All the men I have loved... okay, boys really except for #11.

1. Mike. He was a 3 year old boy in my class who was deaf. I loved him! He had brown curly hair and the cutest smile. I remember at one point that he came to class in pretty much a full-body cast. Why? His dad didn't want a son that was deaf so he set the house on fire with Mike in it. It was the first time I experienced grief that my beloved friend Mikey would hurt so badly. And I also felt confusion as to why somebody's dad would do such a thing to their own child. Pretty deep for a 3 year old.
2. Mark. I met him in elementary school. I was in Kindergarten and he was in 2nd grade. We were boy/girl-friends for the next 3 years. It was nothing more than chasing & saving each other in Tag. We would also hang out after school by the principal's office waiting for my bus. Oh... and he called me. "Foxy."
3. Joe. I met him when I was mainstreamed into a "hearing" school. We were somehow always assigned to be desk partners. Our form of showing each other that we had a crush on each other was by always one-upping each other on what our mom's could bake. "My mom makes cinnamon rolls. " "Oh yeah? Well my mom can bake bread." Later, when we went into 6th grade, he had a 45 (that's a record) that played "Put Another Dime in the Jukebox Baby." He would play that during our lunch break... over and over and over again. It's a miracle that our teacher Mrs. Woodman didn't just break the darn thing!
4. Mike. Another deaf boy who I met during Deaf Arts Camp. I liked him... but I liked a guy Mark better (What's up with the Mark/Mike thing?) Mark was ultra-cool, guess he would be a skater in today's world. Anyway... Mike... well, he made a literal bust of me in our pottery class. Literally. Boobs included. I was mortified and could barely look at him. Hello - we're supposed to be making coil-pots, remember?
5. Red-head guy. I met him when I was 14 and he was 16. The attraction between us was WHOA! I SO wanted to be his girlfriend and apparently, he wanted to be my boyfriend. But... a friend of mine (ha, not anymore then) did um... favors for him so they ended up being the couple. I was heart-broken because we made a cute couple and we had so much FUN together. *sigh* But... doing "favors?" Um... no.
6. Casey. I met him the same time I met the Red-head. He was a leader like I was. We gathered the gang together to have tea in the morning before early-morning exercise at Whidbey Island. (This is Deaf Arts Camp thing again, I went every year for 5 years.) We had a great time together. I later found out after several years that he's gay. Ah well.
7. Ricky. Ah... here's HOTNESS. We were both 16. He was nice to me, hung out with me & my friends... but *sigh* he wasn't interested in me. But... this is the first time I realized that the smell of a certain shaving cream is sexy. Hm!
8. Mike... again. Remember the dude in # 4? Yeah, I met up with him again and we became interested in each other and he did the moves of putting his arm around me but that's as far as it went. I guess the stars were not in my favor to ever get kissed by a boy.
9. Craig. I SO thought we had a connection. Then... I realized he had a thing for my friend Suzy and he in a way, used me to get close to her. Stupid man-boy. He got my hopes up when he invited me over to bake cookies with him. We went grocery shopping and went to his apartment. We baked cookies and then he made me a sandwich... with horseradish on it. I almost threw up. Then he puts the cookies in a bowl and asked his roommate Jeff to take me home. He was on his way to deliver these cookies to another girl.... Ya. I crashed & burned on that one.
10. Rocker-man. This is a special one. It was really the first time that somebody would watch out for me. Protect me from harm in any shape or form. I have a special place in my heart for him... I loved him and he loved me but we didn't love each other in the same way. I loved him as a friend. He loved me more. Hmm... I may just have to write about him some day as he deserves more than just a bullet-point note here.
11. Hubby. He helped me lock up a building one night after volleyball when I was there by myself. It took him all summer to get the nerve to ask me out on a date, but it happened. He was the first man... alright... the only one of the male sex, to kiss me. We literally had sparks when our lips touched for the first time. We married 7 months later. Still married 12 years later. I've truly been blessed with him being in my life.