Please note that this is a series.  If you haven’t read Part One and Part Two, please click on the “My Life” page at the top and dig in!

Note: You may want to have a coffee ready.  Or chardonnay.  Depending on the time of day of course…

The pretty plus years soon faded and I found myself with a body that was more mature than my head.  The summer before middle school, the boys started to notice.  I had no idea what to do with this kind of attention.

The first week of middle school brought a seventh grade boy into my path holding a note that was folded in an origami-like fold that required me to pull the tail to reveal it’s contents.  As he handed it to me, he said “This is from Cam*.  He likes you.”

I nearly died.

Cam was the most popular boy in the eighth grade.  Quarterback football star.  Academic scholar.  Girls fell at his feet.

What on earth would he want with a little girl in the sixth grade?

I opened the note and found that it was indeed from Cam.  He wanted to get to know me better.

I was petrified in his presence.  I literally froze and would not speak – looking back now as an adult, I realize what a complete zero personality I was.

One crisp, fall night brought the high school football game and the middle school students were always in attendance.  During the entire game, Cam and I faced each other, me not talking, and him uttering once in a while “Well, gee…This is fun…” in an attempt to break the ice.

For crying out loud – I was twelve.

Then towards the end of the game, someone pushed me on to him and told us to kiss.  I had no idea what to do but I followed his lead.

He was my first kiss.

We then proceeded to “go” together – whatever that meant in sixth grade.  I can confidently say that the “go” together of 1986 looked very different than the “go” together of 2010 – it was not a physical relationship in the least.

But the heart.  Oh how he made my heart beat.

I did eventually talk to him.  He made me swoon.  It was my first time experiencing these kind of emotions and I was in the clouds.

Though I didn’t understand it at the time, I was not “in love” with him but rather “in awe” of him – and the fact that he would like Miss Former Pretty Plus Size little ‘ole me.

We talked on the phone.  We sent origami notes.  I practiced writing my name with his last name all over my middle school folders.

Then one day I was not feeling so good and my mother insisted I go to the doctor.  I rolled my eyes while applying ClairMist hairspray to my eighties ‘do and told her she was overeacting.

She insisted we go and I must say her “Mother Radar” was correct – I had a severe case of mononucleosis.

I missed a month of school.

During that month, a new, cute eighth grade girl moved in.  I was out.

My heart was in pieces all around me.  I was crushed.

I had my first taste of heartbreak and I was devastated.

Trust me – there is a reason why I tell you about this middle school angst.  This story absolutely has something to do with Part Six, coming next week.  I. PROMISE.  I will not flake out again – pinkie swear.

Thanks for reading as I navigate some of the murky waters of my story.  I think part of the reason why I took a little hiatus is that we are getting into the “meaty” stuff and it’s not always fun to re-hash…If I have a choice between reading “People” magazine and trudging through the murk, well, you can probably see why I am just now getting to Part Five after almost three months.

But I’m committed now to each week – again, I promise.

*  Please note that Cam is not the actual boy’s real name.