"A Razzle, Mr. Flamhaff? Thank you, Mrs. Flamhaff!" The ending scene to the cutesy Jen Garner- Mark Ruffalo rom-com "13 going on 30" was perfect. I was with my mom and sister and as we were leaving the theater my mom looked at us and said "The moral of this story? Lesley, be nice to Michael Jarboe!" I was appalled.
The first time I saw Michael Jarboe, he was standing in front of my sixth grade locker. In his uniform polo and shorts, signature metal chain ball necklace, pixie like bangs and light blue colored braces, I knew he was waiting for my best friend, Miranda (whose locker was directly under mine). Miranda told me she had started dating someone. She forgot to mention he was a total dork. They "dated" for several months, but eventually broke up because he was going too fast for her. Tried to hold her hand or something. I was relived. Two years later, I had signed up to help the student council sell carnations for Valentine's Day. That was the first day Michael Jarboe made me laugh. But I couldn't like this guy! He was in choir and theater! I was a cheerleader! This just couldn't work.
What I know of love, I know mostly from my parents, they are going on 28 years of marriage. I knew nothing but love growing up. I realize I'm a rare find, to still have my parents together. When I was 16, fresh off my first real heartbreak, I felt so alone. My friends and family tried to cheer me up, but the only thing that helped was my eating disorder. It was making me feel in control of something. And then, one day, I got an out of the blue call from Michael Jarboe. He wanted to take me to a movie. That sounded great. We had become great friends, but my last boyfriend always thought we had a connection so I wasn't allowed to talk to him. That night, Michael Jarboe took me to Hunan dynasty for chinese food, we saw Shrek 2, and went and sat in a fast food restaurant for hours. That's when I saw Michael Jarboe for the first time. We laughed until we cried.
What I have found on my my journey for love is it comes when you have no idea. I basically spent my whole childhood begging to get this guy out of my life. Michael Jarboe taught me more about love than I ever knew. He firstly taught me how to love myself, and then he taught me how to love him.
Last October, I married Michael Jarboe. I never experienced real love until a day in November 2009, I somehow got tricked into going to my old middle school. As I walked in, there was a pathway of candles to my sixth grade locker where Michael Jarboe was on one knee. Where we first saw each other. Where he, singlehandedly, changed my life forever.
