There are a lot of romantic “firsts” that are always remembered. First date, kiss, lay. They may not always be pleasant memories, but these are defining moments in our lives.
Less often discussed and often much more embarrassing are our first inappropriate crushes. Often years before we begin to notice others in our age group there is somebody older, a teacher, babysitter, lead singer in a boy band, that gives us those first awkward tingles, those butterflies in our stomachs that we don’t quite understand.
For my wife it was John Stamos, dreamy bad boy Uncle Jessie on Full House and probably a common answer among women her age. The teenager doesn’t like to be reminded of this, but when I first met her at five years old she had a really bad case of Beiber Fever.
For me that person was Olivia Newton John, the advent of music videos coinciding with her transition from country to pop music with 1981’s “Physical” album. The videos for the title track, “Make a Move on Me” and “Tied Up” enough to make a seven year old boy want to move to Australia.
“Grease” remains one of the most overrated movies of all time, it’s songs only suitable for drunken girl night karaoke, but 1983’s “Two of a Kind”, also co-starring John Travolta, is one of the greatest campy guilty pleasures of the 80’s. It’s theme song “Twist of Fate” one of the decade’s first synth-pop masterpieces.
It’s too soon to say for sure who my youngest will one day look back and blush about. After receiving a rose from the dashing Red Knight at Medieval Times she turned several shades of red herself and I can’t remember another time that she’s been rendered speechless since uttering her first words. She cried about not being able to give him a present in return and cried again upon realizing that their paths nevermore shall pass. She solemnly declared that from that moment forward she wanted to wear only red clothes, her new favorite color.
She was over it by the time we were back home but it was a sobering reminder of what’s to come. So far her older sister’s romantic endeavors have been disastrous dramatic nightmares. Judging by how fast the past six years have gone by, our next tour of duty will begin long before I’m prepared to rejoin the fray.
All thoughts for another day. I’m not a handsome Greek in a leather jacket but tonight our Full House is empty. My wife may not be a blond Australian songstress but I can still visit the land Down Under.
Sometimes it’s not your first crush that really matters but your last.
i’ve not really had crushes, more appreciation’s of certain individuals, some for their looks, others for their friendships and most from afar (George Clooney) but you’re right, what’s more important is your last, not your first
“crush” is a weird word. There are probably lots of different ways that people would define it
Thats so cute. Yeah thinking back to my famous people crush it would have to be Harrison Ford aka Han Solo, yeah I’m way old. It’s funny I remember the name of the boy I had a crush on in elementary school yet couldn’t tell you who I dated in High School and how different my tastes are now:)
I’m certainly not going to call you old. Half my readers probably had to google Olivia Newton John
Oh Man… first crushes are so cringey to look back on!!
I had a Nancy McKeon thing going on for a while. Not sure what that was about
Funny. I was just talking about a similar topic today with my wife. I saw and ad for Wonder Woman. I remember a cousin of mine had a big poster of Linda Carter on his bedroom wall. He had good taste!
she plays the President now on Supergirl. Looks almost exactly the same as she did back then
Ok. First, let me say that John Stamos is good looking. Very good looking. Second, Let’s Get Physical was an awesome song with an EPIC video. EPIC.
Finally, let me thank you for getting Twist of Fate stuck in my head now. I’ll be singing it for the rest of the day…
It’s gotta be a strange twist of fate-telling me that heaven can wait…
#StayClassyMama
Nice to find somebody that actually remembers those songs! Hopefully I won’t catch myself humming it at work today…
haha … very good. I think mine was Nick Carter from Backstreet Boys, but I had to google both their name and his – glad that ship has sailed!
#fridayfrolics
I remember him being very popular with the young girls at one point
How could I forget? I wanted to be Olivia Newton John!!!!
Popping back in with #FridayFolics
a fine aspiration
I had to Google Twist of Fate, but Grease is the Word is now thundering through my head. Thank you. How we all loved that film back in the day. Even though they were the oldest teenagers in the world.
I never could bring myself to like Grease, even with my girl in it
I love Grease but not keen on John Travolta. I can’t even remember my first crush, probably a teacher… #stayclassymama
I never understood why John Travolta was a thing. I can’t think of anything besides Pulp Fiction that I liked him in
I love Olivia Newton John!So very sad to hear her news this week. She is such a legend.A very worthy first crush.Hopelessly Devoted to you is one of my all time faves…..#fridayfrolics
It was sad. It was a bit weird to see her back in the news right after writing this. Hadn’t thought about her in years
Awwwwwww, your ending! Just awwwww. First crushes can be awkward. Mine was Patrick Swayze after I found my Gran’s copy of Dirty Dancing! #FridayFrolics
your gran’s? I’m going to go sob for a while and pull out a few more grey hairs…
I love John Stamps! Mostly because he was the bad boy in Full House, I always had a thing for bad boys when I was younger. Not anymore! I am much more sensible, if I were to watch Full House now I would probably tut at Uncle Jessie’s demeanour haha! Olivia Newton John is definitely beautiful, love her too! Thanks for sharing with #StayClassyMama!
He was fairly benign as far as bad boys go. I think thats why why wife like me too. A not very bad at all type bad boy. lol
What an awesome post… a killer crush fro me was Julianna Margolies from ER. Yes ER first season — long time ago, but not as long ago as let’s get physical. Olivia is a cutie too! <3
Thats a good one. I’m sure Mr Clooney from that time would be a lot of people’s answer, as well as Noah While. I watched the first few seasons but if I remember correctly it went directly head to head with Chicago Hope at one point and I liked that hospital show much better. That is going back a while
Gosh I remember all the boys I fancied that didn’t return it and vice versa!! Definitely took a while to meet the mutual crush. It’s so crazy to think this will happen to my girls – more scary actually. You forget these little ones are just little people sometimes about to go through everything we did. Xx #thatfridaylinky
Hopefully not everything. Thanks for reading Sarah
That is so adorable! #ThatFridayLinky
thanks Heather. She was pretty cute
Funny, I didn’t really crush on celebrities, I stuck to the more achievable boys at school lol.
#thatfridaylinky
unfortunately, the girls at school proved just as unachievable for me as any celebrity
That’s brilliant. I was a nightmare for crushes when I was growing up. I would do exactly as your youngest did. It looks like you might be at the start of a rollercoaster ride! #ThatFridayLinky
our oldest is 17, its a ride that I’m all too familiar with – and not looking forward to riding again
I think my first crush was when I was 16 (late developer!) Caroline – “Oh Carolina” by Shaggy played on the radio that year, I just couldnt get her out of my head!
We ended up snogging in the school theatre hall 6 months later, we went out for two weeks and she dumped me!
#ThatFridayLinky
I don’t remember that song, but I can understand why you do
I love the way you’ve ended this post – it’s beautiful. My niece is six and planning to marry her best friend so that’s sorted lol. #kcacols
nice to get that out of the way at an early age
My kids haven’t had “crushes” yet, Bethany doesn’t like boys at all, and Jack loves everyone hehe bless them! #kcacols
keep them little as long as possible!
Hhhmmm…… I’m rapidly trying to think about who my first crush was. I remember being keen on Tom Cruise and Kevin Costner back in the day, but I’m sure there must have been someone prior to them! I still love Grease – you can’t beat a bit a cheesy 80s film for nostalgia! Thanks for linking up with #KCACOLS and hope to see you again next time.
I introduced our teen to some of the movies of my youth and she’s been obsessing over them. Outsiders, 16 Candles, all the classics
Grease was the first film I ever saw at the cinema, so despite its cheesiness it always has a special place in my heart. ON-J was rather lovely, wasn’t she? #KCACOLS
she certainly was. Thanks for reading Tim
They may not be true love but those early crushes are like nothing else. Strange that we seem to lose the ability to long for someone that way. Or maybe we just become aware of the flaws in everyone. Even those perfect beings we once believed we couldn’t live without. #KCACOLS
pretty deep thoughts there