The Falling Part: Prologue

Did you know that I'm writing a book?  I am!  I'm so excited about attempting a new kind of creative project that I've never done before.  I have so many talented author friends that inspire me, and I feel eager to try my hand at what they enjoy so much.  I wanted to share with you a little bit of what I've written so far.  Any feedback is welcome : )!

It may be unusual to choose a book's title so early on in the game, but I've already chosen my title:

The Falling Part.

Here goes! (P.S.  The stories in my book are actual true memories from my grand and glorious love life, starting with my very first love-memory.  I hope you enjoy it!)

Prologue

"The funny thing about falling in love, is the falling part.  It's not quite the same as landing in love, or being in love.  Every inch forward is an unfamiliar one, and if you're lucky enough to fall more than once, you'll realize that you land in a completely different place every time."

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The setting is fuzzy, but the feelings and the main event are very clear in my bank full of falling-in-love memories.

The room must have been about the same as anyone else's public first grade classroom: there were probably 20 desks, filled with boys and girls who were busy practicing their writing or coloring skills, and we were getting awfully good at staying in our seats and minding our teacher when she required our focus and attention.

But this moment was different for me.  I was not focusing on the assignment at hand; I had a more important matter to address.

There was a feeling being born in me.  I had an idea of what to do with it, and the time had come for me to entertain ideas such as this one.

My idea?  What to do with this new feeling?  I would write a love note.  Yes, that's what people do when they have this feeling!

Was I feeling love?  Certainly not.  But I was feeling a first-grader's version of curiosity about love, and I was ready to embark on my journey.

So I wrote in my little six-year-old handwriting, "I love you," and I looked around the room to see who the lucky recipient would be.  I hadn't determined that in advance, so it took me a minute or so to decide.

Then I spotted him, sitting across the room.  I waited until everyone was distracted with whatever it was that I probably should have been working on, and I sneaked over to his desk and handed it to him.

I don't remember his name, I don't even remember his face.  I do remember though that he never became my boyfriend, and we didn't end up living happily ever after.  In fact, I think that after he read my note he gave me a look of bewilderment, and he might have even wondered if I was a couple of crayons short of a rainbow.  But that didn't matter.

What mattered was that I had broken new ground.  I had begun my expedition, and I was about to enjoy this wild and crazy roller coaster ride that would take me far into my college years.

I was about to become an expert at falling in love.