Proud Cougar

And here you were, guessing I was going to discuss my love of younger men, weren't you?

I actually just wanted to give a quick shout-out to my Alma mater, and the great football team, for their 44-20 win over Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl. Yes, I know this is old news, but give me a break-- I've been busy. Here's hoping we can have a BCS bid next year, though, because they might as well rename Las Vegas as "The BYU versus some crap team from the Pac 10 Bowl." Right? Sorry Oregon Beaver fans (seriously, the Beavers? Who thought that was a good idea?). No. 18 is nothing to sniff at. Anyway...

Lest I disappoint you, gentle readers, NOW I will discuss why it's nice to have a bunch of young boyfriends.

Garret, my cousin, is a big Cougar fan, and I'm not talking BYU athletics. As we ditched Sunday School a couple of days ago (one of my weaknesses-- as the president, I can't very well ditch Relief Society, and sometimes I just need a mental break... or to work on my lesson for the third hour), he explained to my friend Louise just why he likes cougars. "You know, if you get a cub, they're just too demanding. They want you to feed them, and cuddle with them, and lick them and feed them again, and take them out to play. It's just constant work. But a full-grown Cougar just needs to go out about once a week to feed, and then she wants to go home to her own cave and not be bothered." Garret has always said "older women make beautiful lovers." He also told his family, when he was about four years old, that he likes his women "a little on the trashy side." Someone needs to keep this kid from listening to country-western music.

Garret and I agree I'm technically too young yet to be a cougar. I guess that makes me a panther, right? Heck if I know all the trendy talk. I do know that in this calendar year, I've not had a date with a man older than I am. I guess the last couple of guys I've had dates with who ARE actually older would be my friend David (now happily married, but remember how I once caught him doing shirtless push-ups to Mariah Carey music?) or my friend Brad, who took me out to dinner a while back. However, these fellas are the big exception. I'd like to say it just started happening after I moved to NM, but even as far back as high school, I've liked the younger guys. Part of it, I'm sure, is necessity. When I was about 14 or so, I tended to like the boys about two grades above, but when they graduated and later when I became a big-bad senior, I used to snog the sweetest little guy back stage all the time. He was three years younger, but I didn't even care. In college I had a few little boyfriend-types who I'd tuck under my wing of wise sisterhood but end up with little crushes on-- like my friend Ben. We were in a play together, and it was just so fun to hold hands with him, even though he was completely delusional and was convinced he was best friends with Britney Spears via the internet. What can I say-- I have a weakness for the clueless chaps. Need I remind you of young Bobby Hill?

The only time I get wicked-grossed out is when I stop to think my boyfriends are younger than my little sister. But I just block that out most of the time. I still have a secret hope to end up with someone my age or older, which is why marrying my friend Eric in a year and a half remains an appealing idea. He is two days older than I am, which appeals to the traditionalist in me. But until then, I guess I'll have to keep spending time with the younger boys.

On an unrelated note, here is a picture of the beard Jacob is working on. He's a little embarrassed because it's patchy and blond and you can't really see it even though he's been growing it for a couple of weeks, but it's still kind of sweet. Maybe in a few years it'll come in better.