We mesh well, you know? He’s a part of me.

Please to be enjoying this scanned photo of a
scanned photo.  It's the first one ever taken of us. 
I used a self timer.

I was busy today, which in all honesty doesn’t happen that much.  Usually I’m begging (in my mind) for someone, anyone to come and speak adult talk to me or say something interesting, so I can say something interesting back.

Although, at this point, when someone says something interesting to me I return with “My kid ate broccoli today!”

I’m a confined, stay-at-home mother, is what I’m saying.

But anyway, today I had not one, but two visitors!  My friend Laura, who lives about 30 minutes away, had to take her daughter to the doctor and so decided to come and visit beforehand, then decided to come back after, too.  It was a fantastic visit.  Sebastian had a blast with ‘My best friend, Kaylin!” and I had a blast with Kaylin’s mama.  Adele was only a little mean, then she took a nap and so wasn’t there to smack anyone in the face anymore, or bop her brother on the arm with a little metal play pan.

(I’m still hoping that she’ll outgrow this stage soon.)

But in the middle of this visit, my mom also came over.  She hardly ever makes it this way, mostly because she works about 150 hours a week at work, then comes home and volunteers for all sorts of church-related stuff.  Also, she’s making my cousin’s fiancé’s wedding dress, which is why she was in the neighborhood.  She needed sewing supplies.

Since my mom is off all this week, she’s taking us and my nieces and nephew to the zoo tomorrow, which should be especially exciting since they have a dinosaur exhibit and Sebastian is currently obsessed with them.  That is, of course, when he’s not obsessed with his NEW! BATMAN! UNDERWEAR!  He’s easy to please, at least.

But, as it’s April, I thought we were ready for another one of my journal entries.  And I have a special treat for you.  Yes, you get a glimpse into how Christopher and I met.  This is the first time he’s ever mentioned in my journal and you are welcome.  And even though this one is a little more recent, it is no less embarrassing.  Actually, I think it might be more embarrassing.  Yes.  Definitely more.  Also, I hope you enjoy the one, continuous paragraph.  It makes reading easier, no?  It takes care of those pesky pauses and changes of thought, or whatever.

(Here’s the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, if you are so inclined.  At some point I will try to figure out a way to put a category on my sidebar to make it a little easier to scroll through, but I am computer illiterate and that may never happen.)

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7/8/99 (12:09 a.m.)  (Two days away from my 18th birthday!)

I just had one of the worst days of my life.  I got called into work 4 hours early, so I worked 12-9 bagging.  (Present-day Jaime says I worked at a small grocery store called IGA.  It was fun, until it wasn’t.)  I’ve been working so much, and so hard lately, that I’m exhausted.  Anyway, I had to put out frozen backstock & I knocked over a big metal shelf-like thing full of ice trying to get to the backstock.  Then I had to face frozen & dairy so my hands were numb.  Then I got hit on twice by one guy who was high or drunk & by another one who thinks I have a body that won’t quict.  What the hell does that mean, anyway?  Then I ripped a huge hole in my jeans from waist to mid-thigh, so my ass was hanging out for everyone to see.  Fun, Fun, Fun.  I really hate work now.  I’m never in a good mood there.  I’m tired.  I’m in love, though.  Where did that come from?  I don’t know, I just want to write about him.  His name is Chris Thomas (Name not changed because he is far from innocent!).  We mesh well, you know?  We go good together.  Let me explain.  He saw me playing guitar at the Town by the River festival.  He thought I was interesting, & he watched me.  This was in late August or early September.  Anyway, He kind of had a crush on me.  I didn’t know anything about it.  It wasn’t like he was focused completely on me, though.  Then for Valentines day the whole school took a quiz to see who you were most compatable with, and he was first on my list.  I was like second or third on his list.  (See how nonchalantly I put that in there?  And did not include my burning jealousy at whoever was top on his list?  It shows I lied to my journal just as much as I lied to myself.)  We sat beside each other at this Army band concert @ school.  Actually his best friend Karsten (Also not an alias.  Also not innocent.) made him sit there because of his crush.  That same day he came into IGA & walked in, walked around, then left. He said he was going to strike up a conversation & ask me for my number, but he had only brought a dollar with him.  His friend Jeff Higgs (Not alias. Not innocent.)  saw me at work & told Chris where it was.  Then I found out he liked me.  I got very 7th gradish.  He had Mr. Reynolds for second block, so I would go in there to “work.”  It was stuff I needed to get done, but it got done a lot sooner than it normally would have.  I kept calling myself a stalker & laughing @ myself for it.  Everybody teased me.  Finally I got up the courage to talk to him.  Actually, Tawny made me.  She gave me the idea to find his fourth block class & talk to him.  And so I did.  I love Annual Staff!  I just went to the office & said I needed to find a student & they gave me his class.  I told his teacher I needed to see him for Annual Staff.  The first thing he said to me was “Are you stalking me?”  I was so nervous, my legs were shaking!  I told him that I had heard he was interested in me, then I got interested & if he still was did he want my number?  He did.  His hands wer shaking!  I talked to him on a Monday, then the Tuesday of the next week he asked me out.  It was March 16.  We’ve been together almost 4 months.  I love him so much, I just don’t think I can describe it.  He’s a part of me.