It was a hot August day in 2023, and by hot, I mean sweat-soaking-through-entire-shirts kinda hot. But more on that later.
It had been a long time since my four boys and I had seen our like-family friends, the Guerreros. After a year’s worth of planning and anticipation, they drove their way across the country from California to Arkansas to stay with us for a week-ish, and my heart couldn’t have been more full. It had been a long year after the passing of my late husband in 2022, so the comfort of our friends from home was just what the boys and I needed. Naturally, my number one goal was to try to convince them that Northwest Arkansas is where they need to relocate to, so I was pulling all the stops. And obviously that meant Silver Dollar City (though a two hour drive away) was a must-experience!
Did I mention it was hot? After a long week of exploring NWA and all of the amazing experiences it has to offer, it was time to make the trek to the magical Silver Dollar City. There was just one problem… it was like the hottest week of the entire year. Listen, we’re California girls, so this midwest heat does a little extra torture to us. And also, the only day we could go before my friends headed home was Sunday, so after church that wouldn’t leave us much time. To be honest, I was tired from the week and just plain dreading the heat, and the sound of walking around sweating in an outdoor sauna didn’t sound like a great day at all. I had a million excuses why we shouldn’t go, but if you know my friend Alissa, you know she always sees the good in things, and her “Let’s make this an adventure!” attitude got us on the road stat!
So back to the hot part. Y’all, I’m not exaggerating. If you’re from the area, perhaps you’re used to it. But if you’re not, and you’ve experienced it, you catch my sweaty drift. This ain’t no California heat — it’s more like the you’re-soaked-the-moment-you-walk-outside kinda heat. It was so hot, in fact, that as we were walking at SDC, Alissa gave me the sister-lookin’-out whisper to tell me that my entire back was covered in sweat spots. She’d never let me carry on like that, no. So to the bathroom I went to drench my entire shirt with water, you know, so it was all wet instead of spotty. We had a good laugh over that.
After the shirt incident, a water break, and a few laughs, we headed over to Tom & Huck’s RiverBlast ride, my boys’ favorite. As we walked there, I explained to Alissa that every time the boys and I had visited SDC over the past year, we’d start with this ride. They love it — they would run off to the water blast section, and I’d sit at the nearby sitting area to watch them soak the poor people who chose to ride the boat and get soaked by kids like mine. It was a blast, literally. And I always seemed to make a new friend there!
“Alissa, I’m serious, every single time I sit down here, a precious old man comes by and talks to me! A different old man every time, but it happens every single time! Watch. I bet we’ll sit down and a little old man will come talk to us!!!” We giggled as we sat, but I was confident.
We sat and watched the kids play as we chatted and sweated and laughed. It was hot, yes, but by then I was beyond grateful that we made the drive to make memories with our special friends. I had no idea that what was about to happen would change the course of the boys and my life forever. I had no idea that the sweet old man I had guaranteed would come would be one that would become very special to me. I wasn’t looking for any new friends that day, nonetheless my future husband. But God sure had other plans.
“Well hello there, pretty lady!” said a sweet old man’s voice as he wheeled by in his mighty fine scooter. I looked at Alissa with a grin. “Well hello sir! How are you today?” His scooter came to an abrupt stop just in front of us as he started what would become a three hour conversation. There was my little old man, Denis, and that was the beginning of the rest of my life…
To be continued.