The Raft

Memory Monday

I didn't start doing Memory Monday in hopes of proving anything to anyone or honoring everyone I love with something special each week.  I started it because it's fun to feature someone that I have a great story about.

As I have been thinking about who to write about next, though, I am finding more and more of my stories revolve around things that I don't necessarily feel like celebrating anymore as I am in my thirties, a wife and mother!  Ha!
But, I have a few PG-13 stories up my sleeve, still and this one involves my best friend from Elementary School, Shannon.

She's been on my mind because she has her new baby occupying her time and as I see the pictures and hear the great stories on Facebook, I am reminded not only of those scary, fun and sleep-deprived early days of Baby #1, but of my friend who I haven't seen in 15 years and how, if we sat down for a cup of coffee right now, it would feel like 15 minutes.

Shannon lived down the road from me when we were kids.  It was actually pretty far by today's standards (almost 2 miles, give or take) but we rode our bikes or walked back and forth, parent-free, every day.  These days, kids get driven if it's more than 5 houses!
Sometimes we would pack a snack and stop our bike ride halfway (just about at Pizzorusso's house) for some peanuts and to catch our breath from whatever we were laughing so hard about.  Shannon's house always had peanuts, in the shell.  I don't know why but I always thought that was so cool.  And if we weren't riding together, I can remember riding home from her house as fast as I possibly could, knowing that I was dead meat if I was late and possibly even dead-er meat if it was getting dark and something got me!

Shannon's was the first house I had a sleepover (besides Auntie Eleanor's!).
We played Little League together.  We swam in the lake.  We rode the bus to and from school together every day.  We played Barbies and Movie Stars and talked endlessly about boys.  We sang together, made up songs and performed them.  We played Volleyball together, later in school.  We were in "The Brewster Dozen" and Select Chorus together.  We ate, watched movies and just did nothing together.  Constantly.

Like so many innocent, childhood friendships we went our separate ways as middle school and high school pressures slipped into our day-to-day activities.   But even though we had very different social circles, we stayed friends.  And today, in our thirties, we are both wives and mothers.  And I still cherish our memories of riding our bikes and singing about Miss Liberty.