"L" is for Lisa and First Love

My fifth grade son has a girlfriend. The last week of school, this past May, he announced he was going to kiss her, but that never materialized.

The two did not correspond or see each other over the summer. She lives on the other side of town.

Last week he mentioned her again. School resumed two weeks ago. Apparently they are still “together.” Two nights ago, as he kissed me good-nite, he said he was going to try to hug his girl the next day. Yesterday morning he ate his breakfast and ran upstairs to brush his teeth. That’s when I heard the shower running – 10 minutes before we had to leave for school.

He came downstairs smelling like Axe.

On the way to school he said that not only was he going to try to hug her, but also kiss her and hold her hand. After that I must have lost consciousness because my friend, who was dropping off her child at the school too, said she waved to me but I did not see her.

My son came home from school. He said he did not get a hug, a kiss or a hand-holding session. He said that he and the girl talked at recess. Asked what they talked about, he replied, “Business.”

I believe this girl may be my son’s First Love.

With all of these feelings surfacing from my dear boy, I started thinking about my First Love.

His name was Tim.

Tim and I were classmates. It was the third grade.

I don’t know whose mother made the arrangements but Tim ended up at my house, in my backyard, where we played on my swing set until nearly dark. Then he stayed for dinner. My first “date.” I don’t remember what we ate, all I remember was Tim was at my house and all was good. I don’t know if it was that day but at some point during that school year Tim gave me a present. I’m sure his mother picked it out – it was perfect. The initial “L” on a chain. My initial. Beautiful. I still have that gold necklace. Here it is.

Tim’s mother lives in my town now. Tim lives just down the highway between the town where we grew up and where his mother and I live. My First Love was not a physical relationship. I had feelings. I’ll bet he had feelings too. In third grade we did not act on those feelings.

In fact we never acted on feelings but we continued to be friends. I remember going to my first co-ed party at his house, for his birthday. He lived just on the outskirts of town where his house, located at the base of a cliff, was surrounded by a small wooded area. There were grapevines intertwined among the trees. We swung on those grapevines and I remember this like it was yesterday.

In high school I went to a couple of big parties at his house. We were getting older and the parties were getting more mature. There were no grapevines to swing on then but there were cold beverages consumed. My parents learned about that party and my behavior, and I was grounded for a month.

I see Tim's mother from time to time and we speak – catch up on Tim and his wife, and my husband and three sons. And though I only see him every five years at our class reunion, I remember the boy, my First Love, with fondness.