On This Day...

I am ridiculously and unapologetically sentimental.

Long before Facebook came out with its "On This Day" feature, I was constantly sharing endless memories with my family about important and not-so-important event anniversaries – things like, "7 years ago today, we got Muggsi" (our family's first Dachshund) and "13 years ago today, I started wearing contact lenses!"

I've been doing this for as long as I can remember.  I just have a thing for numbers and dates!  I have notebooks, calendars, planners, and agendas going back about 30 years, but I usually don't even have to try hard to remember important dates and events; it's like they occupy a permanent space in my brain.  While this is not really a useful skill to have, it does make for many happy recollections throughout the days and months of the year.

If you think it might be annoying to have a family member like me, imagine what it's like to be married to me!  Poor C!  On at least a weekly basis, and sometimes on a daily basis, I remind him, "23 years ago today, we went to WDW together for the first time" or "6 years ago, someone smashed into your car at the train station."  SO fun for him, right!?!  Especially when I catch him off guard and remind him of romantic anniversaries!  He's really good about the big ones, but I remember everything and often recall things like when we took a sleigh ride through the snow in Vermont or when we visited the Eiffel Towel.

It really must be exhausting to listen to me most days!

Why am I thinking about this today?  Because – you guessed it! – today is a memorable milestone in our relationship…it's the 29^th of December and today is the 29^th anniversary of our first kiss.

I wish I could tell you that it was a super romantic, swoon-worthy event.  It was not.  My parents – as you know, I love them! – were very strict and I had a 10 pm curfew on Fridays and Saturdays (I was NOT allowed to go out during the week).  These are things I am so grateful for now, seeing as I was only 15, but at the time, I hated these rules!  Nonetheless, it was winter break, so I was allowed to go out with friends.

A friend and I ended up hanging out with C and two of his friends for the evening.  When it was time for me to go home – you know, before 10 pm – C's friend borrowed his mom's station wagon (it was the '80's!) and we all piled into the car.  C sat in the very back and I sat in the back seat.  As we driving to my house, I reached back to hold his hand over the seat, because we'd been talking for almost two weeks (our epic 10-hour first phone call took place on December 17th) and I was completely smitten.  Like head over heels for this boy.

Let me be frank.  I was not cool by any stretch of the imagination.  Thick glasses, braces, one of the "new" kids at school that year…and as a result, I was not the most confident of girls.  But I knew that I liked him. SO much.  And when we got to my house, I decided it was now or never, so right before I got out of the car, I leaned back over the seat and planted a kiss on him.

In front of our three friends.

In a station wagon.

And if I had the chance for a do-over, I wouldn't take it.  Because it was magical.  Right then and there, I knew I would remember that exact moment for the rest of my life.

Without a doubt, one of the bravest things I've ever done.  Clearly also one of the smartest.

29 years after that kiss, I am still reminded of the importance of being brave.  Even when you have a million reasons to doubt yourself, be brave.  Even when you're not ready, be brave.  This has propelled me through some scary moments in my life: serious ones, when C and I had to live in two different countries for four-and-a-half years due to immigration issues; fun ones, when I jumped off a very high and terrifying cliff into the Colorado River with my brother; and career-altering ones, when I took a three-year hiatus from teaching to return to school and begin working on my Ph.D.

If my nerdy, awkward, 15-year old self was able to summon the courage to kiss the boy of her dreams, there's no limit to what anyone can do if they're brave enough.

Here's to the next 29 years of kissing that same boy!  #soincrediblylucky

Happy Tails to you!