Romeo, oh Romeo
Alex sets up his friend Bob to go on a blind date with a college friend.
Bob is a little worried about going out with someone he’s never seen before. “What do I do if she’s ugly?” says Bob, “I’ll be with her all night.”
He’s about to speak when the girl suddenly grabs her heart, shouts “Aaaaaauuuuggghh!” and collapses with a heart attack.
I spent three years reading St John Paul II's discourses on his writings called 'Love and Responsibility'. The discourses ended being called 'Theology of the Body'. St John Paul was more of a philosopher by trade. He taught ethics for twenty years in Poland. His discourses were very deep and hard to comprehend. I would read one sentence or paragraph and have to put it down to think about what he was explaining. I can't imagine standing in St Peter Square listening every Wednesday. He gave these talks over many years. If I could boil down the main message of TOB, every person can only comprehend themselves if they live FOR another.
We are made in the image of God. God who's three persons in one God. The Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father so powerfully that this love is literally a person - The Holy Spirit. The Church would call it a constant love song being sung. The Holy Spirit is the Immaculate Conception of the love of the Father and the Son. We, therefore, are called to be in community with and for others as a single person, married, religious, priest, bishop, or Pope. Laying our lives down for others. It is in this basic foundational principle that will change your life at any stage. It is the key to experiencing joy and moments of happiness. It is the foundation of love. It is the essence of love. It is the source of true passionate love.
It took me years to understand God's concept of love, and I am still trying to live it out. I had my first crush on a girl at the age of five. Of course, I also fell in love with my first grade teacher at St Petronille School. I had a crush on a girl practically every year in school, so it should not come as a surprise that I decided not to be a celibate priest, but get married. My first real girlfriend was Sophomore year of high school. Of course, she was the younger sister of my friend. Do you see a pattern? I didn't have a license so our dating consisted of hanging out at her house and going to school functions. She moved away to Wisconsin at the end of the school year. I was heart broken.
Junior and Senior year were the most fun. I went to all the dances. I had several short term relationships. It wasn't until the end of senior year that I was in another long term relationship with a girl. If your family and friends think a relationship is a bad idea, listen! I didn't listen. It was a relationship that I should have gotten out of quickly but I didn't. I thought I was in love, but I was really in lust. If you were going out for a long time, you would give your class ring to a girl. So, at some point, I gave her my class ring which she wore on a necklace. My oldest sister was not happy. She paid for that ring. This dating relationship negatively impacted all my other relationships: friends, and family. Plus, it drove me farther away from God. It took me until Freshmen year of college to end it. By then, I had already done damage. It's something that I regret to this day. Of course, my sister was not happy until I got my ring back.
I met Jan in high school. I didn't start dating her until I finished college. But, we almost went to a Turnabout Dance in my senior year in high school. I had a date to the dance. It was with a girl who I had a crush on for quite awhile, but she was dating someone. In January, she broke up with him. She eventually asked me to go to the Turnabout Dance which was in February, so, of course, I said yes. Well, the week before the dance she decided to get back together with her boyfriend. Thus, I had no date to the dance. Jan found out from her brother. The next day, she stopped me in the hallway at school and asked me to the dance, but the night before I was asked by one of my friends to go. It was a good thing because I was not a good person at the time. I was too caught up in my lustful ways.
In college, I was able to develop many friendships with females. I had a lot of fun. I think looking back at this time period, I learned to develop friendships with the opposite sex, and this served me well. In high school and college, I recommend spending more time developing friendships. Out of that circle of friends, you can learn a lot about yourself and learn a lot about them. For me, I started to discover the type of people that I got along with and the ones that I didn't. Go to dances and events as a group of friends or just as friends. Yes, you will find someone who interests you but keep it as a friendship as long as you can. In high school and college, you are still learning about yourself . When you are in a relationship and it ends, try to learn as much as you can from the experience about yourself and others.
One of my most embarrassing moments in dating came on a first date with someone that I had already built a friendship with before the date. So, I am driving to pick her up. I had a total brain cramp, and I can't think of her first name. It was crazy. I had known this girl for quite awhile, and yet I am on the way to pick her up and I can't think of her name. This is before cell phones. I panicked, and I stopped at the Seven Eleven to use the pay phone. Ironically, I call my future mother in law who knew her. Of course, over the years she never let me forget it. It was the source of much laughter. I had to describe the situation to her, and then I had to describe the girl to her. She eventually figured out who I was talking about. It was crazy, and embarrassing. I ended up dating this girl for several months.
In college, I feel badly about some of the things that I did. I dated this girl. She didn't drink and she was a pretty strong Christian. Well, I think I was a bad influence on her. I got her to drink and party. We spent a lot time making out. It didn't last long.
I had another crush on a freshman girl who lived on the floor below me. I pursued her the rest of my college career. I should have seen the hand writing on the wall. She really wasn't as interested in me as much as I was in her. I finally broke off my pursuit in November of 1984 when I woke up and realized she had other priorities other than me.
By November after I had graduated from college, I had been spending time working on a young adult retreat program. It was called the Happening in Christianity. It reached juniors in high school to twenty-one year olds. By working on this program, I had invited God more deeply into my life. This changed me. I was looking for something different in a dating relationship. I was looking for someone who loved God first and foremost. I was looking for someone who was loving and caring. Someone who had a great sense of humor. Someone who I could go into a soul relationship. Someone who could talk about the deeper things of life, but also could be silly fun. I started to think about who around me embodied those qualities. I realized that person had been right in front of my face for many years. It was Jeff 's little sister.
Over the years, I spent a lot of time hanging out at the Wahrman's house along with dozens of other people from the Happening. On any given night a few dozen people could be at their house. You could enter their house without knocking as long as you avoided their dog Butch. Of course, he mainly bit your pants when you were leaving. The Wahrman's were the most welcoming people that you could ever meet. People called Mrs. Wahrman "Mom". They mainly called Mr. Wahrman "Commander". Anyway, one night in December, I called the house and Jan answered the phone. I asked her who was at her house. She said no one. I asked if I could come over. She was dumbfounded because she was the only one there. Little did she know that I was coming over to spend time with her.
Bob is a little worried about going out with someone he’s never seen before. “What do I do if she’s ugly?” says Bob, “I’ll be with her all night.”
“Don’t worry,” Alex says, “just go up to her door and meet her first.
If you like what you see, then everything goes as planned. If you
don’t, just shout “Aaaaaauuuggghhh!” and fake a heart attack.”
That night Bob knocks at the girl’s door. When she comes out he is awe-struck at how gorgeous she is.He’s about to speak when the girl suddenly grabs her heart, shouts “Aaaaaauuuuggghh!” and collapses with a heart attack.
I spent three years reading St John Paul II's discourses on his writings called 'Love and Responsibility'. The discourses ended being called 'Theology of the Body'. St John Paul was more of a philosopher by trade. He taught ethics for twenty years in Poland. His discourses were very deep and hard to comprehend. I would read one sentence or paragraph and have to put it down to think about what he was explaining. I can't imagine standing in St Peter Square listening every Wednesday. He gave these talks over many years. If I could boil down the main message of TOB, every person can only comprehend themselves if they live FOR another.
We are made in the image of God. God who's three persons in one God. The Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father so powerfully that this love is literally a person - The Holy Spirit. The Church would call it a constant love song being sung. The Holy Spirit is the Immaculate Conception of the love of the Father and the Son. We, therefore, are called to be in community with and for others as a single person, married, religious, priest, bishop, or Pope. Laying our lives down for others. It is in this basic foundational principle that will change your life at any stage. It is the key to experiencing joy and moments of happiness. It is the foundation of love. It is the essence of love. It is the source of true passionate love.
It took me years to understand God's concept of love, and I am still trying to live it out. I had my first crush on a girl at the age of five. Of course, I also fell in love with my first grade teacher at St Petronille School. I had a crush on a girl practically every year in school, so it should not come as a surprise that I decided not to be a celibate priest, but get married. My first real girlfriend was Sophomore year of high school. Of course, she was the younger sister of my friend. Do you see a pattern? I didn't have a license so our dating consisted of hanging out at her house and going to school functions. She moved away to Wisconsin at the end of the school year. I was heart broken.
Junior and Senior year were the most fun. I went to all the dances. I had several short term relationships. It wasn't until the end of senior year that I was in another long term relationship with a girl. If your family and friends think a relationship is a bad idea, listen! I didn't listen. It was a relationship that I should have gotten out of quickly but I didn't. I thought I was in love, but I was really in lust. If you were going out for a long time, you would give your class ring to a girl. So, at some point, I gave her my class ring which she wore on a necklace. My oldest sister was not happy. She paid for that ring. This dating relationship negatively impacted all my other relationships: friends, and family. Plus, it drove me farther away from God. It took me until Freshmen year of college to end it. By then, I had already done damage. It's something that I regret to this day. Of course, my sister was not happy until I got my ring back.
I met Jan in high school. I didn't start dating her until I finished college. But, we almost went to a Turnabout Dance in my senior year in high school. I had a date to the dance. It was with a girl who I had a crush on for quite awhile, but she was dating someone. In January, she broke up with him. She eventually asked me to go to the Turnabout Dance which was in February, so, of course, I said yes. Well, the week before the dance she decided to get back together with her boyfriend. Thus, I had no date to the dance. Jan found out from her brother. The next day, she stopped me in the hallway at school and asked me to the dance, but the night before I was asked by one of my friends to go. It was a good thing because I was not a good person at the time. I was too caught up in my lustful ways.
In college, I was able to develop many friendships with females. I had a lot of fun. I think looking back at this time period, I learned to develop friendships with the opposite sex, and this served me well. In high school and college, I recommend spending more time developing friendships. Out of that circle of friends, you can learn a lot about yourself and learn a lot about them. For me, I started to discover the type of people that I got along with and the ones that I didn't. Go to dances and events as a group of friends or just as friends. Yes, you will find someone who interests you but keep it as a friendship as long as you can. In high school and college, you are still learning about yourself . When you are in a relationship and it ends, try to learn as much as you can from the experience about yourself and others.
One of my most embarrassing moments in dating came on a first date with someone that I had already built a friendship with before the date. So, I am driving to pick her up. I had a total brain cramp, and I can't think of her first name. It was crazy. I had known this girl for quite awhile, and yet I am on the way to pick her up and I can't think of her name. This is before cell phones. I panicked, and I stopped at the Seven Eleven to use the pay phone. Ironically, I call my future mother in law who knew her. Of course, over the years she never let me forget it. It was the source of much laughter. I had to describe the situation to her, and then I had to describe the girl to her. She eventually figured out who I was talking about. It was crazy, and embarrassing. I ended up dating this girl for several months.
In college, I feel badly about some of the things that I did. I dated this girl. She didn't drink and she was a pretty strong Christian. Well, I think I was a bad influence on her. I got her to drink and party. We spent a lot time making out. It didn't last long.
I had another crush on a freshman girl who lived on the floor below me. I pursued her the rest of my college career. I should have seen the hand writing on the wall. She really wasn't as interested in me as much as I was in her. I finally broke off my pursuit in November of 1984 when I woke up and realized she had other priorities other than me.
By November after I had graduated from college, I had been spending time working on a young adult retreat program. It was called the Happening in Christianity. It reached juniors in high school to twenty-one year olds. By working on this program, I had invited God more deeply into my life. This changed me. I was looking for something different in a dating relationship. I was looking for someone who loved God first and foremost. I was looking for someone who was loving and caring. Someone who had a great sense of humor. Someone who I could go into a soul relationship. Someone who could talk about the deeper things of life, but also could be silly fun. I started to think about who around me embodied those qualities. I realized that person had been right in front of my face for many years. It was Jeff 's little sister.
Over the years, I spent a lot of time hanging out at the Wahrman's house along with dozens of other people from the Happening. On any given night a few dozen people could be at their house. You could enter their house without knocking as long as you avoided their dog Butch. Of course, he mainly bit your pants when you were leaving. The Wahrman's were the most welcoming people that you could ever meet. People called Mrs. Wahrman "Mom". They mainly called Mr. Wahrman "Commander". Anyway, one night in December, I called the house and Jan answered the phone. I asked her who was at her house. She said no one. I asked if I could come over. She was dumbfounded because she was the only one there. Little did she know that I was coming over to spend time with her.
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