Memories Monday: Tera Lynn Childs

Today is officially the launch day of my Memories Monday column! I think it’s perfectly placed because it’s Memorial Day (yeah i know, memorial day has nothing to do with childhood memories, but work with me here), and it’s the day after Valentine’s day so talking about first crushes is very apt.

My first guest blogger is none other than Tera Lynn Childs! Tera is super-star author of ‘Oh My Gods,’ and ‘Goddess Boot Camp.’ She is also a Founding Fiver and a contributor to the blog, Books, Boys, Buzz.



Although most authors who will be blogging about their memories will talk about high school crushes, embarrassing moments, etc, Tera’s first crush started long before high school(which is why it’s so awesome she’s my first blogger). Let’s check out her heartwarming first crush story….



My first crush began in first grade. (I say “began” because I don’t think I’ve ever fully gotten over him.) I was attending a very progressive arts-oriented school in Montreal where, even in first grade, we changed rooms for various classes. Starting off in “family” with Madame Kena. To Madame Alias for music. To Louise for voice. And to Jacqueline for math. Every day I looked forward to math for two reasons. First, my best friend Ursie was in that class. And, second, so was Joshua.



In retrospect, I don’t think I knew a lot about Joshua. He was an Anglophone (an English-speaker) with dark hair who wore plaid shirts. At recess, my friend Nicole and I used to play kissing tag with him and his friends. Well, just regular tag, actually, because we never kissed anyone. My friend Yasmine and I choreographed a dance routine to “Mickey” by Toni Basil, which we performed for them. (And, yes, I still remember our choreography. You take me by the heart when you take me by the hand….)



One of my earliest embarrassing moments was about Joshua. Ursie and I had spent part of math class cutting construction paper into little squares and writing “I heart Josh” on them. When my mom picked me up after school she found one of the squares and asked me about it. Though I denied it to the death she never did believe that the love note belonged to Ursie. Thus began a lifetime of hiding my crushes from my mom.



Joshua was the beginning of many things. I blame him for my obsession with dark-haired boys. (Cases in point: Griffin in Oh. My. Gods. and Brody in Forgive My Fins.) When we moved away at the end of second grade, he became the beginning of my longing for boys past, for the fantasy of the reunion moment. When it came time to start my writing career and I entered a 100-word contest about how your mother influenced the romance in your life, I wrote the story of the colored “I heart Josh” squares. And you know what? I won.



Thanks, Joshua, for all those beginnings.



I heart Josh, too! Thank’s Tera! For those of you who want to know more about Tera, you can check out her website here. Check out more memories next week on Memories Monday!

Tags: Memories Monday