What's YOUR Story?

The boy and I were hanging out earlier tonight, channel surfing, and we stopped to watch Hitch. Whether or not any of you all have seen it is utterly irrelevant to the point of this post, so get past that need to go on imbd.com and look it up ;) The movie is important to boy and I because the night we saw it in the theaters was our first official date. Awkward story. More of a "Hey K, ask C if he wants to come see Hitch with us...because I'm too scared to ask him myself," followed by an "oh shit, I can't answer that!" when he called me at home to say that he'd love to go with me, and followed still by an awkward hug and a lingering hand squeeze that kept me smiling the whole way home, professing to S and B (who no longer even SPEAK to one another) in the car that C was it for me.

But even that sappy story isn't what I'm getting at. (Although, I am completely unashamed to admit that I still get goosebumps when I think about how it all happened, and how sure I was of the way things would be between us---guess I was right...haha!).

My point is this: those little triggers, those little moments, those little "a-ha's!" that take you back to where our relationships all began are how we keep our connections with one another afloat. And with that in mind, and with an overwhelming need for me to continue feeling warm and fuzzy, here are some more examples of what I mean:

A and M...twins. Two of my best friends. I'm reminded of them whenever I walk into a stinky bathroom. Odd? Yes. Meaningful for the three of us? You bet. It takes me back to band camp freshman year when the girl's bathroom reeked and I ran in there guns blazing on a dare. We've been inseparable ever since.
K, J, B (whatever I choose to call her at the time). When I think of kindergarten, my thoughts go to her. I played house and grocery store with her in class. We've been friends for almost sixteen years now. One of our favorite things to do is reminisce about all the things we've been fortunate enough to do together. It keeps us going, keeps things fresh while we build new memories.
K...might as well be my little sister. She was a shy little eighth grader when we first met, stepping into the high school world a good two months before she officially became a freshman. Now whenever I see a water fountain, I think of her. She shoved my face in one once, after I had teased her for taking too long on one of our breaks from rehearsal. After that, I knew she'd be one of us. She didn't take my crap, and I admired her for that.

Bonds create tension. It's the inherent fault of our need for companionship, but when I feel the ropes beginning to creak against one another, I look back to where it all began. It helps to remember how you came to love that person in the first place. Our roots are important.

We all have a story...so what's yours? What's ours?