Remembering a Kiss

[Mimmo, questa la dedico a te Stronzone. Bacioni dal Canada].

Is teenage love a different kind of love? I believe that teenage love is the first step to developing normal healthy relationships in the future. I've heard many people talk about how they have never forgotten their first love. Maybe that's because it taught them how to love? So perhaps teenage love is a steppingstone toward the paths we may choose in our lives. Love, whether new or old, is a way to share important things with a person you are close to and trust. We all need that, but I think teenagers need love more than anyone. Who else better to get love from than another teenager who's going through the same transitions that you are? Who's to say what kind of love is valid? All love is valid.

Mimmo may not exactly have been “my first” love but certainly one that captured me to the point that to date, the very memory of it still brings a smile to my face. And he turned out to be the only person, twenty some years later, who I continued to talk to.

I have fond, innocent memories of my teenage years growing up in Rome, and I find today that innocence is disappearing and I miss it. Kids these days are different. They talk about "hooking up"; sex indiscriminately with anyone without any emotional attachment. The norm at colleges; the norm before any actual relationship begins. I find it sad, reckless, empty and desperate. The days of searching for Mr. Right, of falling in love have taken back seat to gluttony.

After all these years, I still have a small flame that burns for my first crush. There's something magical about that. Few experiences will ever be as intense and overwhelming as your first crush. Mimmo was my first crush.

I was 14 and he was 16. The first time I saw him we were both at a local Discothèque in Sacrofano (Rome) and I remember asking my friend (Nayla): who is that? She replied: you don’t want to get involved with him - trust me. Ha, well needless to say that’s all I needed to hear – I definitely, without a doubt wanted to get involved with him:) From that day on I would try in any way possible to get to know him and I eventually did. As we spent time together I began dreaming and having thoughts of "happily ever after" poured through my innocent young mind.

Our story was not without complication (ha, story of my life). When I wanted him he had a girlfriend; when he wanted me, I had a boyfriend. But somewhere in between we managed to have a little love story of our own, and it was delicious. Over time we became great friends, and one thing I knew for certain, we truly cared about each other.

Mimmo and I had an innocent "crush", which involved passionate glances, passionate kisses and some touching (as far as I was willing to let him go OVER my clothes). Still, it was intense. I remember riding in the back seat of his VESPA and having my arms wrapped around him wishing the ride would never end; that I could find a way to be still in that very moment for ever. The sun kissing down on us, the wind blowing in our faces, and a few bugs to pick off our teeth later – how do you forget such moments? I still remember how his beautiful eyes would stare at my lips as he moistened his and he'd say I had the most beautiful lips...Ha, it worked every time;)

The one moment I have never forgotten was “that kiss”. One evening we were outside of this coffee shop where we all hang out regularly (Paola e Mino…I believe) and at that time he was seeing this girl (Monica). I had put my mind at rest that Mimmo and I were meant to be just friends and as he and I left our group of friends to take a walk that was exactly what we talked about - let's just be friends! As we turned around and started to walk back to our friends I felt this sudden pulling of my arm, he firmly turned me around and pushed me close to him and gave me one of the best kisses I have ever had (one that I’m willing to mention on here anyway). The world stopped! I felt such passion even though his lips were gentle and soft. I remember it so vividly to this day (Mimmo te lo ricordi?).

It’s amazing how little importance men put on kissing these days. The first kiss is something that women place a lot of importance on and may even base how far they let the relationship progress. Their thinking is that if you can't get that right, chances are you won't be able to get the rest right either.

http://www.whereihadmyfirstkiss.com/

A passionate kiss is lightning that hits you on the lips, and dumps a searing, white current through you...
10 tips to a perfect kiss (according to "askmen.com" and I happen to agree):
1. Be alone (pretty straightforward here)
2. Have good breath (Always keep a pack of gum or mints in your car or in your jacket pocket)
3. Don‚t ask (Check her body language)
4. Take it easy (There is nothing that will turn a woman off faster than a guy who moves too quickly)
5. Touch her (while you kiss her, caress her body and feel her getting goose bumps)
6. Close your eyes (a great kiss is much more enjoyable when you are completely immersed in it)
7. Pretend she’s sleeping (gently awaken her sensual side)
8. Watch your tongue (Never shove your tongue down her throat - she might choke)
9. Don‚t slobber (Keep your saliva to yourself)
10.Pick your moment.


It's been scientifically proven that frequent kissing stabilizes cardiovascular activity, decreases high blood pressure, cholesterol and overall makes one's life better.
http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/12469_kiss.html


Benefits of kissing and why is Good for You:
- It helps prevent tooth decay
- It relieves tension
- It helps you lose weight
- It slows the aging process
- It increases fitness levels
- It’s a good indication of what’s to come
- It boosts self-esteem.

http://www.coolnurse.com/kissing.htm


A passionate kiss is
when everything around you
turns to curling, churning napalm
and a silent wind rises up and blows it away;
the ashes it leaves behind are damp, though, like your lips.

A passionate kiss erases your memory of what has gone before the kiss,
removes all desire to know what will be after the kiss,
and lets you live out your life in the long moment.


A KISS CAN SEAL THE DEAL.

I dedicate this to Mimmo, becasue after so many years, we have managed to keep in touch and though our lives are completely separate from each other we will always share some special teenage memories that after all these years, have kept us in contact and able to continue being (if in a small way) in each other’s life. And because of the obvious: he’s one of the few in my life that gave me a kiss worth remembering;)


So, pucker up people:)