CRUSHIN

Who do you have a crush on? This praise for Andrea N.Richesin's new book has got me crushin`! I was just at Chapters this weekend -- i wish i had heard about this book a little sooner -- i would have picked it up!

A compilation of authors came together and spilled their guts about their candid crushes and sprightly romances. The book, CRUSH: 26 Real-Life tales of First Love, sounds fun, whimsical and a great addition to my summer reads. sigh.. and who doesn't like a good love story? Or 26 of them!!

Speaking of which: who was YOUR first crush? 

Me, it goes back to elementary school. Third grade to be precise. He was the bad boy of my grade, and the guy of my dreams! Reid. I think it had to do with his authentic leather hockey jacket (think red and blue 1990s Lakeshore league! oooo so sexy!!), and his greasy rocker-style blond hair that was always swept over one eye.

And half way through grade 3, I don't know how it happened, but suddenly we were an item. He was interested in little, awkward, skinny me! We would walk around the school yard together at break, and he would give me his jacket to wear over my shoulders so that everyone knew i was his! I hardly understood what that meant -- only that he liked me and that everyone was calling us boyfriend-girlfriend. I would watch him play in the baseball field and cheer him on. I guess the cheerleader in me was there from early on!

Finally, summer came, and HIS mom called MY mom to see if i was free to go to a chaperoned movie night! I heard my mom answer the question saying that i was at a gymnastic show that Saturday, and she was sorry but i couldn't make it…
I was devastated !! How could my mom do this to me?! My dreams were crushed… and his mom never called again…

Then, Grade 4 started, and he had a new “love” interest; called Candace. In my mind, she was the prettiest girl in school.
But don't worry, even though it hurt… I moved on… and then started my crush on Jason!
Agh the drama of elementary school love!