17 years ago today Chad asked me to be his girlfriend.  He gave me his class ring (do kids still do that?).  We were 16.  Two of my children are more than halfway to 16.

Let’s not drive down Panic Road today.

17 years ago the cutest boy in school asked me to be his girlfriend.  He was a drummer – he played set, he was the lead snare, AND he was the drumline captain, to be precise.  He played set for the vocal jazz group I was in.  We were in jazz band, wind ensemble, pep band, and marching band together.  Yes, ok, we were band geeks.  He wore a black Oakley baseball hat and drove a blue Blazer.

He was kind to me, liked me just the way I was, and we fit well into each other’s lives – all of which were new concepts to me in dating relationships.  He was my favorite, and he still is my favorite.  And if he asked me every morning to wear his ring, I would be so very anxious to have it on my finger.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, Chad Orlikowski and Janna Harms at our spring high school dance, March 1996.  Please to enjoy.