Dating with Children

From a 50 year-old man, Richard, who lives in the west (used with permission):

My first crush…

Each of us has a special memory buried somewhere deep in our mind of our first crush. These usually happen early in life and never lead to anything, of course. But they are fond memories none the less.

My first was a television crush. As a very young boy, one of my favorite shows on TV was Shari Lewis with her puppets, Lamb Chop and Charlie Horse. Shari was my first crush as a kid, and I never missed the show.

She soon faded from television and I grew up. Neither of us missed the other for years. Then one day it happened.

I was married and had two children. We had moved into a new home we had built. One day my kids came home with a videotape my mother had purchased for them. It was entitled, “Don’t Wake Your Mom” and it was Shari Lewis with her same puppet friends, except she had somehow changed from a late-20s cutie with long, blond pony-tail hair into an older woman with short, curly hair.

I felt the memory of my early crush return when I looked at the cover. We plopped the tape into the VCR and watched it. My kids had marginal interest in it, but I was glued to the television for the entire hour.

At the end of the tape, they had a very short clip from her first show, the one I remembered, showing Shari and Lamb Chop reading his letter from the draft board. I smiled as I watched it, and realized that, without knowing it, my first crush had come back to visit me, if only for a couple of minutes. It was a sweet reunion…

My children almost never watched that tape. It just wasn’t one of their favorites. But I watched it from time to time.

And I still have it.

So who was your first crush? Tell us about it. Be honest!

Replies were as follows:

Me: Remington Steele…Oh my gosh… I still have a weakness for dark hair and blue eyes. Hubba Hubba!

35 yo Female: My first crush was Danny R. in the 4th grade. We both played on the soccer team. He had bright orange hair. I thought it would be cool if we got married because our kids would probably have red hair. Miracle of miracles - one day he sent me the coveted “do you like me - check yes or not” notes. I was so embarrassed that I fumbled around and never gave him a straight answer.

49 yo female: My first crush…began back in 1st grade during a game of kissing tag at recess. He was so cute with that blonde hair, blue eyes, toothless grin and freckled nose … what girl could resist???

46 yo female: Well if we go with a TV personality. It would be Bill Bixby “Courtship of Eddy’s father”, but a real boy would be Carl. He lived in my neighborhood and a bunch of us would get together at night and play cops n robbers, hide n seek and spin the bottle and he kissed me. I think I was 8 yrs old.

31 yo female: Still thinking…there has got to me someone memorable back there somewhere…other than my Ken doll!! lol That would just be pathetic!! Ok, I know…his name was Shad E and we were in kindergarten together. We would take naps on the floor next to each other at at school and he’d sneak over and give me kisses on my cheek!! When we started going to the same school again in fourth grade it was very hard to live it down!! (I was still in the I hate boys stage then.) By the time we took creative writing together in college…it was old hand by then…but what a memory!! *sigh*

42 yo female: My first true crush was Shawn Cassidy, tied with Donny Osmond. This was back in 7th grade. I remember for Christmas my mom bought me tickets to see Shawn Cassidy in concert, so that is a great memory for me. I had pictures of him all over my room, along with Donny, Leaf, and all the rest of the 70’s heart throbs.

31 yo male: mine was tv also. I used to have a huge crush on Winnie from the show ” the Wonder Years ” Oh she was just too cute and i couldnt get enough of her

I still find myself drawn to men who have dark hair and blue eyes. I wonder if others out there are trying to find their childhood crushes as well!

Remington Steele, Shari Lewis, Lambchop, Charlie Horse, Shawn Cassidie, Donnie Osmond, Leaf Garrett, The Wonder Years, Bill Bixby, Courtship of Eddy’s Father