It was love at first sight. I can’t even explain how my heart leapt out to her. She’s now 18 and off to college next month. You never know where or when you’ll find love. Be open to it when it comes?
MY FIRST LOVE
My first love was in the mid-seventies. I was in junior high school (8th grade) and I hung out in a group of guys and girls together. We were wanna be hippies. I was skipping school sitting out front with my friends protesting a war that was about to end.
There was one boy who was there who was new. He had charisma, a great happy smile, long brown hair, green eyes. He sat next to me and started talking to me like I was his friend.
To say I was an introvert is an understatement. I didn’t talk, I listened. I read probably ten hours a day. I’m not sure why my friends liked me looking back as I didn’t really contribute much. Maybe being heard was enough for them. It certainly was for Perry. He invited me to his house to meet his family and I accepted.
I was a latchkey kid which is synonymous with “do whatever you want.” So I went to Perry’s house. He had a really nice mom who was always home (unlike my single mother), and he had two brothers. One was deaf. He was so sweet to him and was singing and laughing with him. I was smitten.
Perry was genuinely a great upbeat person that treated me like a lady. When other friends were having their boyfriends pressure them to have sex he said we were too young and he respected me too much.
Unfortunately he moved away after a year. I was heartbroken. Back then kids didn’t make long distance calls. They only wrote letters. We corresponded for a year and then fell away. I will never forget that smile that lit up his whole face, and it was directed at me. I did see him again ten years later, though. To be continued.
DON’T OVERDO LOVE
One night I worked late and was starving when I left work. I was also rather poor. So I zipped to the grocery store for some cheap eats on my way home. I was getting tired of cans of tuna fish and Ramen noodles.
In the cereal aisle I saw a box of Golden Grahams Honey Graham cereal. Hmm. That sounded yummy. So I grabbed the box and a quart of skim milk and made my way home to enjoy my dinner in front of the TV.
The calories per serving was only 150 calories, so I decided to go for two servings. That was more than cool. I eyeballed two servings and filled my bowl. Then poured cold milk over it.
It was delicious! I LOVED that stuff. I was so hungry it went real quick. Hmm. Should I wait 20 minutes and see if I’m full? Nah. I poured another bowl. It was only 600 calories. Well, the skim milk is 80 calories a cup. So to be honest with myself the total was 760 calories. Lots of dinners are 760 calories. Aren’t they?
I enjoyed the next bowl more than the first. After all the first was just an appetizer. This one I took the time to savor the honey and graham cracker flavors. Not bad. I had a brief interlude when I considered adding chocolate to the milk. Then it’d be like S’mores. The truth is I didn’t do it only because I was too lazy to get up.
After I finished the second bowl I shook the cereal box. It felt light. I looked in it. It was almost gone. Were cereal manufacturers putting less cereal in boxes nowadays? I know the last Big Mac I had seemed much smaller than I remembered.
Recycling was coming the next day, and frankly there wasn’t enough cereal left to have a decent bowl in the future, so I decided to polish it off. I poured the rest of the box into the bowl. I didn’t have to add more milk. You know how that goes. There’s always extra milk left over.
I wasn’t really that hungry at that point. Okay, I was full. But something propelled me to finish it anyway. So I did. After that my stomach hurt. Honey Grahams cereal didn’t seem so great anymore. What had I done? I ate an ENTIRE box of cereal. I’m only 5' 3".
That cereal and milk was splashing around in my stomach. The cereal was soaking up the milk and ballooning in my stomach.
Why did I go too far? I swore I’d never do that again. Furthermore, I decided I really didn’t like Honey Grahams at all. So I never ate them again.
I learned that overdoing it takes away the allure.
THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. Romans 5:7
This is a sad and uplifting true story that happened many years ago. Andrea, 13, tells her parents she’s going to 7-11 to get a snack and will be back soon. They say good-bye and she’s on her way. She takes a common path that kids use all the time. It’s a shortcut through the woods. No one is on the path as the sun dims on the crisp Sunday evening. Andrea hears raucous laughing and partying ahead. She hesitates, but it’s too late. A group of older guys are drinking and notice her. I won’t get into details but she gets raped by more than one of them. While she’s in shock a tall young black man (significant because of the years ago part) was walking the path and saw what was happening. He hollered at the guy to get off of her, bent down and pushed the guy hard off of her. Maybe he was really strong or the other guys were really high or drunk or both because when the four other guys came at him, he was able to fight them off. He picked up Andrea and ran off with her. She was out of it as he raced through the woods with her. Before he reached the road he set her down and helped her get dressed. Then he picked her up again and took her to the 7-11 and went right to the pay phone and called the police. He held her until the police came. She never saw him again except from afar when she got to high school. He just smiled and nodded to her.
DRIVING THE DISTANCE
It was hot and humid. Sweat dripped down my face and all my clothes were plastered to my body. It was the evening of July 3rd. I stood on top of a three story building in a Mexican border town looking over to Texas and its night lights. I was going to be alone for the 4th of July while my son and husband were in California working on a mission trip. It was lonely in the orphanage I was working at. The hours were long and my Spanish was poor so I couldn’t communicate well with the native workers. My only consolation was the amazing children I was giving a bath to in a cheap plastic baby pool. They were having a great time splashing around. I splashed and played with them to get rid of the tug on my heart.
The next day I realized that it was business as usual. It wasn’t a holiday in Mexico. I was washing dishes for fifty kids, which was challenging. We only had running water in the middle of the night so we would fill up barrels of water and pour them into a three bowl commercial sink. I was accustomed to 3am showers.
My mind drifted into a mantra, Wash, rinse, rinse. God please give me running water. I miss my husband. Be grateful. Suddenly the water started flowing from the sink. It felt like a miracle. I wept for the children that have to live in these conditions and not being able to be with my family.
I was wiping the last dish dry a few hours later while I watched the sun shrinking in the sky. In walked my husband and son! He had driven all the way from California to the east coast of Mexico. He drove 1,500 miles straight, 30 hours to get to me in time for the 4th of July. I was so touched and happy to see him. I fell into his arms. Then I hugged my son who was full of tales of their road trip. It was music to my ears.
I took them up on the roof. We each held a child in our arms and watched the fireworks over in Texas. It was the most spectacular 4th of July I’ve celebrated. I really appreciated my home country and my family.
ALL THE THINGS WE COULD’VE TALKED ABOUT…
First, listen to the words of “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin.
We never know when we are going to lose a loved one. My mother was a single mother who raised five kids by working two or three jobs for thirty years. I really didn’t know her very well until I was older. I learned that she was popular in her high school and dated the football quarterback and had a great time in those years. She grew up poor as an orphan in her small town in Tennessee. Her and her siblings moved from one vacant shack to another. She envied children that had a real Christmas. A great Christmas for her would be getting an ora
nge. When she graduated from high school she went to nursing school in Memphis where she met my father, a foul mouthed New Yorker, at a USO dance. They married three months later.
When my mother fell ill with cancer I was in full throttle working and raising my children. I focused on her care when I was with her in the evenings instead of asking her what’s on her mind. I watched Jeopardy, Judge Judy, and Wheel of Fortune with her. But I didn’t try to get to know her more. It was only when I realized how little I really knew about her that I stopped and sat with her. There wasn’t enough time. I wanted to scream when relatives came to pay their respects all the time. The nurse had to see her. In between we talked. I learned that she had opinions I’d never known about. She wanted me to take care of my brother’s children since he was a single father. I found out she didn’t like one of my Aunts. I even found out she had two middle names. She even candidly told me what she thought of her five kids.
There is so much I don’t know about her now. Her favorite color. Her favorite season. My heart aches for her. There are so many things we could’ve talked about…
IT’S ALL ABOUT SEX, BABY…
Ok. So this is a love story venue. Sex fits in there somewhere. Was that a pun? Okay. How many hours a day you can you really average having sex other than the first month? This should be considered when weighing in its importance. Blooper. Of course a relationship can’t exist long term without satisfying sex. But the other hours do matter. I’d like to talk about the difference between sex in love and sex not in love, yet.
Not in love sex. We all know the chemistry phase sometimes called the honeymoon phase. Some people are addicted to this phase and are serial relationship people. It’s all about sex during this time. You sit at work thinking about what new things you can do sexually. As a matter of fact the desk right in front of you would be erotic. I think I’ll send an email to my lover right now to discuss how having sex on my desk at work would be. That’s a plan. Of course I’d have to wear a dress to work. Isn’t that the only reason we women wear dresses? To feel the breeze on our thighs? I know in the beginning of a relationship my dress wearing skyrockets. It’s sexy. Let your imagination run wild.
Sorry, I’m not into writing sex scenes where the words loins, buds, lips (not the ones on your face), tempest, cleavage, stiff, membrane, and so on are used. New relationships are all rough, new, exciting and a little scary. Then it tapers off and either you break up or move to what I call the love stage.
Now in this stage the effort you make directly corresponds to the result. You don’t just moisten up when you see their text. As a matter of fact you’re annoyed at their timing.
The in love sex is when a caress is an act of affection. A slow burn. Where you partner knows every way that pleases you. It’s comfort and relaxing. Sometimes because they know what pleases you they surprise you. Like the time we walked to a deserted part of a high school during our kid’s school play. Hmm. I was wearing a dress. All the more naughty because in love people are supposed to be pedestrian. Right. Those in the moment times are important too as it is an expression of love to mix it up.
Either in love or in chemistry sex is a wonderful gift. But falling in chemistry instead of love too often I’ve seen spoils one’s ability to have a real long term loving relationship. These people are more easily dissatisfied and tend to compare their current romance to previous sexual relationships. It’s hard to have that many people in the bedroom at once. Your partner can tell when that happens.
Real truth. I have a child who married their first and only person. Their reasoning was that everything is wonderful because their partner’s face is the only one they see in bed.
MUSIC ON MY MIND…
I want to dedicate this post to Stevie Wonder. I was in line next to him at the airport yesterday. He was so nice I realized that the songs he sings display his core. He expressed himself through his music. He wrote Isn’t She Lovely when his daughter Aisha was born in 1975.
It made me think of all the songs that I have loved and needed during different periods of my life. Can you make a list? Think of the songs that you listened to and got comfort from during a tough part of your life.
Here are some of mine—
Gotta watch this—“The Four Chord Song” by Axis of Awesome.
Solidified my faith as a child in a single parent household—“Jesus Loves Me,” “Amazing Grace,” “Swing Low” and “Blackbird.”
Lonely latch key days—“Graceland.”
My first slow dance—“Stairway to Heaven.”
When I moved as a kid and made a friend—“Bennie & the Jets.”
When I Got Married (we sang this at our wedding, forgive the cheesiness)—“If We Hold on Together” by Anndi McAfee and Aria Curzon.
Love songs—“Unchained Melody,” “When I Was Your Man,” “Someone Like You.”
Carefree Songs—“Happy,” “I’ve Got a Feeling,” Chic – “La Freak,” Lorde – “Royals,” “Imagine,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” – “Hey Ya” – “Crazy in Love”—there’s so many here.
“Love of My Child”—An original by my daughter Blanca Stella going to college this month who is a musician—She’s fairly horrified at my lack of music knowledge—I’ll miss you sweetie! It’s been a long road from that orphanage to now – “That Kid.”
Music is an influential part of our lives. Certain songs resonate with us. The University of Miami is doing a study to see which rhythms or beats resonate with people the most. They believe that certain rhythms evoke specific emotions in people. That’s cool. I had fun writing this. Spend some time reminiscing with YouTube or your playlists soon.
SKYBEAR
Skybear was the dog everyone hopes for. He was Border Collie and Shepard mix with one green and one brown eye. He had a thick chestnut and gray coat that shed like crazy in the summer. He watched over the kids patiently and never lost his temper when they played rough with him. He walked right next to me no matter where we were. Always by my side making sure our family unit was safe.
There was one day that Skybear proved his love for our family. I was out with the kids. My husband was at home taking a nap. The house was on fire. The neighbors called the fire department when they saw the smoke. The firemen broke into the front door, ran upstairs and put out the fire. Skybear kept running upstairs and barking then running downstairs back to my husband unconscious on the living room sofa. Skybear just kept barking and barking not quitting always coming back to my husband’s side.
The fireman seeing that the upstairs was clear followed Skybear to get him out of the house. They followed Skybear right to my husband’s side. There sat a loyal Skybear with an insistent stare that said, “Save my Master.” The firemen took my husband out of the house and Skybear stayed by his side the whole time. If Skybear didn’t persevere my husband would’ve died of asphyxiation.
Sometimes our pets love us more than we can imagine. Skybear lived another five years. His hips were bad. If he was on pain meds he couldn’t walk. If he wasn’t he cried he was in so much pain. We finally put him to sleep to relieve his pain. I loved him. We wept for two days after he died.
THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
A clown fish has bold orange and white stripes but it’s about as tiny as a thumb. Nemo was a clown fish. They live where the most vibrant marine life resides, The Australian Great Barrier Reef.
My daughter, Christina, was doing her junior year abroad in Sydney. It was her spring break. It was also her birthday. I flew in to surprise her.
It was a 20 hour flight with a drunk foul mouthed Aussie mom out backer sitting right behind me, hence I’ve had no sleep. I rented a car and carefully drove on the opposite side of the road with only one harrowing moment.
When I got to her dorm it wasn’t a dorm. It was a co-ed house. When I knocked on the door a young woman answered and told me Christina wasn’t there.
Geez. I flew all this way and she wasn’t there! Her roomie invited me in. I sat, trying to figure out what
to do. A few minutes later Christina came in the door. She’d been running. Whew.
She was happy to see me. After telling me about the bedbugs everyone in the house had she quickly asked me if I’d take her to the Great Barrier Reef. Like now. So we flew up there that day.
No one was swimming on the beach. We thankfully realized there were thousands of jellyfish before we got too far out in the water. Some have a nasty sting.
We decided to take the boat out and go scuba diving in the reef. They take you by the hand and bring you around if you’re not certified. The coral is huge and gorgeous with every colorful fish you can imagine. Even sharks swim around. Thankfully the tourist companies net off areas for our safety.
I’ve traveled many places in the world and nothing has given me the excitement and tears of joy I had. I genuinely loved that place and will remember it forever.
SARAH ROBINSON
Sarah Robinson is the bestselling author of four novels in the romantic suspense and contemporary romance genre including Tainted Bodies, Book One of The Photographer Trilogy. She has several other novels in the works and is currently negotiating contracts with several publishing houses. She lives outside of Washington, DC with her husband, Justin, and their menagerie of pets.
HURRICANE SANDY VERSUS SISTERHOOD: BASED ON A TRUE STORY
“I would go with the four-pack, those are not enough.” Sarah’s boyfriend, Justin, said to her as they browsed the grocery store shelves, perusing the flashlights.
“Why would we need four flashlights? There are only two of us.” She responded, placing the single flashlight she had originally picked out back on the shelf.
One Page Love Story- Share the Love Page 16