She was The First ! - - - - - - - - A Story of Love and Loss
Part - 3 of 4
Yes. I saw her again.
And yes, the romance continued.
The first year of 3 was very enchanting.
I knew it at the time, as young as I was.
I knew that I was hopelessly in love with her.
Though at the time we simply became pen pals.
A terminology quite unfamiliar to most people that are probably reading this these days.
Pen Pals = People that conversated through mailed letters to each other sent through the postal service.
It's a thing that sticks with me today and still causes me to adore the act of placing a stamp upon an envelope.
I wrote to her, and she wrote to me and thus was borne my love for the English language and the many ways a thought could be expressed. The many ways a boy could express his love, or his simplest thoughts to another being in the hopes they would be accepted in the ways he intended. The many ways a girl could respond to a boy using words of adoration and understanding.
What a glorious school year of correspondence.
The two of us also shared a few phone calls as well. But back in the 80's those things came at a literal price. I was 12 and she was 11, so I was naturally a bit bolder in that regard. And she..., well she was from a much stricter household and it's quite possible her mom would have beaten her and then hunted me down afterwards. So I placed numerous calls to my dear, sweet, captivating, childhood love. She was worth every scolding, punishment, and grounding I was ever subject to.
In that year we deftly defied her mom, and I withstood the multiple forms of punishment, but in the end we two were able to coordinate the next year at camp. I remember arriving before her that year and scouring the entire camp to see where she was, even though she wasn't there yet. I remember thinking that somehow..., I messed things up and was there either too early or too late. Maybe I had gotten the dates all wrong?
But I was eventually assured by a counselor that she was scheduled to arrive that day and I felt a bit better.
Yet somehow my anxiousness heightened.
She did eventually arrive. Hours after I forced my mom to bring me extra early.
But somehow, despite my adolescent attempts to monitor every coming and going, I missed her arrival.
I eventually met up with Alex first. You'd think I may have given myself away a little bit when I asked in a demanding voice..., "When did you get here? Is your sister here? Where is, Amy? Did she come ?"
All at once and without a single break in the demand structure. I'm not even sure if I took a breath as I beratingly launched my questions at him.
But he was always Alex and simply replied..., "Hey, Rob..., it's good to see you. I've been here for over an hour."
You'd probably think a brother would be more in tune. But Alex, as I had yet to learn, wasn't much of a brother at all.
"Over an hour?" I squeaked out as if somebody had stolen one of my lungs...
"Yeah, I would have been up here sooner, but my sister made us stop at the barn before we signed in." Alex replied as if I was missing him in some way.
I was incredulous. All I could do was mumble a reply that was something like, "Yeah, that sounds like her." as I tried to retain the level of coolness I had built up the year before.
But deep down inside..., all I was thinking was..., "Oh my God..., she's here somewhere ! The cutest girl ever is walking around somewhere in this camp !"
All the calls, all the letters, all the punishments or the $300 phone bill...., and she was there..., Somewhere.
The perfect little, small town girl, with the waving curls, and the smile...., she was there somewhere, and I was still supposedly her boyfriend !
I was astounded. Taken aback, Dumfounded, and overwhelmed...
Overwhelming me was something she did often, and still does to this day.
Overwhelming.
That was Amy.
I'm not sure how else I could describe her as accurately in a single word.
"Overwhelming"
That kind of sums her up, I think.
Not in a bad way, or a way that isn't anything less than amazing. But yes, OVERWHELMING is what she was to me and after talking to Alex, I became overwhelmed.
Her and I met later that day. It was almost evening, and it was just before dinner time.
All I wanted to do when I saw her cute little face...,
I just wanted to grab her and hug her and lay a kiss on her lips that would overwhelm her the way that I felt overwhelmed inside.
I walked straight at her, and she stared into my eyes as I walked up.
She seemed so ready to be hugged and kissed.
I was so ready to hug and kiss her.
And then...
I shook her hand and asked how she was...
She showed no sign of dismay or disdain, and she let me lay my arm across her shoulder and we walked into the dining hall together.
Oh, if I only knew what a foolish fool I was in that moment of time..?
But there she was. The prettiest girl that God ever decided to create.
And there I was at her side.
Walking into a room filled with everyone that mattered at that point in time.
That was the year Alex and I became Best Friends for a solid minute.
A thing I regretted, but not until many years later.
(It's become obvious to me that this story is going to go further than 4 parts - my apologies to anyone that's followed it)
Yes. I saw her again.
And yes, the romance continued.
The first year of 3 was very enchanting.
I knew it at the time, as young as I was.
I knew that I was hopelessly in love with her.
Though at the time we simply became pen pals.
A terminology quite unfamiliar to most people that are probably reading this these days.
Pen Pals = People that conversated through mailed letters to each other sent through the postal service.
It's a thing that sticks with me today and still causes me to adore the act of placing a stamp upon an envelope.
I wrote to her, and she wrote to me and thus was borne my love for the English language and the many ways a thought could be expressed. The many ways a boy could express his love, or his simplest thoughts to another being in the hopes they would be accepted in the ways he intended. The many ways a girl could respond to a boy using words of adoration and understanding.
What a glorious school year of correspondence.
The two of us also shared a few phone calls as well. But back in the 80's those things came at a literal price. I was 12 and she was 11, so I was naturally a bit bolder in that regard. And she..., well she was from a much stricter household and it's quite possible her mom would have beaten her and then hunted me down afterwards. So I placed numerous calls to my dear, sweet, captivating, childhood love. She was worth every scolding, punishment, and grounding I was ever subject to.
In that year we deftly defied her mom, and I withstood the multiple forms of punishment, but in the end we two were able to coordinate the next year at camp. I remember arriving before her that year and scouring the entire camp to see where she was, even though she wasn't there yet. I remember thinking that somehow..., I messed things up and was there either too early or too late. Maybe I had gotten the dates all wrong?
But I was eventually assured by a counselor that she was scheduled to arrive that day and I felt a bit better.
Yet somehow my anxiousness heightened.
She did eventually arrive. Hours after I forced my mom to bring me extra early.
But somehow, despite my adolescent attempts to monitor every coming and going, I missed her arrival.
I eventually met up with Alex first. You'd think I may have given myself away a little bit when I asked in a demanding voice..., "When did you get here? Is your sister here? Where is, Amy? Did she come ?"
All at once and without a single break in the demand structure. I'm not even sure if I took a breath as I beratingly launched my questions at him.
But he was always Alex and simply replied..., "Hey, Rob..., it's good to see you. I've been here for over an hour."
You'd probably think a brother would be more in tune. But Alex, as I had yet to learn, wasn't much of a brother at all.
"Over an hour?" I squeaked out as if somebody had stolen one of my lungs...
"Yeah, I would have been up here sooner, but my sister made us stop at the barn before we signed in." Alex replied as if I was missing him in some way.
I was incredulous. All I could do was mumble a reply that was something like, "Yeah, that sounds like her." as I tried to retain the level of coolness I had built up the year before.
But deep down inside..., all I was thinking was..., "Oh my God..., she's here somewhere ! The cutest girl ever is walking around somewhere in this camp !"
All the calls, all the letters, all the punishments or the $300 phone bill...., and she was there..., Somewhere.
The perfect little, small town girl, with the waving curls, and the smile...., she was there somewhere, and I was still supposedly her boyfriend !
I was astounded. Taken aback, Dumfounded, and overwhelmed...
Overwhelming me was something she did often, and still does to this day.
Overwhelming.
That was Amy.
I'm not sure how else I could describe her as accurately in a single word.
"Overwhelming"
That kind of sums her up, I think.
Not in a bad way, or a way that isn't anything less than amazing. But yes, OVERWHELMING is what she was to me and after talking to Alex, I became overwhelmed.
Her and I met later that day. It was almost evening, and it was just before dinner time.
All I wanted to do when I saw her cute little face...,
I just wanted to grab her and hug her and lay a kiss on her lips that would overwhelm her the way that I felt overwhelmed inside.
I walked straight at her, and she stared into my eyes as I walked up.
She seemed so ready to be hugged and kissed.
I was so ready to hug and kiss her.
And then...
I shook her hand and asked how she was...
She showed no sign of dismay or disdain, and she let me lay my arm across her shoulder and we walked into the dining hall together.
Oh, if I only knew what a foolish fool I was in that moment of time..?
But there she was. The prettiest girl that God ever decided to create.
And there I was at her side.
Walking into a room filled with everyone that mattered at that point in time.
That was the year Alex and I became Best Friends for a solid minute.
A thing I regretted, but not until many years later.
(It's become obvious to me that this story is going to go further than 4 parts - my apologies to anyone that's followed it)
