Life in the Girl Lane

A thirtysomething's perspective on life, love, and everything in between.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Crush

I got a silly forward the other day with the claim – find out if it is meant to be for you and your crush. When I clicked on the link, the website popped up and there it beckoned me to enter the name of my crush. The cursor blinked at me for what seemed like an eternity. I just couldn’t come up with a decent crush. Is this what my life had become?

While you could not pay me a million dollars (maybe 100 million) to go back to the tumultuous years known as middle school (let’s get serious – bad hair, bad clothes, and basically riding an emotional roller coaster), I would like to go back just for a moment to retrieve something I have since lost – crushes. What ever happened to crushes? I mean, I spent middle school, high school, and college with numerous objects of my obsession. I’m sure you did too.

Remember with me for a minute. Remember how your heart would flutter when he walked past your locker – and smiled! Remember when she said that he said that he wanted to meet you by the water fountain after school. Remember when he asked you to borrow a pen in English class. Remember how you saw him eating his lunch on the quad. There was basketball boy, boy with the band, snowstorm boy, boy from the job interview, frat boy, the boy from Halloween…

Sometimes these turned into more and sometimes not. Regardless, there were options or at least perceived options and that gave us hope. The idea of chance. I miss that.

Back then, you saw lots of boys on a daily basis so the numbers were in your favor for finding one to pique your interest. You had classes and parties and people you’ve known for a long time. Out here in the real world, your daily basis is work. For some of you, this is not even remotely an option because the males working at your place of employment have been working there as long as you have been alive! And for others, your places of employment have a scarcity of males. So what’s a girl to do?

Well, I don’t ever claim to have any or all of the answers and I welcome any suggestions. I would love to reclaim those same emotions evoked from the possibility of something new. However, I’m so far removed from being that jazzed about anyone that I think I would lack the ability to function if by chance the opportunity did arise. Anyway. My only inkling of an idea is that we are vigilant in finding hobbies and other opportunities for interaction. And when all else fails, embrace that grown up life is different and go have a martini with your girlfriends!