Kisses and Substitutes

When I was 12, I was kissed for the first time... not by a dad or a granddad, but by an actual boy. He was 17. I don't remember much about it except for that it was by the lockers, it was very short, and I was dizzy afterward.

The thing is... I went to school in a small, private school. Our junior high and high school classes were all held on one side of the school building. Some of our larger assemblies were combined, as were all our recess/lunch breaks. This gave us a lot of time to intermingle among the wide age group. I was in 7th grade, and he was a Senior. What in the world, you ask? At the time, I had no idea why everyone felt that way - especially my poor, panicked parents. I tell you the truth, no semi-romantic relationship has ever been more cute than that silly one was.

Two weeks ago, I was finally getting a chance to go through some boxes that had long remained unpacked - probably from several moves ago. For some reason, in our last move, someone had put two odd boxes upstairs in our bedroom. To my shame, until two weeks ago, they had been in that same corner for over a year. I opened them up to go through them. Amongst some old cards, letters, and photos I found a particular card - a birthday card from that boy - my first kiss. You see, my parents had lectured him, following "the kiss heard round the world," (you see, when a senior kisses a 7th grader in the hallway, everyone knows it in 3 minutes flat) that he was not allowed to kiss me - at all - ever. I was reminded of this when I read the inside of the card. It read something to the effect of, "I got you the best gift I could think of - Hershey's Kisses. Since I'm not allowed to give you the real ones, these will have to do... although a poor substitute in my opinion."

A few months till graduation, and I never saw him again... until yesterday, that is, when his wife gave me a bracelet made of, what else? Hershey's Kisses.

About a year ago or so, I noticed that several of my friends on Facebook were friends with him, and I'm not sure which of us friend requested the other, but we became the kind of Facebook friends that you never really talk to - just look at pictures and info at first and see a status update here and there. A few months later, his wife friended me on Facebook, and I enjoyed her status posts and photos. They have a son who is Levi's age, and she enjoyed my posts about his antics. We became more like regular friends - just ones who hadn't met yet.

A few months back, she posted that she was making "PMS" bracelets. I had to ask, "What's that?" She posted a photo of these bracelets... they're made of Hershey's Kisses instead of jewels... a perfectly wonderful substitute, in my opinion.

About a month ago, she mentioned that they would maybe like to come visit us next time they are in town. (They live on the East Coast.) I was happy at this prospect - meeting her in person and seeing him and their son. It would be really neat. We worked out the details in between times, and they came yesterday for brunch and a swim. We had a wonderful time getting acquainted/reacquainted. Mark and Austin enjoyed looking at some of his artistry - as he is an accomplished leather artisan. She brought me a PMS bracelet. I didn't put the kiss connection together until this evening as I was driving home from a wedding.

It's funny how life doesn't often turn out the way we think it might. At any one moment of life, we can think we have it all figured out or in hand - only to be surprised later by something totally different and infinitely perfect. That's where I am today - so happy and content with where God has me at this moment. It won't always be like this. I know that all seasons - even the best ones - are just that... seasons. Everything comes to an eventual end just as something new dawns. I'm so glad that God had better, more perfect plans for those two kids kissing in the hallway 20 years ago (ouch, that hurts to even admit) than we had for ourselves... a perfect substitute, in my opinion.