All About Molly

Okay, I promised I would write about Molly, and now that I have a few minutes, I will tell you all about her. I guess a lot of you know about her anyway, since probably most of the people here came from Molly's site, but it might be fun to see things from my side.

Molly and I first met in first grade. She was in my class, and the first day of school, I thought she was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. I sent her a note when the teacher wasn't looking. It just said, "I love you." She sent one back that said, "I love you too." So I guess she was my first girlfriend. A couple days later, she and I were in the sandbox, and I was sitting on an old tire, and she asked if she could sit on it. For some reason, I told her no, and we didn't talk again for a couple years. I have always regretted being so mean to her that day.

When we were in fourth grade, I noticed again just how cute she was. My older brother, Chris, was in sixth grade, and he was talking to his friend Craig. I told Craig to go ask Molly if she would be my girlfriend. He came back a few minutes later with her phone number and said, "She said to call her after school and she will tell you yes or no." I called later that day, and she said yes. I was so glad she wasn't still mad about the sandbox.

Elementary school relationships are silly. I only actually remember talking to her one time when she was my girlfriend. We were standing next to a portable classroom that they had brought to our school while they were doing construction on some of the older parts of the school. After a minute, we noticed that my cousin, Steven, was spying on us from around the corner. Molly took off chasing after Steven, and to my surprise, she caught him and tripped him. It was amazing and hilarious!

A few days later, I was walking into a classroom that Molly was walking out of. She was talking to her friend, and neither of them saw me. The friend asked, "So Molly, is Peter still your boyfriend?" Much to my chagrin, Molly said, "No." And thus, she became my first AND my second ex-girlfriend.

Because of weird school boundaries, Molly and I went to separate middle schools, so I didn't see her again after elementary school until we got to high school. Once again, I was taken by how pretty she was. Unlike our first two relationships, we took it slowly that time. We became best friends pretty quickly, but we didn't start dating until our senior year. I knew that I shouldn't get too serious with her because I had a mission to serve, but I probably got more attached than I should have. We went on a lot of group dates, although we did sneak out and see a movie with just the two of us one time. I felt pretty bad about it, since For the Strength of Youth says not to single-date until you are 18, but I worked it out with my bishop/dad before my mission.

In the year between high school and when I left on my mission, Molly and I decided to mellow things down. Bless her heart, Molly never wanted to stand between me and my potential to be a great missionary. I think one of her greatest successes so far in life is the way she supported me and helped me to be the best missionary I possibly could be. The day President Gardner called me in and asked me to be one of his assistants, I couldn't help thinking that Molly deserved at least part of the credit for being so supportive and always keeping her letters focused on my missionary work. (She even called my Elder Parley in all the letters.)

So anyway, I went on my mission, and Molly wrote me every week. I wrote her as often as I could, and she understood that some weeks, I just didn't have the time. And now I am home...

From reading Molly's blog, I see that it scared her that I didn't ask her out immediately after I got home. The thing is, I couldn't stop thinking about those times in first and fourth grades, when we rushed into relationships and ended up hurting each other. I know that Heavenly Father treasures His daughters, and I never want to be responsible for hurting one again, especially Molly.

Which brings me to the fireside last week. Looking back, it is a little funny that Brindy didn't recognize the girl I was with. It was my cousin, Andi, and Brindy met her on one of those group dates four or five years ago. I feel SO bad that Molly was hurt by this, because obviously, I was not on a date with my cousin. We got into the same care because Andi's mom, my Aunt Norma, was driving!

Anyway, this has been very long, and I apologize. Molly and I will (hopefully) be going out this weekend, so I will keep you posted (and I am sure she will too!).

Oh, one more thing. I am thinking about taking Molly to see the new Star Wars movie, but I notice that it is PG-13. Is it a movie I would be comfortable taking a date to?