It was a mere two months before graduation. I needed a date for prom and as a friend I asked him. I thought he was cute and funny and smart. I didn't expect what would happen. Between April 9th and May 11th I fell completely in love with him. Insanely in love. Every time I saw him my stomach would do back flips and I couldn't help but smile. The first time he said the words I was in Victoria, BC on a choir trip. He was high on pain meds from getting all his wisdom teeth out. I didn't think he remembered it and I was too scared to bring it up. It was weeks later when we finally said it. (Sober) In August R had to go to Phoenix for school. Even though we had only been together for five months, I agreed to move down there with him.
This is the part of my story that I tell people this; if I heard of an eighteen year old girl moving to another state with her boyfriend after only dating for five months, I would say they are crazy and foolish. But the truth of the matter is, when it's right you just know. I never doubted that I was making the right choice. I knew that R was the one right away. I would have gone anywhere with him. I have never doubted how much I love him and to this day (eight years later) he still gives me butterflies.
It isn't an exciting tale. There are no vampires or werewolves. But in my opinion, first love is the most exciting feeling out there. And really the saga isn't about the supernatural creatures. It’s about love. It's about knowing deep down, when you have found the right one. It's about how love is the most exhilarating feeling ever. It's about how it can scare you to the tips of your fingers to know that giving yourself completely to another person is the most harrowing experience ever. When I was young I thought that love was for the weak. For people who needed someone to rely on. Now I know that love, real love is for the strong. You have to have an insane amount of strength to love someone completely. In the entire saga the part that strikes me the most is this.
"One thing I truly knew—knew it in the pit of my stomach, in the center of my bones, knew it from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, knew it deep in my empty chest—was how love gave someone the power to break you."
Happy day after Valentine's Day!
I shed a few tears while reading this my sweet friend. Knowing the two of you is a blessing and I agree with everything you said. Yes love and giving yourself over to someone is scary because they do have the power to break you. But you jumped feet first. You leaped into a life with Mr. R and your life was not broken but enhanced. You are like I have said before.....
ReplyDeleteThe sprinkles on my sundae of life. I love you friend.