Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Monday, July 14, 2014

First Crush

What's not to love, right?
I was in grade four.
Nine years old.
At the dawn of a new age.
I had discovered boys. Or more specifically, boy.
KS was smart.
Cute.
Sweet.
Taller than me.
And my neighbor.
He had everything important going for him.
At first, I didn’t know what to do with my newfound crush. I really didn’t know what it was. I had had plenty of boy friends in the past.
Boys that I competed against at every opportunity.
Sports.
Schoolwork.
But none that I just wanted to . . . be near.
Puzzled, I did all the normal things.
Followed him around at a discrete distance.
Hid behind cars and buildings if he looked in my direction.
Stared across the room at him in class.
Avoided him at recess.
What was this weird attraction?
I had suddenly developed mental ‘global positioning’. I could tell you the precise location of KS at any time of the day.
Without ever seeming to look at him.
I’m sure I was pretty obvious in my interest. But when you’re nine - and you wish it - you’re invisible.
And then . . . that day . . .
First, our class had a Box Social.
Okay, I know that dates me, but the fact remains.
All of the boys brought a box lunch for two and then shared it with his assigned ‘girl’ partner.
We lined up and the teacher numbered us off.
I tired to position myself so that I would match KS.
But my counting was off.
I ended up with a boy who brought peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
Peanut butter and banana? I had never heard of such a thing.
Nor had my stomach.
And the two of us agreed that we'd be happier with our mutual ignorance.
I looked longingly across the playground at KS and his partner.
Happily munching on whatever KS had brought.
Sigh.
Later that day, tired of listening to my bleating, my friends cornered KS and his friends and wrung a confession out of him.
He liked me!
It was the happiest day of my life!
So what did we do then?
Nothing.
We were nine.
Oh, occasionally, we would . . . you know . . . talk. I called him on the phone once, to beg a ride to church. And once, I sat next to him in Sunday School class.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
But that’s about it.
My family moved. And soon another crush filled my life.
Moving ahead.
I hadn’t seen or thought about KS for nearly fifty years.
Then, one day, there he was in my church congregation.
Now, until that moment, I couldn’t remember what the nine-year-old boy had looked like.
But I knew him as soon as I saw him.
Strangely, he hadn’t changed much at all.
Taller.
And definitely older.
But still that boy.
My first crush.
It made me smile.

14 comments:

  1. "..and they call it/puppy love...." LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ah, first crush - you've made me remember mine, now. My diary entries were all the same. They consisted of a detailed description of my outfit for the day (why? I was never interested in fashion) and whether or not I saw that boy, who unfortunately did not reciprocate my interest. It took the move to junior high with its new crop of boys to knock that guy out of the crush role! Sweet post, Diane.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After that experience, there was always some boy I was secretly dreaming about. And no, they never did reciprocate! :(

      Delete
  3. So sweet! I vividly remember my first crush too. Wonder what happened to him?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, this was a sweet one. It stirred up a few memories of some boys I liked. It's so funny to think back on how we went about trying to see them or run into them.
    Blessings for this fun one!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wondering if you said hi to the adult verison of your crush ? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally did! I walked over, put out my hand and said hi. He looked at me and said, "Diane Stringam!" I could have died happy right there! :)

      Delete
  6. No woman ever forgets her first crush but we can't seem to remember where we keft our glasses. The mind is a peculiar thing! Sweet story Diane!

    ReplyDelete

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