Dating can be pretty hit or miss.
But sometimes you end up on a date with someone who really surprises you. When Redditor lakecake78 asked the online community "What's the cutest date you've ever been on?" the answers were as heartwarming as you might have anticipated.
"An all day date."
An all day date. Back when I was in high school I had a crush on this guy for a few months, and he FINALLY asked me out. Texted me the night before and was like "hey, I have rowing later in the day. Can we do a movie at like 10am?" I was totally fine with it, so that was our plan. He came, picked me up, and we saw the movie —- after the fact he looked at me and told me that he wanted to blow off the rest of his plans for the day and spend it with me. The second activity was bowling, which I'm atrocious at. I told him this, and he said that he was super good at bowling and maybe it would rub off on me, which I said maybe I'd be lucky this time.
So every time we would take our turns, after his he would make a BIG show of "wiping off" his body and "rolling" all of his luck into a ball and throwing it to me (it was actually the best I've ever bowled). From there we went to dinner, and then went to every dock around the lake that we live on. On the final dock, we were skipping rocks and he kissed me — it was my first kiss and I was literally shaking excited and nervous. It wasn't anything SUPER special, but I'll always remember it.
"I still take her out to the darkest areas I can find..."
I took my now wife to Steak n Shake for the first time, then drove her out in my truck to a cornfield in the middle of nowhere to see the stars and lightning bugs coming from the field. She's an LA girl and had never seen stars or that many lightning bugs before. Seeing her face light up when I walked her to the field and she looked up and saw all those stars was the moment I fell deeply in love with her.
And then a wave of lightning bugs came out of the corn and she gasped and had this huge smile and I fell even harder. It was absolutely adorable. We then went back to Steak 'n Shake to get shakes.
I still take her out to the darkest areas I can find to see the stars. Her face still lights up as soon as she looks up. I've never seen anything that beautiful in my life. I end up staring at her more than the stars.
"I miss that ex."
We went to a botanical garden and geeked out over all the cool plants they had.
God damn, I miss that ex.
"It was hardly a date."
It was hardly a date. We both just decided to meet in the city. We rode the tram and went to the Saturday Market. I dont remember where we ate or how to date came to a close. I just remember her. She had that spark from the first moment, we both really laughed with each other and acted like we had known each other our whole lives even though we complete strangers hours beforehand. Never could plan something so perfect.
"I gave my buddies $20 for pizza."
Our first valentines date, I bought a shit ton of glowsticks, a small stereo system and my laptop to school to set up for our after school date (we were in highschool).
Thing is, I can't set up sh!t AND be on a date at the same time. I had my buds secretly set up everything I bought for the date as me and her were eating.
I scouted a pavilion at a river side park, I had them set up the glow sticks in a path leading to it, ending in a heart in the center of the pavilion with my laptop playing a playlist of "our songs". After our meal we went for a walk in the park and oh what do you know, "hey look lights!" and away we went. We danced for like 10-15 minutes before we got cold.
I gave my buddies $20 for pizza. They are the real mvps of that date.
"The next date we ended up..."
GiphyMet up for greek food. In ten minutes I had realized that I had never met anyone like her. Interesting, interested, smart as a whip, funny, and gorgeous. We ended up hanging out for the next six hours, just walking around, eventually going to her buddy's shop where I met her friends (who were all cool).
The next date we ended up hanging out for most of the night, and neither of us wanted to drive home so we set up a hammock in a park and fell asleep. I still have a picture of her head poking out of the hammock, the next morning with the sun rising behind her, making her smile glow even more. She even said that my chest was like a perfect pillow (which really meant a lot to me).
Coming up on our one year!
"Walked around the zoo..."
Walked around the zoo, started to downpour, everyone left except us and we kept on walking around soaking wet. I told him how romantic it was that he shut down the whole zoo for our date. Then we went home and banged. Loved him. It was super cute.
"...and I still wanted to go to the beach."
Soon after meeting him I had fractured my pelvis while exercising. I was really sad because I was on crutches and couldn't do much but it was summer and I still wanted to go to the beach.
He was really in-shape so he told me to meet him outside. He told me to follow him. So I crutched along side him and when I got to the hill, he picked me up like a princess and carried me down the hill. Then I crutched along longer and we got to the sand. I couldn't walk with crutches in the sand so he picked me up and carried me to the water. I was medically cleared to swim, just not walk. It was so much fun.
We broke up, but he was a super sweet guy.
"He took me out for pie."
He took me out for pie. I had a piece of the best ever strawberry, cream cheese pie. Fast forward a couple of weeks later, I'm sitting at home the day after a minor surgery, recuperating. The doorbell rings and at the door is someone from the restaurant with a whole strawberry cream cheese pie for me that my then boyfriend (now husband) had ordered for me.
"I think I'll always remember that."
On our first ever date after being together long distance for 6 months, a group of older folks paid for our meal. It was a fancier Mexican restaurant so it was quite expensive. The waitress just said something like "Those folks over there said they'll be paying your bill. They said you two are a very cute couple." Needless to say it was very encouraging for us, and here we are 6+ years later. I think I'll always remember that.
"Went to a nice restaurant and talked."
Went to a nice restaurant and talked. We took a look at the prices and was like nah, let's get appetizers and buy something cheaper. Ended up driving an hour away to this waterfall by the cliffs of the beach and picked up pizza along the way. Proceeded to cuddle and talk with no one or lights around for miles under the moon for 3 hours. We ended up spending 7 hours together the first date.
"...and we made maple syrup together."
GiphyHe took me to his family's sugar shack at night and we made maple syrup together. It was also kind of the middle of nowhere, so he packed a basket of yummy food that we ate there. Then we went back to his house afterwards, and we chilled in front of the fireplace with hot chocolate. That was our first date in 2011 (we were friends before that) and we're still together!
"We went to the pedestrian bridge downtown..."
We went to the pedestrian bridge downtown, took cute pictures, shared some cute kisses, held hands while walking around the city, went and got drinks, did a little cute dancing with each other, and finished it off with some cute sex that was oddly really emotional.
"We spent like an hour..."
We spent like an hour in a McDonalds parking lot after seeing a movie just talking (and eating of course) and learning a lot about each other.
Not exactly the cutest but it was very fun and intimate. I'm sure we've had cuter but I blocked a lot of it out.
"A few years ago..."
A few years ago, it was the first time meeting a girl that I'd been talking to for a few weeks. We started off at a pub, then climbed a mountain and listened to the Lion King Soundtrack while drinking wine and looking over the city.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.