Crushes

What attracts us to someone? Why does one person think someone is the most incredible person on the planet and for some reason the sentiment isn't returned? I am feeling all nostalgic today and this is the topic that came to mind…attraction – or the lack thereof.

Eric and I attended his 20-year high school reunion a couple of weeks ago. Over the course of the weekend, I met girl after girl after girl...after girl. They would all run up and give him a big hug and were clearly thrilled to see him again. I asked him later if he had dated any of them and he said no. It surprised me because of their individual reactions to seeing him. The funniest part was hearing Eric tell me that he wasn't a ladies' man; these were all "just friends" that he hung out with "all the time," but none of them could have possibly liked him "like that."

Ahhhh….men…so adorably clueless.

One of the women we met was very sweet and talked to me quite a bit. I asked Eric about her later because she seemed kind of melancholy in a way – not too unusual for 20-year reunion – but, it peaked my curiosity. Turns out she had a crush on him when they were in school. I asked how he knew that and he said that she told him about it way back then. Of course, I then wanted to know why he didn't like her back. He said he didn't really know. He "just didn't." "She was cute and all, but I just didn't feel that way about her." Hmmm…my point is made. She was cute and she liked him and he knew it, but he didn't like her back.

I remember a lot of people I had crushes on in high school and I don't think a single one of them ever liked me back. There was one person (Mike Allen) that I had a crush on from the 7th grade all the way through graduation. Even though I would say we were friends, he never once liked me back "like that." As an aside, I think this crush may stand as the world record of unrequited crushing. I suppose I'll never know why I felt that way or why he didn't. If I ever run into him I will have to ask. I hope he says "I don't know" because if he tells me my ass was big or I was a freakin' dorkasaurus rex it may be too much for the remaining portion of my fragile high school age ego to bear. The adult portion of my ego will just smile knowingly at what he missed out on.

Anyway, I think going to Eric's reunion made me actually look forward to my 20-year. I look forward to seeing all the old crushes and old friends and remembering what dorks we all were back then. Seriously, we listened to Vanilla Ice…how cool could we be?!

Now that I am a "grown up" I have crushes on a whole different kind of person. My three favorite crushes are my husband – who seriously could have any girl he wanted and he picked me; John Cusack – who can also have any girl he wants and hasn't met me yet; and David Aebischer – my favorite hockey player who already picked a girl, but is still freakin' hot and crush-worthy. Those three people notwithstanding, I have short-lived crushes all the time for very different reasons than I did when I was younger.

I had a short crush last week on the Zones guy because he always makes me laugh – even on a bad day. I had an even shorter crush on the scary construction worker that made my day by telling me I have a great smile – he wasn't so scary after that. I even had a crush, for about a minute, on the guy in the big, jacked up truck that was behind me at a stop light on Saturday…he was cute in the rearview mirror. Then he rode my bumper for two miles and stopped being so cute. Overall, my little crushes are meaningless and short-lived, but they fulfill that little part of me that wants to be a silly girl (for the record, I am slowly crushing that portion of my id because she is freakin' giggly and can't hold her liquour).

My point is, well…I am not sure I have a point. It is more a pondering. What is it about a person that makes them crushable? Am I crushable? Are you crushable? I think we should all try to figure out that one thing that makes us more crushable than the next person and then work it like Richard Simmons sweatin' to the oldies. Great ass? Wear great jeans. Great smile? Smile at everyone. Great eyes? Bat those lashes, baby! Great sense of style? Great confidence? Great sense of humor? Use it! Use what you have. We are all unique and we all have something special that sets up apart. Use it and make yourself crushable!

By the way – all those crushes I had in high school? I know one reason why many of them never turned into dates…my older brother. He informed me just this summer that he told the ones he didn't approve of to stay away from me. He even scared one boyfriend into breaking up with me!! The goober – I do love him so, but that'll teach me to tell him about my crushes. So, no one mention that John Cusack thing 'cause I don't want Blake to run him off before he can declare his undying devotion.

As for the rest of those high school crushes - I am sure they just didn't like my sense of humor…or my ass.