The Cutest Boy

To put it mildly, I was not popular in high school. I had a few friends at school, girls to eat lunch with, but no one was clamoring for my attentions.

Early on, during my freshman and sophomore years, I spent a lot of time babysitting, and I eventually got a “real job” (read: shovelling popcorn at the local cineplex) so I filled my time with a lot of other things; I wasn't active in a lot of school activities that happened outside of school hours; I did yearbook, band and chorus, but after 2:40, my time was taken up with other things.

A significant portion of those “other things” involved my home church and diocesean events; our diocese covered basically the entire Bay Area, from San Jose to Marin, so I was making friends from all of those places, in my time outside of the school day.
And naturally, as teenaged girls are wont to do, I had A Crush. He was adorable and funny and everyone at camp liked him and wanted to be his friend. And everyone was his friend! He could make you laugh and give the sweetest hugs, but he didn't just save them for certain people; he gave them freely. He had a couple of buddies, and they were always around. Nice enough guys, but I never got to know them as well as I did My Crush.
All through high school, I'd only see him every couple of months; weekend long diocesean youth events, all-day gatherings and concerts… and BREAD camp.
Standing for “Bible, Recreation, Education And Discovery”, BREAD is a weeklong summer camp that's the place to be if you're a teenager in the Episcopal Diocese of California. Part theology, part traditional summer camp, all fun and amazing memories. Always, on that first day of BREAD, My Crush would make his rounds, passing out hugs and greetings of “Hi Lady!” (He was a big Animaniacs fan, I guess?) and it's a sound I can still hear in my mind now.
I'd savor that hug, since I knew it might be the only moment I'd have for the week. I'd do lots of admiring from afar, maybe end up at the same table at a meal, but that was it.
I was self-conscious and awkward, he was seemingly perfect.
And so I admired him from afar, knowing he was out of my league.
Knowing that nothing would ever come of this Crush, I even had a boyfriend at one point, my senior year, but every time my path crossed My Crush's, my heart would flip flop and he'd grin at me and I'd die a little.

But this prompt isn't about my high school daydreams. It's about where he is now.

Easy. I married him!

Eventually.

From left to right: The 2 best friends from summer camp, Dave and Austin
(now an Episcopal priest) Jamie and me, my sister Katie

A mere eight years post-high school, I snagged the boy man of my dreams, and married him 3 years after that. Now? We're working on our happily ever after!