10

For some reason, at this age I thought it was cool to wear my mom’s clothes. Perhaps because oversized, belted shirts or sweaters with leggings were “in.” Especially if they were accompanied by slouch socks and Keds. My favorite was a shirt of my mom’s, which was white with silver and blue streaks and small decorative metallic pieces, a la Bedazzler. Apparently my fashion sense was not what I thought it was, as my best friend Jessa called me out one day in the locker room for wearing jeans with an elastic waistband. Doh! Leave it to a friend to tell you exactly how it is.

Jessa and I grew up being friends. She lived down the street and we met for the first time when our moms visited each other when I was a few months old and before she was born. We spent a good amount of time at each other’s houses. This took the form of playing and running around outside, playing board games, hanging out in her basement, swimming, forming a stationary club, then later a baby-sitters club  that never actually had any clients. We formed a path (aptly called “The Path”) through the woods between our houses. Along The Path we created various stopping points with different themes. Of course, I can’t remember now what any of them were but I do remember spending a fair amount of time perfecting and using The Path. Through the years, we went from child’s play to being the maid of honor at each other’s weddings, with lots of memories in between, more of which I am sure will come up here.

 

Jessa, with my family and my brother's friend