I was supposed to be Mrs. DiCaprio

I just got back from a ride in a time machine. And yall, it was awesome! I was sitting here, watching the finale of The Bachelor and grading papers, when I heard it. You know. Those first few notes of an Irish tin whistle (forgive me if that's the wrong instrument...I'm in a Titanic-induced stupor right now). The beginning of "My Heart Will Go On". The theme song to the movie that single-handedly defined my early adolescence. The movie that made me fall in love with one Mr. DiCaprio. The movie that kinda made me want to go back in time and be on the Titanic, just so I could hang out with Jack and Rose.

Wait, they weren't really there? Minor details.

Yall...Titanic was on my TV screen. And it's coming to a movie theater near me in less than a month. In 3D! I. Can't. Wait. Seeing that on the TV took me right back in time.

All of a sudden, it was 1997 again. I was 12 whole years old (bless my heart) and putting on my clear mascara and LipSmackers lip gloss and baggy, straight-legged jeans and being dropped off at the movie theater at the back of McFarland Mall by my mom who was telling me she would be waiting right here and to come straight out after the movie and I was rolling my eyes at her and then the theater went dark and there they were! Jack and Rose. Oh, heavens, their love story...my little 12 year old heart swooned. And then it broke when Rose just couldn't make any space at all on her little piece of wood for Jack to get out of the frigid water. I've found it in me over the last fifteen (!) years to forgive Rose for that, just so you know.

I saw it over and over, three times to be exact. The parents finally put their foot down and said if I wanted to go see Titanic again, I was going to have to go get a job of my own. At the age of twelve. So, I just got the VHS tapes for my birthday and watched the movie over and over again until I had it memorized.

And oh, that song! I remember listening to the "Top 8 at 8:00" with Louie Linguini every night on 94.1, blank tape in my cassette player, finger poised over the Record button, waiting to record the best song I'd heard at that point in my life. Over the course of quite a number of weeks, I managed to get the song perfectly recorded over and over enough times to fill one side of my cassette tape. In the days before recordable CDs (where you can record once and just hit "repeat") this was quite an accomplishment. Some of my friends were jealous.

And here I am, fifteen years later. Lots and lots and lots of things have changed. I was just sitting here in my  little grownup home, drinking a grownup glass of wine, doing grownup work for my grownup job, and now I feel as giddy as a middle schooler again.

And I can't wait until April.