Did I ever tell you the story about my first true love? The guy I was going to marry? The guy that used to slow dance with me in the street? The one that I never had an argument with...ever? No? Oh, well, sit back and relax while I take a stroll down memory lane.
I was three years old and about to embark on a new adventure...preschool! Mom had signed me up at the local Presbyterian church preschool when she got a call saying that the new minister had a child about my age and they were looking to carpool with some other people. My mom got in touch with the minister's wife, Ginger, and not long after that their son Andy and I were inseparable.
Andy and I did everything together--sleepovers, playdates, dinner at each others house, family vacations-you name it! I have very vivid memories of our time together growing up. My mom likes to tell the stories of how Andy and I could not have been more different, but we got along perfectly. She said we always picked up right where we left off-no matter how much time had passed. We were in love! One of Mom's favorite stories is of when she would come to pick me up from Andy's house, I would hang myself out the window up to my waist screaming, "Andy, don't kiss me! No, don't kiss me!" (in hopes that I would get a smooch). Couple things about that--why the heck wasn't I in a seat belt (much less a carseat) and why was I so loosey goosey?!
In fourth grade, Andy's dad Tyler got a new job at a church down in Charlotte and the family had to move away. You can imagine my sadness as my one true love was moving to the other side of the world (or 6 hours away). Mom and Ginger planned on me visiting them over the summer so that we could pick up where we left off. Mom drove me down to Raleigh and then I took the train to Charlotte all by myself. Ginger and the boys picked me up from the train station and our great adventure began with some hot and fresh Krispy Kreme donuts. We went on a great southeast adventure that included stops at Andy's grandmother's house and Panama City for some beach time.
Not long after that trip (maybe a year or two), Andy and I lost touch with each other. I would now like to take the time to blame our mothers for that. How else are two 10 year olds supposed to keep in touch without the help of our mothers?
Fast forward about twenty years...I go on a mad hunt for Andy. Yes, I am married by this point and yes, I have a child, but I still needed to find Andy. Not to rekindle our love, but to reconnect our friendship. As you may have gathered, Andy and his whole family were a big part of my life and it would be a shame to give that up. So I began my search for Andy in any logical place--Facebook. I turned up a big goose egg...nothing...nada...zilch! What 30-something guy doesn't have a Facebook account?!? Andy-that's who! I didn't let that slow me down. I then started to use my good friend, Google, to help me hunt him down. Well, let me tell you, Andy is not easily located using modern technology. Thank goodness I knew some random key facts about him...where he went to college, what instrument he played, that he used to work for the NC Symphony, and a few other tidbits. I entered what I knew into Google and found a random blog. Some guy was writing about Andy...my Andy. In the blog post, the guy mentioned that Andy was now living in Texas and where he was working. I then plugged my new information into Google and found a possible email address for Andy--SCORE! I immediately sent the following email:
Hi Andy,
I'm hoping this is the Andy that I grew up with Newport News, VA. If not, please disregard this email unless you know that Andy D.
I know it has been about 25 years or so since we've spoken, but I was in Virginia recently and drove past [your childhood street] and immediately thought of you and all of our adventures. My mom and I got to laughing about how ridiculous we were.
If this is the Andy D. from my youth, I'd love to hear from you and see what you've been up to. It took me a while to track you down. I couldn't find you on Facebook or through a basic Google search. I finally found a blog that someone wrote about you and tracked you down to Texas.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Elizabeth "Roady" Mulley
Within 15 minutes, I heard back from him! I found out that Andy and his wife were expecting their first son soon and that we had actually been within a mile of each other several times during our 20 year hiatus. I got caught up on how his family was doing and all that junk that you are supposed to do after you haven't talked to someone in a very very long time.
We hope to reconnect in person sometime soon, but with his little guy who arrived in February and my little one who will arrive any day now-timing just hasn't been right. I can't wait for our families to meet and maybe even our boys will be friends one day!
I'm trying to gather some pictures of Andy and I growing up, but since I'm the youngest in the family no pictures were taken of me. Andy, being the oldest in his family, probably has a better chance of getting his hands on some pictures.
So, why am I telling you this long-winded story about my first true love? Because, I think Jack has found his....
to be continued...
psst:Psst...don't forget to enter our baby pool. Go to http://mulleymusings.blogspot.com/2012/10/baby-2-baby-pool.html for more details!
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