Now and Then

The kids and I started a long-weekend trip to my home stomping grounds today. We're settled in at Gram's and PapPap's house now, but on our way we made a stop to visit my best friend from high school.

I met J in first grade. She has a memory of me getting her in trouble at some point that year. I don't remember that at all (funny how selective one's memory can be), but I do vividly remember a few years later when J wanted to beat me up on the bus ride home from a Hershey Park field trip because she thought I liked the boy she had a perpetual crush on. I also have tons of great memories of driving around back country roads listening to country music. I remember local summer fairs and carnivals, lunch in the school cafeteria that was down in the scary basement of the old Junior High, and sleepovers on school nights that always involved some studying and lots of great fun and deep conversations about boys, what we would do on the weekend, and the future. The future then seemed so far away, and now here I am typing to you from those years that seemed they would never come. Of course we've had several surprises along the way, but our lives have turned out a whole lot like we hoped and imagined they would those late nights we spent talking instead of sleeping- J is a wife, mother of two adorable kids, and an amazing math teacher to a bunch of seventh graders, while I'm happy at home with My Husband and kids.

Those same kids played together today while J & I talked about life, present and past. We shared memories of teachers and prom dates and horrible books we had to read (The Jungle and 1984 topped both of our lists). We looked at old pictures (I can't believe I just called my pictures from high school old!) and at pictures from our lives now. The images captured in those albums literally seemed to be lifetimes apart, or at least very different chapters in the same book. But I guess when I think of all the changes that have occurred over the past 15 years, I shouldn't be surprised. We started out all those years ago as responsible (but only for ourselves) high school seniors with sometimes frizzy or orange hair, driving around in a little purple Saturn from school to practice to the movies to the new Walmart to someone's house to hang out. And now we are wives and mothers, still responsible, but for a circle wider than just ourselves. Thankfully no frizzy or orange hair this time around and now we've traded in the sporty little car for minivans and suvs. But here we are still driving to schools and practices and the movies and to Walmart and to other people's houses to hang out. It's just that the movies now are enjoyable not because of what's on the screen but because of the little ones who are sitting next to us and our Walmart lists are made up of exciting things like toilet bowl cleaner and ground meat instead of Twizzlers and hair dye.

Life is good, both the things that change and the things that stay the same. I'm thankful for a great friend and shared memories that seem to get better every time we retell them.

J & me- Friday, February 17.

First Grader and J's daughter, who is also in first grade. Hard to believe this is how old J & I were when we started our friendship- Friday, February 17.

 Mrs. Altemose's first grade class. I am in the top row, second from the left. J is in the bottom row, fourth from the left. Mrs. Altemose was the best teacher I ever had. I got chicken pox and missed school for the two weeks before Christmas vacation. She came to our house to bring me a gift and all of the projects the kids worked on while I was absent. She is high on my list of the most perfect people I have ever met. It could have something to do with the fact that I was in first grade when I knew her, but I think most of it is just because she was amazing- Scanned Friday, February 24. Taken sometime in the fall of 1985.

 *Side note- This is a picture of me and the boy who is directly to the left of the teacher in the picture above at our Senior Dinner Dance. I found out from J that he is now a sort of famous TV star and is on a show called Wizards of Wemberly Place or something like that. J showed me a recorded episode, prefaced with the clue that I would recognize somebody on it. And recognize somebody I did. Frankie always stood out. I am pretty sure that if our class picture above had us standing together instead of in Brady Bunch squares, Frankie would have been taller than our teacher. Yes, in first grade.  Frankie lived down the street from me and picked me up for school before I could drive. Who knew all those years ago that I was being chauffeured by a future TV star. He's even got a fan page on Facebook and his face on a billboard- I googled him. Though, I found out he now he goes by Frank instead of Frankie. TV star or not, he'll always be Frankie to me- Scanned Friday, February 24. Taken Sunday, June 1, 1997.

 
Senior Prom. J and I both were recovering from food poisoning that we got from an honors banquet earlier in the week. Students, principals, and parents from the five local schools were all sick. We were just the lucky ones who happened to have our Senior Prom on a boat in New York City later the same week. J spent the entire Friday in the Nurse's Office- she had to be at school if she wanted to go to the prom that night. I didn't get it as bad as she did, but all I consumed the entire night was a cup of hot tea and a roll. Good times- Scanned Friday, February 24. Taken Friday, May 23, 1997.

High School Graduation. Scanned Friday, February 24. Taken Wednesday, June 11, 1997.

My little purple Saturn. The best car ever. I actually cried when My Husband and I took it to the dealer to trade it in for a bigger, not purple car. I had dreams of a cute little family buying it for their daughter who had just turned 16. I saw her rolling down the windows (yes, crank windows), singing loudly with her friends on the way to the mall. Instead, a scraggly looking guy with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth walked over to my little purple car and started peeking in all the windows. (I assure you the actual image is worse than you are imagining, we were living in Kentucky at the time.) It was then that the tears started flowing and I began begging My Husband to change his mind. "You can drive a purple car, I know you can. And the fact that your knees touch the steering wheel really isn't all that big of deal, is it? I mean it could come in handy. You could learn to steer with your legs, then you can drink a cup of coffee and hang your other arm out the window while you drive."  This tear-infused persuasion went on for a couple minutes more, but finally, we pulled away in our bigger, silver car, leaving my little, purple Saturn all alone in a Kentucky used car lot. It took me a few weeks to warm up to the new car. I had to admit that it was much nicer, but first loves die hard. I think it was the sunroof and the CD player that finally won me over. But I never will forget my little, purple Saturn- Scanned Friday, February 24. Taken sometime in 1996.