Ah, my first great love, and all that entails. I really liked her dad, her mom not quite so much. She probably felt the same way.
We had our ups and downs over the years, most of which is not going to make it here. Maybe in some roman à clef that I will compose only in my head. I will say that she had thrown some of the greatest parties ever.
In any case, we’re good now. She’s happily married, I’m happily married. We went to her wedding; she was at least invited to ours. It’s all copacetic. My family even saw her family a few months ago.
Are you still in contact with your first great love?
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Arthur wrote this interesting bit about privacy, and while I’m not sure I would take it to the level he does, the privacy of other people does tend to factor into whatever I write. And it’s not just privacy, precisely; it’s based on comfort level or my perception of other people’s comfort level. I have discovered that there are facts about my life with other people that are well known by a certain coterie of folks, but perhaps not by the general public. I tend to err towards saying less, which can seem somewhat cryptic, I suppose. There are plenty of things I would say on this blog that I won’t because someone else might possibly, remotely, be affected.
This reminds me of the thing I think is the funniest request I have been given. I wrote about a family member. Actually, I was quoting directly a family member. Well, a direct relative of that person asked me to redact what I wrote, because that relative was up for a Very Important Position. Oddly, the original source of the quote was/is still on the Internet somewhere, but mine popped up on the search engine. So, I did.
Conversely, I’ve taken a lot more open position about those who are deceased. So, if I know your deep dark secrets, and you pass away…
Oh, the things I know..! 😉
I DO talk in broad terms about living people I know or have known, but almost never by name without permission. If the person has died I feel freer to talk about them, but even then I’m cautious about how that might affect others who are still alive. It’s all about that respect and courtesy thing.
As for first loves, I’m not in contact with any of them anymore (apart from a middle school girlfriend, so-called, who’s a Facebook “friend”; we’ve never communicated directly, so that hardly counts). I went to high school in an era—only half a decade after the Stonewall Rebellion—in which actually being able to fall in love openly was still impossible. Real first love didn’t happen until I was in my 20s. Things are much better now, and most of today’s kids will have lots of stories to tell about their high school loves. I just don’t.
When preparing to attend my fortieth high school reunion I noticed my first boyfriend was not on the list. After some e-mail exchanges with the committee I learned he had died the year before. I was so upset and rattled by that news that I did not attend the reunion.
Was hard news to adjust too. Learning that the first of my (then) tight group of friends had died and we had all somehow drifted apart as some of us moved around the world.
I appreciate your wonderful comment on my “H” post on houses. It is uplifting to get that kind of feedback from someone with your credentials. Thank you for stopping by.
Privacy is a funny thing and some people are more private than others. AS a rule of thumb, I try not to identify people, unless they’re politicians or celebrities, of course, because they deserve everything they get!
LOL! My high school boyfriend found me on Facebook last year. It was a bit awkward, but we both have moved on with beautiful families of our own. We’ve successfully moved into the friendly acquaintance area now.