Days of Innocence

Currently Reading: The Cat Who Went Up the Creek, by Lilian Jackson Braun. I've never read any of hers before, although I've certainly seen plenty of the books in the stores! It's fast-paced, and being a cat lover myself, some parts are definitely holding my attention.

E-Book: Ronan's Grail, by Bronwyn Green. I've had computer issues and a sinus headache, so I'm only on chapter 3 or 4. Hopefully, I'll finish it tonight.

Update on the birthday party: We're meeting Grandma and Grandpa at the LoneStar Steakhouse in Terre Haute tomorrow. Good...I can make a side trip to Books a Million to talk to the manager and fill out the form...The snow missed us, Thank God...we only got maybe an inch, and it's currently melting:)

A recent question posed by the Novel Sisterhood was, What was the name of your 1st boyfriend? My fiirst thought was, which one?

Now, before you get the wrong idea, let me explain! I've always been a 'guy's girl'...most of my friends were boys. In kindergarten, there was Kent, and we used to count pennies together. My next door neighbor until the 3rd grade was Tad. I was also an honorary member of our neighborhood gang, since my house had the front yard with no trees, and the perfect spot for the kickball field, not to mention the backyard with the awesome two-story treehouse! I was allowed to stay up after dark to play hide and seek with the 'big kids' until Mom and Dad finally insisted everyone go home.

In the third grade, I had my 1st crush, but since he ended up getting held back...well what self-respecting girl wanted to date someone who couldn't pass the third grade? I ended up focusing my attentions elsewhere, until the object of my next crush pointed out he didn't feel right 'going' with someone who was considerably taller than he was.

But by the end of the sixth grade, I was positive I had met my man. Except for only one thing: We only saw each other once a week, and maybe for only an hour or two.

So how did we meet? Our parents were friends, and during a wonderful two week vacation, we camped in Colorado, went sight-seeing, and tried to hold hands. Not in front of the parents, please! My sister and his two brothers teased us unmercifully, even collapsing the tent on us one morning. Yes, the first week, my sister and I moved our sleeping bags into their larger tent and I got to sleep side by side with my 'future husband'. All very platonic, but when we went actually began traveling around Colorado, my parents took over the pup tent and my sis and I ended up sleeping in the back of the station wagon.

After we left Colorado, my family went to Florida for three weeks. When we got home, we went to my 'boyfriend's' house for two unpacking parties. On the second night, he actually screwed up the nerve to kiss me. It landed near my ear, and I pushed him away. And then walked out of the room; turned back and kissed him on his cheek. Then I ran out of the room and saw stars all the way home...my first kiss!

We thought meeting in an empty classroom to kiss each other on the cheek when he had to leave before me was daring. When he got braces on his teeth, we had pet names for each other...mine was 'Metal Mouth' and he was 'Brace Face'. Again, his brothers teased us about getting our braces locked.

"That's okay...my orthodontist is in the sanctuary. We'll just send someone to get him," I shot back.

But times moved on; our hormones eventually kicked in, and we discovered other members of the opposite sex at our separate schools. We grew apart, especially when I entered the 9th grade and got involved with the high school youth group. He was still in the junior high group, being a year younger than I.

What's my point to all this rambling? The thought of taking things past hand-holding never occured to us. That just wasn't done until marriage. Nowadays, you see teen pregnancy and STDs ramant in both high school and middle schools. And sadly, sometimes even in elementary. Maybe it was our upbringing; maybe it was just the fact we weren't as exposed to all the sexual themes back then. I've been fortunate with both of my older kids that they seem to have good heads on their shoulders, and even my daughter, whose best friend seems to be 'in love' with a new boy every month or so, complains about her friends' obsession with the opposite sex. Her hormones haven't kicked in yet.

And my son's? Yes, he recently had his first girlfriend. And yes, I met her. They spoke on the phone, they went for walks, they hung out in our basement. But they seemed quite content not to be joined at the hip, or spend excessive amounts of time together. And now it's over, and he's still the same sweet kid.

Maybe I've done something right? So far, both kids have their sights set on college. I hope it continues.

Oh, and whatever happened to my first 'love'? He's happily married and has three children. I even went to his wedding. And we still keep in touch through our parents!