Letters To My Future Husband: Letter #24

Dear Mr. Melissa Blake:

I’m sure by now we’ve talked at length about our past (I probably told you more than you wanted to know, but get used to it) – about our past love, crushes and romantic grand slams and grand failures. I’m sure we laughed about them, looking back in retreospect, but did I ever tell you my Top 10 Romantic Moments of All Time? OK, so being that I’m a dork (and you probably fell in love with my dorkiness within the first month of meeting me), these ‘moments’ were sort of one-sided. Alright, technically, the guy in each moment technically didn’t know he was a part of it – sort of like a candid camera thing, I guess. But they were special to me, and I want you to know everything that’s special to me, just as I want to know everything that’s special to you. Isn’t that what a relationship is founded upon — finding out those little things about people that make them, well, them.

I hope you won’t get jealous, and I promise I’ll try not to get too jealous of your list. And, guess what? By the time we meet, I’m sure you’ll be bumped up to #1, so you’ve got that to look forward to!!

1990: Spencer, as I’ve said before, was my first crush. First crushes are amazing, especially for my third-grade self who thought he was the most adorable boy in my elementary school. I recently found him on Facebook and he’s still adorable – and SINGLE!!!

July 1995: Crush Boy. I still remember running right to my journal after his family left on the evening we met. I said how cute he was, and by my 15th birthday the next year, I was convinced he was my soulmate and that I was destined to spend the rest of my life with him. I spent the next 14 years trying to work up the courage to give voice to my feelings, but it took this blog to help me along. See…I AM better with words when I write them down and don’t actually say things out loud.

1996: Brian Steinmetz was what you’d call my first Bad Boy. Oh, he was a really bad one too. He was constantly getting sent to the principal’s office or slouching in his desk at the back of the room. He didn’t seem to care about anything, and for some reason, I found that incredibly hot. Plus, he had that dangerous element to him that my pre-teen rebel – as much of a rebel as she could be – thought would bring wild and crazy to my boring, ho-hum existence.

Summer 1997: That summer, I fell in love with Jake, the lifeguard at the local pool. He smoked, worked as a nude model and sprawled on the lawn chairs everyday, the sun illuminating the tattoos on his Greek-like sculpted back. We flirted (or so I thought at the time), he smiled at me, and I was in love. My father didn’t approve. I wonder whatever happened to him….Jake, are you out there??

Fall 1997: Matt Keyes. He was a senior in my sophomore English class. I didn’t even care about that, really. What I really cared about what the fact that he had gorgeous sideburns and didn’t give a damn that he might not graduate come spring. This guy had the IT factor. One day after he used my pen in class, I went home and marked it with White Out, so I’d always know THAT was the pen he touched. Thankfully, I don’t have the pen anymore, but the memories will never fade.

Fall 1998: During my Junior year of high school, I found exactly what people meant when they talked about the brain being a sexy organ. Brown-Eyed Editor and I worked side-by-side as I fell in love with journalism – and him. He had Chandler Bing’s wit and Ross Geller’s intelligence, which just about made him the sexiest guy in school to me. I subtley flirted with him the whole year. It didn’t work, apparently, because he got married last summer.

Spring 2000: Mike Rice was in my Senior English class. I dubbed him my Dawson’s Creek boyfriend because he reminded me of Dawson Leery: smart, whimsical, funny, sensitive. A months ago, I found out he teaches high school nearby, so I emailed him. He’s engaged – but still soooo cute. Darn.

Fall 2001: Paul Mikolajczyk (man, I can’t believe I even remember how to spell his name). I was only 20 and editor of my college’s newspaper. He was 25, an ex-Marine and the managing editor. Technically, I was his boss. I thought that was incredibly hot. I sat in the office every morning and nearly squealed out loud on the day he complimented me on my sweater. I recently found out he’s engaged. Darn. Again. Why am I starting to see a pattern here?

Summer 2002: Steven Greenberg. I have a serious weakness for medical residents (you know — docs in training), and when I found myself rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago because of an allergic reaction to medication, well, let’s just say Steven put all my fears to rest. He was comforting, soothing and said I was his bravest patient. I was actually sad when I had to check out of the hospital, though I can still recall with crystal-clear clarity the morning he came to take my blood and ran his hand up and down my arm looking for a vein.

Spring 2005: LA Hot Shot, at first, was my Seth Cohen. We met on our college’s newspaper, and he was the sort of guy who didn’t take life too seriously and could always make you laugh. He was the first guy I didn’t get completely flustered in front of and felt like I could be myself. Too bad he moved to LA and let the Hollywood sign swallow his head.

Fall 2007: Cute Guy Friend had been an acquaintance of mine since childhood. Our parents were friends, and after my dad died, he emailed me and we enjoyed getting to know each other as adults. He was cute, so when he asked me out for coffee, I happily accepted. Things were going great (could this actually be what could possibly pass as a date?) as we swapped stories out of post-college lives. Then he swapped this little tidbit of info, toward the end of “might-be” date: He had a girlfriend. Oh. OK. Darn. Yet. Again.

Fall 2008: I attended high school with Facebook Flirt, but surprisingly, our paths never crossed back then. When he wished me Happy Birthday on Facebook, obviously, I clicked on his profile and sort-of, maybe, just a little bit, sighed – and fell in love. He had moved to California, was a musician and had that intelligence that drove me wild. We began flirting back and forth, and in fact, we still are as of February 2009.

Hmm, I wonder….could you be one of the guys on this list? I guess only time will tell, but I’m looking forward to finding out.

xoxo,