Love Week

In honor of Valentine's Day, my friend Christie created this lovely stroll down memory lane. I thought it sounded fun. And I never pass up an opportunity to reminisce on past loves. so here goes:

♥ First Crush: I'm pretty sure I was born with a crush on someone. I was seriously boy crazy! So I had a ton of crushes even before I was school age. But the one I remember being my first serious school crush I was in 2nd grade. His name was Lars Leudaman. He was tall (for a second grader) and really cute. He had a bunch of siblings, like 8 or 10, and their names all started with L. We rode the bus together and each day was heaven until he got off at his stop. He also held my hand in the commons area whenever they turned off the lights to show film strips. Sadly, he went to a different school in 3rd grade. Then I saw him again in 9th grade at my new high school. He was still super tall. But also super nerdy. Oh well.

♥ Celebrity crush: George Clooney has got to be my pick on this one. I came very late to the George Clooney fan club. I dismissed him completely back in the E.R. days when the Clooney Craze first began. I just couldn't see what the big deal was. But in later years, after I started really enjoying his subtle comedic performances in movies like Intolerable Cruelty and Oh Brother Where Art Thou, I became a huge fan. I love a guy who doesn't take himself too seriously. Looks, talent, AND a sense of humor? Sign me up!

♥Biggest crush (aka: the one that got away): I would have to classify "biggest crush" and "the one that got away" differently. By far my biggest crush was Ken McGraw. I first fell in love with him (like every other girl in school) on the first day of 6th grade. My homeroom would pass his homeroom in the hall on the way to lunch. He was gorgeous. I'm pretty sure he emitted a glow of light from his skin. We actually "went together" in 7th grade for 2 1/2 months until he dumped me for Sarah Bernstien, who had boobs. Stupid genetics! I remained in love with him all through middle and high school, and since we had the same social group, we stayed distant friends. Finally, our senior year, I gave up on him. And shortly after that, he decided he liked me. Classic. So we gave it another try. It involved lots of making out. But like all relationships based on tons of kissing, it was destined to fail. It did make us closer friends, oddly enough. And we remained friends through college and after. I lost track of him a couple of years ago, though. Ken, if you're out there, call me!


♥First kiss: My first kiss was Ken McGraw (see above). He kissed me after school as we were waiting for all the buses to arrive. It turns out that one of the bus drivers knew his mom and yelled out the bus door as she pulled up that she was going to tell his mother. It kind of dampened the mood a bit. But I still remember it being one of the best kisses of my life. I think I floated home after that kiss.

♥First date: How sad and pathetic. I don't even remember my first date! I know that, growing up, my parents filled my head with visions of how wonderful and romantic my first date would be, on the eve of my 16th birthday. Instead, 16 came and went with no date in sight. It was several months later when someone finally asked me out. I don't even recall who it was or what we did; it was that anti-climactic.

♥First love: Once again, I'd have to say it was Ken McGraw. 6th grade to 12th grade is a long time! He was on my mind for all those years. Of course, I never let that get in the way of dating and falling in love with other guys. Please....I wasn't a nun! But in my heart, Ken will always be my first love.

♥First date with my husband: It's kind of kismetish how it happened. We had known each other for a couple of years in a work capacity. Then I went to Fiji for a semester and never thought I'd see him again (plus he was married, so I didn't really know him well). When I got back, I went to Springville to get some stuff from storage and saw him pulling into the storage unit as I was pulling out. We both stopped, he told me he'd gotten divorced, he mentioned that he was hanging out with some people we both knew from working together (that he had never hung out with before or since) and invited me to come along. The date started at Savers (a thrift store) to buy 70's clothes. Then dinner at the Outback Steakhouse with a bunch of friends. Then disco skating. I still remember what he wore--tight brown polyester bellbottoms that made his butt look amazing. And he sped around the rink with total confidence and ease. He had SKILLZ. I was VERY impressed. Mostly with his butt. After that, we went back to his house and talked for about 4 or 5 hours. It was a great first date.

See, that was fun! If you want to play along, consider yourself tagged! Just let me know if you do this one, cause I want to read yours too.