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  1. Annette says

    When I was in high school from 1972 to 1976, I wasn’t part of the popular crowd, but I did have a nice circle of friends. One of these friends was Bobby. He was a lanky, long haired, smart kid with a good sense of humor, a beautiful smile, and soulful eyes. I was painfully shy, and inexperienced, so at the time I didn’t know what to do with my innocent attraction to him. I had only one date my entire time in high school, which was heartbreaking.

    Fast forward to 2022. Several of us from that High School class of ’76 have reconnected on Facebook over the years, so I am always on the lookout for new members to invite. I put Bobby’s name in the search field and found this very old man with a scraggly gray beard but those same soulful eyes, so I sent him a friend request. I didn’t hear back from him until about a year later, when he responded, ” how do I know you? “. He only vaguely remembered me, which broke my heart a little bit, but when we discovered that we lived only about 10 miles apart and we’re both single, we decided to meet up. I was reluctant, having been divorced for 20 years, and feeling my old age catching up with me, thinking romance was no longer a possibility for me. But he was very persistent in wanting to take me to dinner and get to know one another. Neither of us we’re looking for romance. He had been widowed, for a second time, 8 years prior, and I was twice divorced and carrying a deep distrust of men in general. But the more time we spent with one another, the more we realized how great we were together. We have discovered so many common interests and have a great deal of fun together. At first it was so strange because my image of him from high school kept flashing in my head, juxtaposed to this old man sitting across the table from me. How could they be the same person? It took me awhile to resolve that in my mind, although it thrilled my inner 16 year old to realize I was finally dating my high school crush . The most remarkable thing this relationship has done for me, is that it has somehow rewritten or maybe overwritten my heartache of being less popular in high school, and overlooked by the boys. It’s as though Bobby and I have been in a relationship for the past 47 years. Although we are only 6 months into our relationship, we both feel that we will be together for the rest of our lives, our love growing stronger every step of the way.

    • LauraJ says

      Thank you Annette for sharing your story. I understand what you mean when you said it took you a while to resolve that they are the same person. It’s strange to have such a strong image of someone from a past lifetime, to then adapt to their present self.

      I am glad that everything worked out and that you managed to reconnect and develop such a strong bond.

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