Thank you to my one and only commenter! Glad to hear someone's reading this! And that I haven't bored you to death! I'm so busy I don't really get a chance to write very often (obviously!), but I hope you'll check in from time to time to catch up!
I got a Christmas card yesterday from Chris' parents. Mrs. T. invited Jack and me to visit next June or Thanksgiving, and mentioned that our holiday card (the first where I included a photo of the two of us) is hanging on their fridge, with "the rest of the family." I've met these people a handful of times in my life, but they are so very important to me. I always write "miss you" in the Christmas cards I send them, and it's true.
Chris is an integral part of my life, a friend I first met in November of FHP year, but who became my "BFF" on January 30, 1978. We began to spend time together - not time, TIME. We were together for hours on end, hanging in the College Center, just talking, just being with each other (when he wasn't with Lorna!). He is a smart, kind, thoughtful, considerate, funny man, and I'm proud to call him my friend.
There was a time I thought he might be more than a friend, but distance can sure put a whammy on that! On one of my visits, he got drunk and we made out on the front porch of the house where the party was being held. Looking back, that was strange! Fun, but strange! He was Chris, after all. Even though I thought I wanted that to happen, I was nervous. Then we went back to Tim's house and we "slept" together - literally. He passed out in the bed (drinking can do that to you!) and when he rolled over and his arm landed across my upper body, I froze. And that was the end of sleep for me! The first time I ever "slept" with a man, and I was SOOO nervous! And all we did was sleep!
Then he met his wife and they are happy. I can see it when I see them together. I visited them in 1992, while P and I were driving cross-country. I think "D" (Chris' wife) was a bit uncomfortable with my visit, but when she came this past October with Chris and their three boys, I truly felt as though that was gone. It was so nice to see him so happy with her. Their sons are TERRIFIC and C & D deserve kudos for being GREAT parents!
So... back to Chris... We spent all of second semester/freshman year together. When school was over, he wrote me a note and instructed me to read it when I got home. I cried all the way him from Delaware, sure that I would never see him again. ("Why are you crying? He's not crying 'cause he's not going to see you..." Thanks, Mom!!) His note (if only I could find that autograph book! Hopefully it's in Mom's attic.) said something along the lines of being my friend forever. It's 28 years later, and we still are!
He followed the harvest for a summer, and we wrote back and forth. It's funny, but I can still go days, weeks, months without thinking of him, then all of a sudden, I'll think of him, and he'll call. He'll pop back into my life with a phone call or a letter. We've always been "connected" that way!
He came to visit two or three years later, while I was in the Park Place apartment, then again for our FHP reunion. That was cool - the rest of the class was amazed that we were sharing a room in Christiana Towers - "you and Chris???!!!" Yup.
In between, my college graduation present from Mom and Dad was a plane ticket to visit Chris in Missouri ("Are you sure you don't want a watch, or something?"). I spent a week or so out there - had a wonderful time! Spent time with Mr. and Mrs. T. Met Gail and her family, Tim and his. Met Grandma Franklin - what a wonderful lady, may she rest in peace.
Then I flew out there for Chris' wedding, spent some time with the family again. One of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me was Mr. T's comment that he wished I was going to be his daughter-in-law. I know they love D, but it was nice to hear how much they loved me, too!
In 1999, Chris and D flew out here for our wedding (at that point, I really didn't speak with her too much, I'm sorry to say), and then this past October, their whole family came to NYC for vacation, and spent a couple of evenings with us. (Thanks, guys!)
Chris is so much a part of my past, and my present, and hopefully we'll stay friends forever. It's the kind of relationship where we email back and forth a few times, every 4-6 months or so, and we talk on the phone maybe once or twice a year. But always, always, we are friends. There's no awkwardness, no lack of things to talk about... We're friends. And that's nice.
I'm proud of the fact that there are a few people in my life that have been there for what seems like forever. People who played different roles in making me who I am today. People who still mean the world to me, and to whom I am eternally grateful for being part in my life.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
As promised...
The first night of college was nothing if not exciting! There was a hurricane warning so they advised students to go into the basement of whatever building you were in. I was in the College Center, having just finished eating dinner with a dorm neighbor, Sue L. (first names and initials only, to protect the innocent and not-s0!). The basement was crowded and there was really no room for us, so John P. (I remember a big football type body and white, white teeth!) suggested we sit on the floor under the pool table. And we did.
Now, at 45, almost 46, it's incomprehensible to me that I actually sat under a pool table with a stranger, and talked animatedly with a guy holding a cue stick who, every few minutes or so, stuck his head down to see if Sue and I were still okay! We stayed there about 45 minutes to an hour, then people started leaving, so we did as well. Back to the dorms (Carpenter Hall, on the Wesley College campus in Dover, Delaware), to get ready for bed and the beginning of my college career.
The Freshman Honors Program at the University of Delaware was only a couple of years old at the time; we might even have been the second class or so. (It's a long, long time ago, and I can't still remember... an awkward reference to a popular song...) The Program was housed on the Wesley College campus, although we were University of Delaware students. Wesley College, at the time, was known for its nursing program and its football team, not necessarily in that order! Imagine a class of 130 or so geeks, on their own for the first time in their short lives, on a campus surrounded by macho football players... It's a story waiting to happen.
And stories did - happen, that is. Here are a few highlights (lowlights?):
The first night of college was nothing if not exciting! There was a hurricane warning so they advised students to go into the basement of whatever building you were in. I was in the College Center, having just finished eating dinner with a dorm neighbor, Sue L. (first names and initials only, to protect the innocent and not-s0!). The basement was crowded and there was really no room for us, so John P. (I remember a big football type body and white, white teeth!) suggested we sit on the floor under the pool table. And we did.
Now, at 45, almost 46, it's incomprehensible to me that I actually sat under a pool table with a stranger, and talked animatedly with a guy holding a cue stick who, every few minutes or so, stuck his head down to see if Sue and I were still okay! We stayed there about 45 minutes to an hour, then people started leaving, so we did as well. Back to the dorms (Carpenter Hall, on the Wesley College campus in Dover, Delaware), to get ready for bed and the beginning of my college career.
The Freshman Honors Program at the University of Delaware was only a couple of years old at the time; we might even have been the second class or so. (It's a long, long time ago, and I can't still remember... an awkward reference to a popular song...) The Program was housed on the Wesley College campus, although we were University of Delaware students. Wesley College, at the time, was known for its nursing program and its football team, not necessarily in that order! Imagine a class of 130 or so geeks, on their own for the first time in their short lives, on a campus surrounded by macho football players... It's a story waiting to happen.
And stories did - happen, that is. Here are a few highlights (lowlights?):
- At least one attempted suicide (that I know of)
- More drinking and drugging (not me, ever) than I've ever thought about, let alone witnessed
- Parties, with and without microdots, costumes, and beer
- Four days of class, and one "free day," Friday, for visits to main campus in Newark, DE, via the FHP shuttle
- Although not my first experience with cutting classes, my first experience with not being scared to do it - after all, I was "in college," an adult, responsible for myself (not really, check out my grades that first year!)
- Chris
- Chris, and
- Chris.
Can you tell that Chris was an important part of my freshman year? And guess what?! He's still an important part of my life, even now, 28 years later!!!
But enough for now - he warrants his own entry... more later...
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
More about me...
It was a big decision, to leave high school and go to college at 16-1/2 years of age, and I was a young 16-1/2. My parents were very old-fashioned and protective, and although I never had a problem with that (even then), I can truly appreciate the wonderful upbringing I had and I'll be forever grateful to them.
I took the PSATs and the SATs on schedule, and after my SAT scores arrived (don't even ask me now wha they were, but they were good), the college brochures started to arrive. I can clearly remember receiving flyers from Case Western Reserve University, Lehigh Valley University, Washington University,...
I had never even considered the University of Delaware but one day I had a meeting with my high school guidance counselor, Mrs. Betty Zoehller. One of the routine questions was, "Have you heard from any colleges? Which ones?" So I started reciting the list. I sort of threw the UD Freshman Honors Program in there, in conversation. It wasn't something I ever would have considered, but Mrs. Z. jumped on it! "The UD FHP doesn't ask just anyone to be in that program! You have to respond to that!"
So I did. I was asked to come down for and interview, and so we went, Mom, Dad and me. I interviewed with Stephen Skopik, the biology professor. I remember him asking me what made me think I was good enough for the University of Delaware, and I remember replying, "I don't know that I am, but I'm here to see if the University of Delaware is good enough for me! They're the ones who sent me the brochure!" I can remember trembling as I said it; even then that was pretty aggressive for me! I could just feel my mom grimacing behind me... Dr. S. just chuckled and went on with the interview. We toured the campus - I remember seeing Hullihen Hall, Memorial Hall, the Morris Library, the Green. We have a great picture of Dad in his shorts and a white T-shirt, standing on the steps of Hullihen Hall with his hands up in the air like he was being arrested - there was a security guard behind him locking the doors!
I joined the FHP and became a FHP!
I started keeping a diary on August 16, 1977 - two weeks before FHP, the day Elvis Presley died. I can remember it like it was yesterday.
The next time I make an entry, I'll tell you about my first night on the Wesley College campus...
It was a big decision, to leave high school and go to college at 16-1/2 years of age, and I was a young 16-1/2. My parents were very old-fashioned and protective, and although I never had a problem with that (even then), I can truly appreciate the wonderful upbringing I had and I'll be forever grateful to them.
I took the PSATs and the SATs on schedule, and after my SAT scores arrived (don't even ask me now wha they were, but they were good), the college brochures started to arrive. I can clearly remember receiving flyers from Case Western Reserve University, Lehigh Valley University, Washington University,...
I had never even considered the University of Delaware but one day I had a meeting with my high school guidance counselor, Mrs. Betty Zoehller. One of the routine questions was, "Have you heard from any colleges? Which ones?" So I started reciting the list. I sort of threw the UD Freshman Honors Program in there, in conversation. It wasn't something I ever would have considered, but Mrs. Z. jumped on it! "The UD FHP doesn't ask just anyone to be in that program! You have to respond to that!"
So I did. I was asked to come down for and interview, and so we went, Mom, Dad and me. I interviewed with Stephen Skopik, the biology professor. I remember him asking me what made me think I was good enough for the University of Delaware, and I remember replying, "I don't know that I am, but I'm here to see if the University of Delaware is good enough for me! They're the ones who sent me the brochure!" I can remember trembling as I said it; even then that was pretty aggressive for me! I could just feel my mom grimacing behind me... Dr. S. just chuckled and went on with the interview. We toured the campus - I remember seeing Hullihen Hall, Memorial Hall, the Morris Library, the Green. We have a great picture of Dad in his shorts and a white T-shirt, standing on the steps of Hullihen Hall with his hands up in the air like he was being arrested - there was a security guard behind him locking the doors!
I joined the FHP and became a FHP!
I started keeping a diary on August 16, 1977 - two weeks before FHP, the day Elvis Presley died. I can remember it like it was yesterday.
The next time I make an entry, I'll tell you about my first night on the Wesley College campus...
Friday, October 27, 2006
Work, work, work! How I wish I was independently wealthy, or had a money tree in the backyard... I do like my job, I just want to sleep in when I want to, shop when I want to, clean my house when I want to, visit when I want to, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera... How King and I of me!
I'm traveling to Alexandria, VA, next week to visit 4 of my key accounts. I called a couple of other accounts, to fill in some free hours, but they're traveling as well, so that didn't work... I've put together my sales kits and Jack will pick me (and them!) up this afternoon so I don't have to schlep them across town...
We're supposed to go to the lake tomorrow morning, but it's supposed to rain heavily all weekend; if we wait to go tomorrow, the wood will be soaked. So we changed our plans to go tonight - the rain is starting tonight. So now, who knows when/if we'll go. I have plenty to do around the house, so if we don't go this weekend, that would be okay. PLUS I have some shopping to do - the holidays are upon us, and I need some clothes as well.
I'm so happy I'm at 23 pounds and losing; I can really see it and feel it now. Now, if I could only get off my butt and exercise, too --- I just really have no desire to do it...
I guess I'll start my life story now... I was born to Mom and Dad in 1960. Mom's Polish, born and bred, and Dad's American, of Dutch, English and American Indian descent (Lenni Lenape, I believe). Mom and Dad were of the old school - I was raised to be polite and respectful, and I'm happy about it! We didn't have much money - what we had went to food, shelter and education for the three of us. P was born in 1965 and C in 1966. We all went to St. Thomas the Apostle School (grades 1-8) and to Paul VI Regional High School in Clifton when it was time for high school.
I skipped my senior year in high school to early admit into the Freshman Honors Program at the University of Delaware. We were housed on a satellite campus (Wesley College) my first year, then we moved on to the main campus in Newark, DE. And the stories begin...
I'm traveling to Alexandria, VA, next week to visit 4 of my key accounts. I called a couple of other accounts, to fill in some free hours, but they're traveling as well, so that didn't work... I've put together my sales kits and Jack will pick me (and them!) up this afternoon so I don't have to schlep them across town...
We're supposed to go to the lake tomorrow morning, but it's supposed to rain heavily all weekend; if we wait to go tomorrow, the wood will be soaked. So we changed our plans to go tonight - the rain is starting tonight. So now, who knows when/if we'll go. I have plenty to do around the house, so if we don't go this weekend, that would be okay. PLUS I have some shopping to do - the holidays are upon us, and I need some clothes as well.
I'm so happy I'm at 23 pounds and losing; I can really see it and feel it now. Now, if I could only get off my butt and exercise, too --- I just really have no desire to do it...
I guess I'll start my life story now... I was born to Mom and Dad in 1960. Mom's Polish, born and bred, and Dad's American, of Dutch, English and American Indian descent (Lenni Lenape, I believe). Mom and Dad were of the old school - I was raised to be polite and respectful, and I'm happy about it! We didn't have much money - what we had went to food, shelter and education for the three of us. P was born in 1965 and C in 1966. We all went to St. Thomas the Apostle School (grades 1-8) and to Paul VI Regional High School in Clifton when it was time for high school.
I skipped my senior year in high school to early admit into the Freshman Honors Program at the University of Delaware. We were housed on a satellite campus (Wesley College) my first year, then we moved on to the main campus in Newark, DE. And the stories begin...
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
I don't know who really cares, but here it is - my boring little piece of the world!
I'm 45, married (we're still as happy as newlyweds after 7-1/2 years of marriage, and 16 years together), with two step-children, 3 nieces, 2 nephews, a nephew-by-marriage, and two little second cousins who are my niece and nephew at heart (their dad is my first cousin but we were raised closely enough that he might as well be my brother!).
If you know me, you know I love to read. I surround myself with books. I always have at least two or three going at once. I carry at least one with me at all times and nothing makes me happier and calmer than a good book. I'd rather read than watch TV. I'd rather read, actually, than do almost anything else at all! I love romances, contemporary ones if I have my choice, but I also enjoy general fiction. I've been known to read a political book or two, when it slants my way (to the right), and non-fiction when the subject piques my interest. Some of my favorite authors are Jodi Picault, Tami Hoag, J.K. Rowling, Ayn Rand, Dean Koontz, Nicholas Sparks, Mitch Albom - yes, they're pretty much all over the map!
I've never considered myself very artistic but I've found a recent talent for scrapbooking. I also never considered myself to be an addictive personality type, but let me tell you - scrapbooking is addictive for me! I think it's because I like the pages I create, I tend to want to do it more and more. I never realized the push to create could be so strong.
I've always wanted to write - I used to swear that I had so many stories to tell - but I don't think I have it in me. I'm too self-critical. I tried once, tried to write a romance. I've read so many of them that, well, how hard could it be, right? WRONG! I came up with a story set in Alaska (my dream vacation), with a hero based on my teenage perception of who Mr. Right would be (not even close to my Mr. Right!), a heroine who was loosely based on Laurie Partridge in looks (yes, "The Partridge Family" was a big part of my preteen life!), and several pages into my first draft, what did I discover? The book had been written before - by another author, with more talent and imagination than I had.
Now I know that "art is based on life" and "there's nothing new under the sun" and I even know that Harlequin has an actual format for writing a romance novel, but I wanted it to be original, fun to read, good, darn it! And it sucked! So I tore it up!
I'm sort of insecure and secure in myself at the same time. I mean, deep down inside, who's really all that secure? But I know I'm loved, I know I'm a good person, I know I put others first, I know I'm not stupid - but deep down inside, in my heart of hearts, I'm that little girl who was a bookworm, without a lot of friends (but certainly I had a few!), who always wanted to be bigger and better than she was. Today I'm a wife, mother, daughter, sister. I have a job in a field I love (publishing - although who'd have thought I would be in sales?!?! But that's another story for another time!), and I'm doing okay at it. I have friends. I'm happy.
And now, now I have a blog. I have blogs on other websites, but I think I'm going to delete them and move that stuff over here, to one site, where I can put a little piece of me out there for you.
I'd love to meet you - write back!
More at a later time...
I'm 45, married (we're still as happy as newlyweds after 7-1/2 years of marriage, and 16 years together), with two step-children, 3 nieces, 2 nephews, a nephew-by-marriage, and two little second cousins who are my niece and nephew at heart (their dad is my first cousin but we were raised closely enough that he might as well be my brother!).
If you know me, you know I love to read. I surround myself with books. I always have at least two or three going at once. I carry at least one with me at all times and nothing makes me happier and calmer than a good book. I'd rather read than watch TV. I'd rather read, actually, than do almost anything else at all! I love romances, contemporary ones if I have my choice, but I also enjoy general fiction. I've been known to read a political book or two, when it slants my way (to the right), and non-fiction when the subject piques my interest. Some of my favorite authors are Jodi Picault, Tami Hoag, J.K. Rowling, Ayn Rand, Dean Koontz, Nicholas Sparks, Mitch Albom - yes, they're pretty much all over the map!
I've never considered myself very artistic but I've found a recent talent for scrapbooking. I also never considered myself to be an addictive personality type, but let me tell you - scrapbooking is addictive for me! I think it's because I like the pages I create, I tend to want to do it more and more. I never realized the push to create could be so strong.
I've always wanted to write - I used to swear that I had so many stories to tell - but I don't think I have it in me. I'm too self-critical. I tried once, tried to write a romance. I've read so many of them that, well, how hard could it be, right? WRONG! I came up with a story set in Alaska (my dream vacation), with a hero based on my teenage perception of who Mr. Right would be (not even close to my Mr. Right!), a heroine who was loosely based on Laurie Partridge in looks (yes, "The Partridge Family" was a big part of my preteen life!), and several pages into my first draft, what did I discover? The book had been written before - by another author, with more talent and imagination than I had.
Now I know that "art is based on life" and "there's nothing new under the sun" and I even know that Harlequin has an actual format for writing a romance novel, but I wanted it to be original, fun to read, good, darn it! And it sucked! So I tore it up!
I'm sort of insecure and secure in myself at the same time. I mean, deep down inside, who's really all that secure? But I know I'm loved, I know I'm a good person, I know I put others first, I know I'm not stupid - but deep down inside, in my heart of hearts, I'm that little girl who was a bookworm, without a lot of friends (but certainly I had a few!), who always wanted to be bigger and better than she was. Today I'm a wife, mother, daughter, sister. I have a job in a field I love (publishing - although who'd have thought I would be in sales?!?! But that's another story for another time!), and I'm doing okay at it. I have friends. I'm happy.
And now, now I have a blog. I have blogs on other websites, but I think I'm going to delete them and move that stuff over here, to one site, where I can put a little piece of me out there for you.
I'd love to meet you - write back!
More at a later time...