Missing HIM.

About 15 summers ago I got my first marriage proposal. I was in the basement of my Aunt Krista's house and was jumping on her trampoline. I took a break and my dear friend Zach handed me a stuffed green turtle and said...I am going to marry you one day and I answered no your not, you didn't even ask! And he said, fine, Will you Marry me? I said of course! I was like 10! I didn't know what I was getting myself into! Years later he was my first date. He took me to the movies and dinner. I will never forget how he smelled. He always smelled good!  Then I remember he took me off roading on the gravel roads. I have never laughed that hard!

One of the fondest memories I have him happened maybe when I was 16 maybe 17.  Me and my Mom were in Iowa visiting which always made me excited cause I got to see Zach. He wanted to go out but at the time he no longer had a car. So I asked my Mom if I could take her rental car.  A ford explorer. It was summer time and a storm was coming in. I picked Zach up and he said he wanted to take me somewhere. My mom told me before I left, you MUST be home for dinner with the family, and DO NOT LET Zach drive because he didn't have his lincense at the time, I think, I don't remember why she didn't want him driving. Well when I picked up he wanted to drive so I let him. (of course! he was older and I wasn't going to do the baby thing and say no my mom said no). Also, when we left his house his mom made it clear to Zach that I was a good girl and he was not to do anything that would get us in trouble. You see Zach was the sweetest, cutest, badass trouble maker! Well, he wanted to take me down by the river, and it was in a very woody part of the river. We sat by the river and he told me he loved me and that he was ready to get his life together and be a good man for me. We kissed, and kissed, and kissed and I told him I loved him too. Well he was like babe, wanna have some fun? I said of course so we went offroading in the mud! A storm was coming in so the mud was getting really thick and and we got stuck! I mean stuck we couldn't reverse or go foward. It started getting dark and we were so far in the woods we didn't have service on our phones to call anyone. I will never forget how panic ridden Zach got cause he realized we weren't going to make it to family dinner and he didn't want to make my mom mad or get in trouble like it seemed he always was. We had fun! We were laughing, and kissing, jsut two kdis stuck in the woods. Well, Zach walked and walked till he got service and one of his friends came out and pulled us out of the mud. We had to stop on the way home to clean the car, becasue it was covered in Mud and we didn't want my mom to find out what were doing because we knew she would get mad. I walked into family dinner and of course got reemed by my mom for being late but I secretly was smiling from ear to ear for memories I would never forget.

Years later he wanted to go to a park one winter. Ohh the way he smells...I remember what he was wearing on that day and the way he smelt. Well the pond was frozen and Zach was trying to show off and walk on the frozen pond and he slipped really bad and hit his head. He was soo embaressed! I remember we had to go back to his house so he could change and he was like babe, please don't talk to my mom for a long time when we go home, i barely see you and I wanna kiss you, not listen to you talk to my mom. You see, me and his mom have always been close. I love her! We are still close! His mom laughed so hard when he came home and toldher what happened, and that made him even mader! Oh his mad face, I could kiss him and erase all that anger.

November 10th of 2007 (i think, or 2006) Zach left this world. We were no longer together, I had a girlfriend then, we stopped talking a few months before because his bad habits got the best of him.  It kills me even today. I miss him, I miss his tired voice. I miss the way he melts bad days away. I miss the way he would get really quiet and tell me he loves me. I miss my friend. Everytime I go to iowa, I still get the nervous butterflies like I am going to see him, but then I am reminded that he is no longer here. I miss him talking to his sisters while I was on the phone. His baby sister used to come in his room and tell him he was scared and he would always comfort her, and let her lay with him. It always blows my mind how much I remember about the times that I have spent with him. Today is Feb. 10th. It seems every 10th goes by and I am flooded with memories of him. Today, Brad Paisley's Mud on the Tires song came up and I got wrapped up in memories of getting stuck in the mud and before I knew it I was wiping tears away.

I miss you Zach. RIP!