CHAPTER 1 - I WENT OUT WITH A REALLY CUTE KID TEN YEARS AGO

I don't know what they call it these days, (wow, does that phrase make me sound old or what?) but I "went out" with this really cute kid in high school. (And yes, we went out before I was sixteen...please don't tell my mom). 

We were in the same seminary class with Jared Seely and Stacie Walker and the teacher was Brother Chatelain. The rows were diagonal and I'm pretty sure he sat behind me on the left side. Stacie and I switched off playing the piano for the opening hymn. That's about all I remember.

I vividly recall cheering at a J.V. basketball game and seeing that cute blonde-haired kid from my class sitting in the upper bleachers. I remembered him from class because he made me laugh a lot. This pattern continued until one game, my friends, Tiffanie and Elyssa saw him sitting up there. They knew about my little crush. They looked at me, then looked at him, then went up and invited him to come sit down by them...right in front of where I was cheering. I was so embarrassed. I didn't dare to do any more full-out "boom, check it outs" after that...

After the game ended I quickly changed into jeans in the locker room and then came back to join my friends. I noticed that they had strategically arranged this cute kid on the end of their row with my seat next to him. I could tell that they thought they were so funny by the way they kept looking over at me and then giggling. I shrugged them off and started talking to him. His name was Thomas and he was nearly a foot taller than me. I don't remember who we were playing, if it was a boy's game or a girl's game, I don't remember if we won or lost, but I remember those beautiful blue eyes and laughing non-stop.

A couple of more games were attended this way. I especially remember one night when I had asked permission from my parents to get a ride home with him. On the way out we switched coats and headed to my friend Amy's house flirting the whole way. I think we played pool or air hockey or something...but I mostly just remember feeling nervous and giddy the whole time. It was all so new and exciting!

In my choir class that Valentine's day I was handed the most beautiful roses I had ever seen. Three pink-yellow roses in a tall square vase had come with a sweet note asking if I would be his Valentine. I felt bad that I had only arranged a plastic cup full of Hershey's hugs and kisses to be delivered to him that day. Either way, we both knew that there was something more that was to come...

We exchanged phone numbers and started talking a couple times a week. I had to have a time limit since it was the home phone...no cell phones back then. (Hard to imagine, I know!) We would talk about everything and anything. He would walk me to class during the day and we would chat at night (that's what "going out" meant in those days). It was magical.

I still remember my friend Manuel coming up to me at lunch and asking me "You're going out with Thomas Park?" I thought he might be mad so I said, "Yeah...is that a problem?" He responded, "Oh, no. He's the coolest kid I know." I agreed whole-heartedly.

Then March came...

>> to be continued

I thought it would be fun to record our love story per month as it happened 

since it is our 10 year anniversary of meeting...probably ought to record it 

somewhere before I forget anymore juicy details. ;)