It was (almost) a love story (or two or three). But not the fairy tale kind where everyone lives happily ever after in the end.

So...I almost had this incredibly beautiful love story to tell you about Lu. But of course it involved a boy so it didn't turn out that way. Instead it turned out with her vowing to never speak to him again and the rest of us talking in hushed whispers and calling him "he who can not be mentioned" or "that one guy" or just "jackass". I guess for this story you really need a little history, a roster of players and seeing as how the whole story is ongoing it may be a two (or several) parter.

Here's the cast of characters;

Jackass- this would be Lu's first love. They met at summer camp when she was 11 and he was 14. That year nothing happened. But she can still tell you exactly what he was wearing the very first time she met him. Fast forward a year and me telling her boys that age are dumb and he probably wont remember you. Man, did he prove me wrong. Not about being dumb, but about remembering her. Oh and did I mention that in the years time she'd sprouted boobs? May have jogged his memory somewhat. Anyway, they were instantly inseparable for the week. Then they went to a few movies, he came over to the house some and then school started and they stopped seeing each other because a.) he lives an hour away, b.) he was in high school and she was in middle school and he had older girls vying for his attention, and c.) neither of them was old enough to drive. But she had become best friends with one of his close friends, we had become friends with his parents and the other guys parents so we went to basketball games (both boys were on the team) and other gatherings in that town. So they still came in contact with each other and from time to time restarted their romance only to have it end by his bad behavior. (Did I mention the boy was really really cute and had girls falling all over themselves for him?) Both dated other people, a year went by and it's summer again. This time he's working at the camp and is there for the whole summer. They begin dating and spending every waking moment possible together. And then summer ends and so does their romance. Again. They never officially dated after that but there were a few times here and there that they went out or he'd come up to visit (as by this time he's practically part of the family). His mother even (still) has a framed picture of Lu & him hanging up in her house. He graduated high school and joined the marines. I mentioned him in a previous post, he called her from Iraq. Sometime while he was over there they had an argument and the emails stopped. Not sure of the details. I just know we didn't hear from him when he got back. Until December 12th.

Drunken Ex-boyfriend: Lu's second love. She met him about October of her freshman year. He was a junior. A year older than her. The cousin of one of her close guy friends. Lived on a farm not far from us. We should have known there was going to be trouble when he brought her home an hour late from their first date. And didn't come in to apologize. They had a dramatic off/on again relationship until this past may. They'd fight, they'd break up, we'd breathe a sigh of relief, they'd get back together. Now some of the problem is him...he comes from a family of alcoholics and a culture of alcoholism. His mother locked him in a closet when he was little. His parents fought constantly and his mother finally left the family, kids and all. His father isn't his biological father, his mother got pregnant during one of their separations. His biological father lives twenty minutes from him and never acknowledged his existence. I mean the boy had problems. And while I felt sorry for him (motherless boys are my weakness), my daughter has to be my priority. But we tried to help him. We tried to get him to quit drinking. I tried to get him to go to therapy. We took him in when no one else wanted to. We gave him chances. And the trouble we had with Lu during this time wasn't entirely his fault. She just turned into someone different when she was with him. She lied, she snuck around, she drank way more than she let on. We had horrible fights. (and yes, I do know this is typical behavior, but since we have an atypical household and parenting style, I guess I expected atypical behavior.) They separated for the final time in mid may when she kicked him out of our house and her life for falling off the wagon. They had a fight so he went to a party at his cousins and got wasted.

The Hippie- this would be Lu's current boyfriend. They met in June at summer camp. He's the handicraft teacher. He's fun, upbeat, artistic, sensitive and kind. But he's also irresponsible, lazy, and unmotivated. And smokes pot. And has a retinue of stoner friends. And blows off school, doesn't work much and lives off his folks. And Lu. She's been living in Iowa with him since end of September. She's been paying all the bills for the last two months because he has no money. They've been having huge fights. Now, don't get me wrong, I like him- as a person. And he's definitely done some good things for Lu. Her self esteem is up, he cooks for her, and he would certainly never cheat on her. But he's not settle down with material. He doesn't take care of her. She takes care of him. And so now this is wearing very thin and she's come to realize that it's not going to work...

Crap! That's really all I have time for because I have a busy day today and have to go to town. The way it's snowing outside I may need a sled and a team of snow dogs. Haha. Guess I'll settle for hubby and his truck. I will get into the meat of the drama tomorrow. Trust me, it rivals any daytime soap out there....

Tune in tomorrow...
♥Spot