Monday Memories... Crazy Crush!

Have you ever had a crush on someone? I mean a REALLY bad crush that didn't go away for quite a while?! Well, I have. And, I know most of you are not surprised by that fact. Well, I was in 8th grade and I had a crush on the most interesting Senior in High School I had ever had a conversation with. No doubt, he was the ONLY senior in High School I had ever had a conversation with! And looking back now, I really wonder why he even gave me the time of day. I think (OK, I maybe even KNOW) it was because he was really weird. Anyway, that is neither here, nor there. To the story then...

Valentine's Day was coming up, and because I really only had eyes for one person at that time, (which was rare for me growing up, believe me!) I had to do SOMETHING for him! We weren't dating by any means. I mean, I was in 8th grade for crying out loud! But, he did still go to all the church dances as a senior (see weird comment above), and he did have access to a car, so he took me with him; just the two of us sometimes. And, he did dance with me sometimes (OK, so maybe mostly on the fast songs), so it was love, right!?

Anyway, I came up with this great idea to decorate his bedroom for Valentines Day with all sorts of balloons and candy and hearts. I got this great big blow-up heart (just like the picture above) that said "I'm yours" on it. I also got one of those HUGE 2 feet tall cards that says "Here's lookin' at you, Valentine... and you're lookin' GOOD!" in which I poured out my innermost feelings of love for this boy. I was friends with this guy's sister, so it wasn't hard to decorate his room. "In fact", I thought, "I should hide in his closet until he gets home from school and then when he gets home I'll jump out and say 'Happy Valentine's Day, I'm yours'. Yeah, that would be PERFECT!" So, that's exactly what I did. I remember hiding in his closet (the main motive was actually because I was afraid his mom would come in his room) for probably close to an hour. Finally, the time was here. He was home!! Feelings of self-doubt began to fill my entire body! Was I setting myself up for complete and utter humiliation? Should I even have decorated his bedroom in the first place? And why did I think hiding in the closet was just the extra touch this whole thing needed? (Oh sure, NOW you start using your head, Emily!) but it was TOO late. So, I did it. I jumped out. I put myself out there. And you know what he did? He laughed. Then he asked me if I had made some of the candy I'd put all over his room, myself. As if I just happened to know how to "whip up" cinnamon gummy hearts from scratch! I remember that an awkward silence filled his bedroom as I stood there watching him do nothing. I guess I expected him to embrace me and tell me that he felt the same way I did, and that even though I still had a couple of years until I was allowed to date, and he would well into his mission by then, that he would wait for me. Our love would endure the test of time! Anyway, it wasn't long after this happened that I decided it wasn't "meant to be" for the two of us. The funny thing is that this individual didn't get married until he was quite a bit into that "menace to society" stage, and a few times in our adulthood when I accidentally ran into him, he commented to me that he still had that big blow up heart I gave him, as if to say, "I'm still here for the taking!" I knew at that point, that he WAS weird. Sorry, if you know him. Sorry, if you love him... he was just a tad bit weird. But, hey, after THIS story, no doubt you are questioning who the REAL weird-o is. I am not even going to try and deny it!