I thought a lot about you today, remembering the one night we spent together after writing messages back and forth for hours into the night....many nights in a row. I stayed up well past the point of being so tired I could barely keep my eyes open, just so I could spend that late evening with you.

We were both too young to really know what we wanted then, but we both had something the other needed that night.

Someone to hold and permission to be ourselves in front of each other.

You inspired me to change the direction I was headed in life. Our nightly conversations about what relationships and love could look like...they shaped the way I still view love today, just over 12 years later.

It was amazing how the spark ignited even more when we actually got to touch one another. I couldn't have wanted another human being more.

I remember thinking how much I wanted to see you again as you left. The sun was barely above the trees, and you blew me a kiss before getting into your car. Then life happened. My home flooded and you had to focus on you. We kept in touch a while, but eventually...life and distance won.

I still wish I had kept your number, so I could see how you're doing now.