SPT October 6

Continuing on with Lelly's Self-Portrait Challenges, the month of October is dedicated to "100 Things About Me." Well, not about Lelly, of course, but about ME. And the "100 Things About Me" list that I am supposed to have completed, and to have posted on my sidebar, because everyone knows that every blogger on the planet is required to have completed the list, and posted it on their sidebar --- pretty much everyone already has. In fact, I think it's probably a law by now.

Thankfully, however, not an enforceable law, because I alone am the solitary blogger in the world who has NOT completed my "100 Things About Me" list and posted it for all of you to read. (Um, yeah, note to self: "alone" means pretty much the same thing as "solitary", so you're kind of just rambling now ..... Maybe that could be thing #1: I don't make much sense when I speak.)

Quite frankly, I'm not sure I could come up with 100 Things About Me. I know for an indisputable FACT that I couldn't come up with 100 interesting things .....

So instead, for the four Tuesdays in the month of October, I'll give you Four Random Things according to what I've done recently.

Week #1:

One random fact about me: I have an almost pathological devotion to certain sentimental things ..... and some things, not. My wedding dress? Sold it just a few months after the wedding because I would rather have the cash. My kids' artwork? Some, I keep. But most, especially if it has any kind of paint or glitter or macaroni or shell or bead or feather or any kind of 3-D crap on it .... in the trash it goes. Old toys and clothes? Gone. I don't normally even have enough stuff to have a garage sale because I pass it on to Goodwill too quickly.

The few things I keep ... pictures, of course, hence my obsession with scrapbooking. Books that I love. I have a hard time getting rid of books that I know I will be willing to read again. Old calendars. Just seems a shame to throw out a yearly account of our life as a family.

And, I'm extremely sentimental when it comes to my hometown, memories, traditions, and old friends.



This photo was taken last weekend at our high school homecoming football game. Since it was also my 25th class reunion year, a few of us from our class met up at the stadium to watch the game together.

I am one of the obnoxious people who actually enjoyed her teenage years. Because I loved school. In large part, because of the people you see in this photo. Many others, who also mean a great deal to me, couldn't make it, of course. But in this photo .....

I see Michele, my first ever "best friend". My next door neighbor when we were in elementary school, classmate for twelve years, fellow band and Drill Team member. And still one of the ones I look forward to seeing most because she is silly and goofy and makes me laugh the entire time I am with her.

I see Jani, another friend since kindergarten. We played french horn together for years, and were also in Drill Team together. Jani is one of the few people who kept in touch with me (remember, this was in the days before cell phones or e-mail) the entire time I was moving around the country with Blaine. And now she lives three blocks away from me and our girls go to school together, and are themselves developing a friendship that I dearly hope they will cherish as much as I cherish mine with Jani.

I see Lisa, yet another friend I went to school with from kindergarten on. Head cheerleader, star athlete, brainiac .... and used to be, a little intimidating to me. As adults, I've gotten to know her better than when we were young, and realized I was silly to be so intimidated. Not because she wasn't all of those things -- she was -- just that she is also kind and honest and funny, as well.

I see Marla, my comrade in arms in junior high. Who knows how many hours she and I spent on the telephone in junior high??? Her family took me on vacation, and for several years I considered her house my home away from home. We discovered boys about the same time (although truthfully, boys discovered her way before they discovered me!) and now our kids go to school together --- Kendrie even played soccer on her daughter's team the first year we moved back here. I don't spend as much time with Marla as I would like now, and I miss her.

I see Carla and Mary and Jerry, more friends from high school ....

I see Louis --- well, no explanation needed for Louis, who I've known since the sixth grade, and who has been one of my best friends for over 25 years. Many a lunch break, and many a phone call, has been spent catching up on each other's news and lives; many a Sonic drink was consumed in high school, trying to decipher the teenage relationships around us; and many an Amaretto Sour has been shared as adults, for no other reason than we enjoy one another's company more than just about anyone else on the planet. (Oh, wait, I just explained him anyway, didn't I?)

I am sentimental when it comes to these relationships .... in a fierce, almost possessive way. And I probably don't tell these people as often as I should how I feel about them, but make no mistake .... I am grateful. Sentimental and grateful, at the same time.