Mistletoe And Me

Movies and ones own imagination make mistletoe very romantic. In my single days I would daydream of meeting a beautiful stranger at a Christmas party. In this daydream we would suddenly discover that we were standing under the mistletoe and then look lovingly into each others eyes before that first memorable kiss.

When I was around eighteen I had the opportunity to make this daydream a reality. I was at probably my first party that didn't include high school kids that I knew. In fact I hardly knew anyone. Many of the people there were older (twenties) and there were a lot of attractive women.

It was Christmas time and everyone was in a festive mood. I started talking to this young woman. I was shy and at that age if a woman spoke to me I instantly liked her.

I felt that the conversation was going smoothly, although the entire time I kept wondering to myself what I would talk about next. My gut feeling was that there was no chemistry between us, but I ignored that because she was not only pretty, but talking to me as well.

And that's when I noticed it. We were standing right below the mistletoe. I knew right then and there that this was the opportunity of a lifetime. I took advantage of a pause in the conversation and remember saying to this woman in my best romantic voice, "Do you realize that we're standing under the mistletoe?"

What happened next will stay with me forever. She looked me right in the eye and said, "Well then, I guess we better move." And so we did.

It was an early lesson in heartbreak, brought on by my own imagination.