So There's This Guy...

I know you're thinking "WHAT!??"  And that's okay; I'm good with that.  Its true, the cobwebs have definitely begun to develop in my dating life over the last few years for various reasons.  If you know me well, you know why so I won't get into that here and now.  That's not what this post is about.  However, currently there's this guy...

History is a funny thing sometimes and this guy and I definitely have plenty of that.  I'll start at the very beginning so you get the full picture.  When I was a sophomore at GHS, I took a shop class - one semester of wood shop and one semester of metal shop.  The class was filled with various grade levels from seniors to freshman. I don't remember many of the people in that class but there were three freshman I met in that class that still come to mind from time to time; Mark Davis, Mike Espinoza, and Mark Bouwkamp.  Mark Davis was the cousin of a close friend of mine that died of an aneurysm that year.  It was a very difficult and painful experience for both Mark and I and it bonded us for a short time.

The other two guys and I became fast friends after we discovered that we all loved wrestling.  During my freshman year I'd gotten involved as a statistician working under my sister's management of the team.  My sophomore year was to be my first year as manager and their first year on the team so we were all pretty excited for wrestling season to roll around in November.  We had a great season hanging out together and learning the ropes and expectations of the team.  My junior year of wrestling was by far my best year with a great, if not rough, group of guys who respected me and a good support system of statisticians.  Mike, Mark, and I were pretty much inseparable during any down time we came across.  However, that year Mike broke his arm midway through the season, putting an end to some of our fun.  When the season ended, after months of of him hinting at it,  I invited Mark to go to my Jr Prom with me and we had a blast at the prom and after-prom party.  As life goes, the next year (my senior year) brought many changes; Mike decided to not risk another break and hung up his singlet, my Jazz Choir switched their practice from mornings to evenings, and there was ongoing drama amongst the statisticians.  When I wasn't with the Jazz Choir, to avoid the drama I spent the majority of practices inputting records in the coach's office rather than on the floor with the guys.  Truthfully, I remember little else that we had in common in HS beyond wrestling and our love of shop class.  I do remember spending hours and hours talking to both guys as our HS years quickly passed by.

After my graduation, I still made a few visits to the Bouwkamp house and I was in the stands cheering when Mike & Mark got their diplomas.  As life often dictates, my friends and I went our separate ways after high school.  We all stayed local but it only takes a few fingers to count the number of times I've run in to my buddies from that long ago shop class.  However, the number of times I've thought of each of them cannot be so easily counted.

Fast forward to October 2010.  Out of the blue I received a mysterious voice mail from Mark who was "calling to catch up."  The details are irrelevant but within a week we were pretty much inseparable again.  Don't get me wrong, ALOT has happened in both of our lives over the last ten years.  My life and dreams have totally changed from those of the naive and innocent child I was as a senior in high school.  Mark now has three beautiful children and a reputation he's trying to make amends for.  Our paths went in totally different directions but over the last few weeks its been amazing to see how well our pasts fit together and compliment each other.  The foundation of friendship that we developed 13 years ago has made the beginning of our current relationship relatively effortless.  In many ways, when we're together, its like the last 10 years just disappear.  Unfortunately we'll be working through the results of those 10 years for awhile but we're taking it a day at a time.  In the meantime, "there's this guy" and I'm definitely twitterpated :)