Number 7

On to the next one...
Lucky Number Seven was a co-worker of mine. We met when I was transferred to the store he worked in. Nothing monumental about our meeting--he was just another married guy who I would be working with. I had just turned 21 a few months before and was single and ready for some fun. However, my idea of fun did not stretch to cover becoming a mistress. There was some occassional flirting between the two of us, but nothing major. As time went on, I began a relationship with Satan (see number 5) and Seven and I became pretty good friends. We would have some great conversations during slow times at work and got to know each other fairly well. Some time later I got transferred once again and then went out on maternity leave. We did not talk during any of this time and not long after I returned to work from maternity leave (now single once again) he called a friend of mine looking for my telephone number.
She did not give it, but did call me to let me know. I went ahead and gave him a call and we quickly made plans to get together. We had a fabulous time talking and hanging out. One thing led to another, as these things often do. Wow. Double Wow. Maybe even Triple Wow.
All good things must come to an end, although this one lasted quite a while.
The lessons from Number Seven :
1) Married men can never give you everything you want.
2) Sometimes it is still worth it!

Number Six

This one is chronologically out of place, but I felt now would be a good time to talk about him.
I went to school with number six for years, yet never knew him. Sure, I saw his face around the halls and somewhere along the way I started associating a name with that face, but our circles never crossed. He graduated a year before me and when I started to attend the Community College in town, he was a student there as well. Schedules put us in the same place at the same time often. One day he asked if I would like to go with him to a movie. Without much thought, I agreed, and we were off! Our first kiss lasted nearly 2 hours. I think my entire face was numb by the time the credits started to roll. The more I learned about my newfound friend, the more I liked. He was just an all around good guy. Polite, intelligent, good looking, funny, generous--boy was he generous!, he was so many of the qualities you look for in a mate.
However, I was a silly girl who did not know what a good thing she had. After a few months (??) I decided to pursue a previous relationship and our courtship ended. We did remain friends--although strained at times. He was still that guy who could always make me laugh.
Over the few years following our split we talked a few times here and there and eventually lost touch and that was that.
I just heard from him recently through a social networking site that I belong to and we have shared a few emails and have plans to get together soon.
He has definitely been someone I have thought about a lot over the years, but the recent reunion of sorts has put him back at the forefront of my mind.
The Lessons learned from Number Six:
-the Good Guys are the ones you should hang on to.

-Memories are a wonderful thing :)

Number Five

The great rank of number five goes to Satan.
I met Satan at work not long after transferring with the company I worked for back near my hometown. He was completely off limits as far as I was concerned because he was married. Some occassional chit-chat at work led to innocent flirting, with me always knowing it would never go anywhere. Boy, was I wrong. One day, after months of friendliness, he asked me to accompany him to run an errand after work one day. (very long, detailed story, but he really did need to have someone with him for this) I agreed, and after the errand was ran, a kiss was shared.
At this point, he was telling me that his marriage was over and the wife was moving up North soon. I believed everything he told me and soon we were inseperable. The wife did move, and I moved in within a matter of days. By the time I moved in, I was already 2 months pregnant with our child.
We had some really great months, I was totally in love, he was the perfect boyfriend. Life was good.
You know what they say...all good things must come to an end. Throughout the pregnancy, he was sorting out the details of his divorce, and the financial responsibilities he would have as a result of that. We made the decision not longer before the arrival of our child to move in with parents temporarily to save some money, pay off some bills, and get a fresh start on our life together.
After the baby came, so did the lies and deceit. Around the time our son was 3 months old I caught him cheating on me and our relationship ended.
We have weathered a lot of storms during the seven years since then--both of us have gotten married and had more children. Things have not always been peachy, but overall I think we put our child first and that is why things work well for us.
There are two lessons that came from this one...
1) You need to let yourself fall completely head over heels in love at least once in your life
2) Mama was right--a leopard never changes his spots!

Already on Number Four????

I met number four through an online matchmaking site long before the popularity of eharmony and those sort of sites came about.
I was living in a new town where I knew very few people--and the ones I did know where all co-workers. After some online chatting, emailing, and a few phone conversations, we decided to meet in person.
Number four was about 18 years older than me (which I knew in advance). I can't recall any sparks flying on our initial meeting. I think I was probably more nervous than anything. We chatted easily enough and although I felt some definite awkwardness, we did not lack for conversation. We made plans to get together again soon, which we did. On our third "date" (at his house) he randomly leaned toward me and we shared our first kiss. Still no sparks flying, but it was certainly an enjoyable smooch. Immediately after the kiss ended he asked me very bluntly "do you want to go to bed?". I was no virgin, but this sort of approach was all new to me! I think I gave some cheeky reply, but ultimately my answer was yes.
Good choice for me because it was fan-freaking-tastic! Soon, we were spending loads of time together. A routine was formed where I would go over in the eveninings, have dinner, watch tv, chain smoke cigarettes, drink a little booze, and go to bed. I remember at one point he asked me what I wanted out of our "situation"---God forbid he call it a relationship! I could not give him a straight answer because I honestly did not know. We never referred to each other as "boyfriend/girlfriend" but I was faithful to him all the same. It became comfortable and I enjoyed it for what it was.
Some months into things I was promoted at work. The promotion required me to relocate to a town a little over an hour away. I moved, we saw each other less, and one day on the phone he told me he had met someone else. Even though I always knew we did not have a future, and did not think I would want one with him anyway, I still remember feeling so sad and heartbroken that day. I still think of him often and wonder what he is up to.
The lesson learned from number four--every girl should have an older partner to teach her lessons she would never learn from a teenage boy!

Number Three

I had a hard time deciding who should be given the spot of number three on my list. In the end, I decided to omit the remaining "high school disasters" and skip ahead to post graduation losers.
Therefore, my number three is a real kick!
I met number three through a mutual friend. He was the drummer in a band that her boyfriend played bass guitar for. We did not click right away, but it did not take long for us to be paired up for double dates with our friends. Our relationship progressed--and weathered many storms along the way. I think most things that happened between the two of us can be blamed on being young and stupid.
About 9 months into our dating days, he popped the question. At 19 years old, I was in love with the thought of being in love! Picking out a wedding dress was the replacement for picking out a prom dress! Fortunately I came to my senses before plans got too far underway and called it all off.
We continued the on again, off again thing for while. I eventually moved away and he found someone else.
We reunited about year and half ago by chance and had some good times talking about the old days, bringing closure to somethings that were long overdue, and giving apologies for things that we had never forgiven each other for. It was, um, interesting.
At the end of the day, he is still a loser. Hence, his spot on my list!
My lesson from number three??? Leave the past where it belongs--out of the future!

Number Two...

Number two is barely worth mentioning. He is really not worthy of an entire number all to himself.
Number two taught me two things:
1.) Never give your virginity to an immature jackass.
2.) Never introduce your best friend to above mentioned jackass.

That about sums it up!

So many lessons were learned from number one, I am not sure where to begin...I suppose I should just tell the whole story.
Sometime during my first year in junior high school I met number one. I am not sure exactly when or how it came to be that we met one another. I can not recall shared classes or lockers nearby. I guess it was mutual friends or being in a relatively small school that did it. I can remember, however, the many ways meeting him changed me. I was the chubby girl at that point, having not yet blossomed at lost any of that oh-so-unattractive baby fat that plagued by tween years. To compensate for what I felt I lacked in physical attraction, I was usually loud and somewhere slap in the middle of some drama. I am not sure if this was a good thing or not.
Anyway, on with the story...
Sometime during Christmas break from school that year, we began talking on the phone. Plans were made to go to the movies the day after Christmas. I was all excited--my very first movie date!! I got all dressed up in my brand new Guess jeans, turtleneck and matching sweater, and of course a pair of Sebagos! We chose The Mighty Ducks as our movie for the evening and settled in for the show. That night I received my very first kiss!!
Over the course of the next several years, number one and I would "go together" and "break up" and "go together" again. This cycle repeated itself so many times, I lost count. Often, during our "break ups" we would remain friendly, and he became a very important part of my teenage years.
It was on his birthday during our senior year of high school that we finally had sex together--for what would be the first and only time. I remember the day well. It had been planned for some time in advance that on his special day I would ride with him to his house after school to eat dinner and celebrate his birthday with him and his family. When the big day arrived, I was suffering from a terrible cold and did not make it to school that day. He called me from the pay phones during his lunch break to make sure I was feeling okay, and to ask if I was still coming over that evening. He picked me up from my house after school let out and drove us to his house. When we arrived, we had about 20 minutes before his mom would get home from work. Plenty of time for two young lovers to indulge in acts they had no business doing! I sat on the couch as he climbed on top of me. Not a word was said from start to finsih. (not that this was a long period of time!) After he finished, he got up to take care of the condom and put himself back together, while I stood in the living room and tidied myself up. Wow. That was it. That is what we had been waiting for? I often wished that I had not been sick that day, or that we had more time together that afternoon--or at least a bed to do the act in. But that is not the way it was, so you take what you can get. After that day, I guess I expected some huge change in the dynamics of our relationship, but the vicious cycle we had been in since junior high jsut continued to repeat itself.
During our first semester at community college we continued our friendship and left for winter break on good terms, only to come back for the next semester with him engaged to someone else and me feeling let down. Many years have past since that winter day when we went our seperate ways for what would be the final time. I still think of him often and look back fondly on the young love we shared.
I guess the lesson I learned from number one is this: Young love really does last forver.