Our First Meeting

I am really bad a remembering things. Details come and go and I don't have any really early memories of Ryan.
There are some things that we both remember together and some stuff that we have helped each other recall. Our first meeting is one that I have no recollection of. Ryan remembers it, not because it was a grand encounter but because I made a bit of an impression on him.

We met at some point in 1990. We were both 11 years old and in 6th grade. But before we get to the meeting I need to give a tiny bit of back story.

My family was really good friends with another family, the Tollivers. The dads got along great. They both had the same hobbies and the moms bonded over church and raising kids. They had four kids, like us, three boys and a girl. I come from four girls. The ages of all the kids were one year apart (the youngest two were the same age). On the outside it was a perfect family-friends match up and it worked really well for a long time. We spent every Thanksgiving and Easter together. We went camping in the summer and spent a many a weekend hanging out. At some point Ryan became friends with the oldest boy, Corey. They were practically joined at the hip for many years so it was only a matter of time before Ryan and I crossed paths. But in addition to that when my family moved across town we ended up in the same ward at church. So the fates would have had us meeting young either way.

One night Ryan came over to my house with Corey and his father. The dads were doing something and the boys tagged along to hang out. My best friend Abby was over and we were hanging out in the front yard. Ryan remembers thinking to himself "Wow, Corey knows cute girls". I tore into Corey about something that I was mad at him for. I was never one to be intimidated by him (or any other boy). Ryan took notice of me. Not in a "I better watch out for that girl" kind of way. More like "That was pretty cool". People didn't stand up to Corey. I was probably one of the only ones who really did when we were younger. That's probably why he didn't destroy me as he did so many others. But that is another story.

Ryan didn't fall for me that first meeting but, it wouldn't take long before I made a lasting impression.