When I went away to college I would often come back home to visit my family and friends.  Some friends were still in high school or just happened to be home at the same time I was. My college was 180 miles from my hometown and several people I went to high school with would make the same trip back and forth, so I got to carpool and catch a ride about every 3-4 weeks.  Growing up in a small town with not a lot to do in regards to entertainment, like a mall or a movie theatre, the common thing to do was to find a group of people on a Friday or Saturday night that were often near a creek or dried up creek area, play some music, start a fire and nurse a few beers.  Yes, it was important that girls were there too.

I know what you’re about to paint me as!  No, I wasn’t the guy who went to college and came back home just to make out with high school girls who wanted to add “college guy” to their kissing resume!  I’m not saying I never participated in this practice, but that was never the focus of those late night parties. The goal was to find something to do. Anything. This was a time before internet, social media and texting. Having conversations with people you knew while standing next to a body of water or an area that once held water, allowed you to make the most of your time when you would visit home. My folks went to bed around 8pm and we only had 5 TV channels.  When you’re 18 or 19 years old, you need something to keep you from going crazy. So, you would just drive around till you found a spot where other cars and trucks were parked and joined in. 

Here comes the story….

In order to protect the innocent and the possibility that she might read my blog, I will not give a timeframe, age, or name. If you and I had kissed almost 20 years ago, assume I am not talking about you.  Assume our kiss was magical and that I saw fireworks when it happened. Flowers bloomed. Angels sang.  Assume the best. With you, it was amazing and I will cherish our moment together for the rest of my life.  It was the stuff of legends. 

After years of hint dropping, flirting and crafting potential opportunities, the moment finally happened. We left the party and found ourselves alone and out of the earshot or eyesight of others. It was dark outside and the moon and a little bit of light from the campfire and headlights of the cars near us gave us enough light to see each other.  We walked away innocently, but we both knew what was about to go down. We were totally gonna make out. 

We moved in towards each other, arms reaching and heads leaning forward all at once.  Eyes closed, mouth slightly open, head tilted with lips about to connect. To take in the moment that was a few years in the making (in my head), I opened my eyes slightly.  Also, I wanted to make sure that I was on target. Know what I mean? 

Then I saw it. The moment that wrecked everything. I had high aspirations for this young lady, as she was one of the most coveted girls of my youth.  All my friends wanted to smooch her too.  Her preparation for this kiss a bit different than mine. My mouth was slightly open to make way for some tongue action.  My eyes closed, but open enough to hit the target.  Like a large mouth bass ready to bite the bait, her mouth was wide open.  Her eyes were bugging out of her head as if she saw a ghost. When our lips met, it was literally like kissing a horse.  I’ve never kissed a horse, but I can assume that this is what it would be like.  She covered half of my face with her kiss.  I tried to make the best of it.  I did my best to make it hot as possible. I pulled back and took a second shot at it, thinking that maybe we just got off to a wrong start. It wasn’t a wrong start.  She swallowed my face again.  She just couldn’t kiss. 

Wiping her saliva off of my upper lip and chin area, we headed back to the party. 

She later wrote me a letter telling me how hot it was and that she was looking forward to seeing me on my next trip home. We never saw each other again. My fantasy was ruined. I haven’t spoken of this moment or to her in almost 20 years. 

Your interpretation of a moment will always be different than the other people who lived and experienced that moment. Negative or positive, stories are made and told by these moments. The girl in this story has certainly moved on with her life, did some epic things and had a family or whatever. She’s not sitting by that creek bed waiting for my return. Chances are, she may not even recall this moment and if she does, I’m sure it was nowhere near as strange as I made it out to be. That’s the funny thing about memories. 

There are things in life that will disappoint the hell out of you. You have aspirations and expectations for people and things and later discover that they will never live up to the hype.  Moments you have been waiting for sometimes fall short of your hopes. This is often true when it comes to dating and pining for the attention and the chance to have a moment with a young lady you had been thinking about for years.  Not always, but sometimes, the longer you think about kissing her, the more disappointing the moment is when it actually happens.  As you know, this lesson goes beyond dating and late night tailgating.  Life and stories do not always live up to the built up of expectations you have in your head. Don’t allow those moments to disappoint you. Learn from those moments and apply those takeaways to other aspects of your life. 

Also, close your eyes when kissing.  You will scare the hell out of the other person.