.}

My co-worker left us alone and there we stood, in the center of the patio exchanging those first few questions and answers that I can't even remember now. What I do remember is having the man that licked my hand join our conversation soon after we'd begun chatting. He and Doug obviously knew each other, and when the man acknowledged me Doug asked, "Oh, do you know my brother, Michael?"

"Haha. Yes," I said. "We've met."

Michael smiled and said, "Oh yeah, I licked dip off her hand earlier. She's a good sport!" and we had a good laugh. {I am smiling the entire time I'm typing this blog post, remembering this story...}

Fast forward 10 years and the history of my friendship with my brother-in-law, Michael, is one that is very special to me. He's the epitome of big-brother-ness, kind and protective and fun. Quick with a joke or a tidbit of random information, he is the life of the party.

Michael celebrated a milestone birthday this week, and his wife {my awesome SIL, Janet} asked me to make this canvas for him. It was so much fun to create a canvas with a masculine theme, and I loved thinking of Michael and the good times we've shared over the past 10 years while this artwork came together.

 

You'd love Michael too, but I'd suggest that you

steer clear of him around the dip bowl. ;o)

♥

 

PS: This canvas art was inspired by a class I took from Christy Tomlinson called "She Art Workshop."

PPS: You can see the canvas that I made for my SIL Janet by clicking here. :o)