45 years ago this evening, Rob and I had our very first date. After weeks of flirting, breaking into his locker to decorate it with signs and goodies before each basketball game, he finally asked me out.  So what do seventeen year old kids do on their first date when they have no money?  Attend one of their best friend's church basketball games, of course! Not the best way to steal a girl's heart, but I think he had captured mine weeks before as we spent hours together, typing yearbook copy on manual typewriters in a claustrophobic pie-shaped room.  I already knew there was something different about this very intelligent athlete. I wanted to learn more.
For me, the night was perfect.  We spent half-time walking hand in hand around the country school building on a cold Kansas night and barely made it back inside for the final buzzer. Our conversation came easy and I didn't want the night to ever end. 
45 years later, I wish it never had to end. I loved that seventeen year old boy with all my heart.