So we started dating.....

So we started dating.....

    Within a few weeks of that overnight at Wanda's, Mike and I started dating and we finally had that first kiss. It was a moment I will never forget. You know the feelings; awkward yet giddy, sweet but unsure. To this day, he still says he loves my lips. Too cute. We had the normal teen relationship with all of its ups and downs. I was raised in a freewill baptist church so I was overall a pretty good girl. I did have the occasional wild streak (which my parents will probably not like hearing stories about) but I definitely was not considered a "party girl". Drinking alcohol made me cry. Yes, I tried it. Sorry mom & dad! Crying wasn't very fun for me so I just didn't drink.... usually. I didn't smoke and I've never tried any drugs or "mary jane". I was in the car once while some friends smoked a joint-  I thought it was gross.
    Mike, although not raised in church, was a good guy too. He didn't drink too often, didn't do drugs, didn't smoke and was a perfect gentleman in the way he treated me. Ah, young, new love. Funny how things change thru the years isn't it? Those feelings of  "he can do no wrong" fade away. And we women really do turn into nags don't we? We'll get to all of that a bit later. Mike did fight a lot. I mean physical, punches thrown fighting, which thankfully, I never witnessed in person while we were dating. I did witness it a few years back. We'll get to that later too. As his teen girlfriend however, I secretly thought it was kind of cool. He was my protector. He would take care of me.
    We didn't get to see each other often, only on weekends. We lived about 25 minutes away from each other, I in Wicksburg, AL and he in Geneva, AL. School and our other individual activities kept us busy during the week. I was in my high school's marching band and Mike played baseball for his high school. I remember how proud I felt to be his girlfriend when I was walking into the ball park to watch him play. And of course, he always had to show out and hit a couple of home runs when I was there. Well, maybe they weren't really for me. He was always an all or nothing kind of player. Home run or strike out usually.  He loved baseball, as much as he loved me. Probably more. He had a "gun" for an arm and everyone bragged on his throwing ability. Yep, I was impressed too. And yes, I loved those "guns". I still like to squeeze his biceps, even though these days they are a bit less defined.
    Mike was the first "cowboy"/good ole' country boy type I had dated. He and his friends quite often wore the cowboy boots, always listened to music like Hank Jr. and yes, unfortunately, used tobacco or snuff. I must admit it was kind of gross but he always made sure to be a gentleman about it around me. A kiss after he's drank a swig of beer- yummy. A kiss after a "dip" was freshly discarded- yucky!  When I knew I was about to see him my tummy filled with butterflies. Yep, I was in love. I loved hearing his voice on the phone. So much so that we would spend hours on the phone at night. Too much sometimes. One month we ran up his parent's phone bill to over $700! Yep, he was grounded for a while. Sorry pa-in-law!
    I loved that he was taller than me and that I seemed to fit perfectly in his arms. I loved how he could make me laugh. I loved that he called me "baby". I loved how he thought I was the best thing that had ever happened to him. I loved that after being together for over a year that he gave me a "promise" ring because he planned for us to be together forever.
..... to be continued.....

Life lesson #2:  Cherish your memories of young love. It's the best feeling ever!