Tag: romance

Out My Window

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The first night after arriving in Boulder City the weather news was all about the full moon for the month. A special lunar eclipse was due to occur in the early morning, around 3 am. It didn’t have a very attractive name, Worm Blood Moon. I understood the blood part, because in the earth’s shadow, the moon always looks red. The Worm part doesn’t make as much sense to me and doesn’t sound pretty either. I didn’t plan on seeing it. I’m used to disappointment when there are clouds or trees in the way. To me, it’s not worth interrupting a much needed night’s sleep.

August 2026 full moon over Round Lake

One time last summer, Kevin and I went out to Round Lake to look at a beautiful full moon. It was a clear night and we both admired the way the moonlight made a path across the water. We talked about how many songs we remembered that had a moon in them. (How many can you think of?) We were both pretty high on the romance scale and decided to get together every full moon. We had looked forward to this March full moon knowing we would be together on our trip. We gave it a good looking over before we retired for the night. 

I don’t know why I woke up at 3:15 am. I didn’t know where in the sky the moon would be. I don’t know why I lifted the shade to look out the window. But it was there, in the perfect spot for me to view it. The sky was clear and the moon was about 45 degrees off the horizon, red and round.  I’m shy about waking other people up at night so I watched it alone. My lounge chair was like having a front row seat for 45 minutes. It was changing very slowly so I decided not to wait until it was completely over.  I went back to sleep.

My first look
A different setting, still in shadow
Eclipse about half over
Moon was lower now, behind a tree branch

It was a unique way to start out the time in Nevada. I had never photographed a lunar eclipse before. 

One Year Ago

Shirleyjdietz2 Comments

February 21, 2026. Tomorrow afternoon, I will go to the volunteer appreciation lunch for the Birkie ski race. It was a year ago at the same event that I met Kevin May for the very first time. 

The Birkie volunteer hat for 2025.

I was sitting at a table on the edge of the banquet area, in a large, noisy room. The table was not in a great place for seeing the speaker, so it wasn’t full. I had chosen it because it was close to the door.  Two of my friends from my hiking club had joined me. It was almost time for the serving to start when Kevin came in, looking for a seat. He asked if we were saving chairs for anyone. We weren’t, so he sat and we started talking. It was difficult to hear each other, so he moved to the chair next to mine. 

I had recently gotten on the board of my favorite non-profit. The board was woefully short of members, especially men. I had been praying that God would send some recruits my way. My goal was to ask every male I encountered who might possibly be interested. I figured that maybe this was the guy I should scout out. Fortunately, Kevin is a car salesman and knows how to make conversation with strangers. We talked during the meal almost non-stop. My friends noticed that and remarked to me later. 

I don’t give my number to random men, ever, but there’s always a first time. I offered to give him a tour of the non-profit and handed him my card. He was going to leave Hayward for a month but said he would call when he got back in town. At least I had been brave and done my part. If God had sent him, He would handle the follow through as well. I hate crowds and got out the door quickly when the program was over. I don’t remember saying goodbye.

A couple of days later, to my surprise, Kevin sent a text. He was in Flagstaff, on his way to his daughter’s house. A couple more days and he texted again, this time from Lake Mead. Spread out over the next week were two more texts, and then a phone call. It was beginning to feel like I was being pursued and that was… well, kind of fun. We hadn’t been face to face that afternoon at the table so I couldn’t remember exactly what he looked like.  Naturally I hunted on the internet and found him on LinkedIn. The picture there wasn’t very helpful. We talked a lot over the next couple of weeks. I liked his voice and the attention was addictive.

Did he look like this? I couldn’t remember.

He came back to Hayward at the end of March, and we decided to meet for a walk. He took me to the local cafe afterward for dinner. 

I had lost my husband to Lewy Body dementia the summer of 2023. I had a pretty comfortable life, as a widow and companion for my elderly mom. I hadn’t dated. I hadn’t even thought about dating. I was busy and I had friends. My journal entry for the day of our walk was short and to the point. “Nice man and easy to be with but not my type. There will be no romance.”

I didn’t realize then that this is the way a romance often starts. To be continued.